John Isaac Thornycroft

Sir John Isaac Thornycroft ( born 1 February 1843 in Rome, † June 28, 1928 in Bembrigde, Isle of Wight ) was a British engineer. He was the founder of the modern technology of torpedo boats.

He made fundamental improvements in the design and machinery of torpedo boats of the Royal Navy and built the first torpedo boat for this.

On its own shipyard ( John I. Thornycroft & Company ) began in the 1870s to build torpedo boats. The first was provided by the Italian Navy in service in 1876 and 1877 attracted the Royal Navy after. In the next few years he built several hundred boats of this type for various fleets in the world. His shipyard merged in 1966 with the Vosper shipyard Vosper Thornycroft to arms company, which was renamed VT Group in 2002.

In 1864 he built his first steam-powered automobiles. It found a company that at several times changed hands, under the name Thornycroft but, inter alia, still concerns with agricultural machinery. In 1877 he was the first to patent the plan for a hovercraft, but built none.

He was so well known in its time that Jules Verne was referring to its construction:

" But in one important point, Doctor Antekirrts different boat from the Thornycroft ships: While those working with superheated steam as the driving force, he used the electricity. "

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