The torpedo: invented in Rijeka
Few people know it, but the torpedo was invented in Rijeka – a chapter of world engineering history.
The idea:
In the early 1860s Rijeka local Giovanni Luppis, a retired naval officer, proposed a coastal defence weapon he called the coast saviour, but could not realise it.
The breakthrough:
Robert Whitehead, head of Rijeka’s technical works, turned it into a self-propelled torpedo shaped like a metal fish. The prototype was tested in 1866. In 1875 the works became R. Whitehead and Co., regarded as the world’s first torpedo factory.
What you can see today:
The factory is long closed, but the 1930 launch station still stands in the sea in the west of the city, where launches from ships and aircraft were simulated. It is an industrial monument of global importance and a striking photo subject.
Tip: combine it with a beach day in nearby Kantrida. Ask at the tourist office on the Korzo about visits. For more industrial history, head to the City Museum in the Sugar Palace.