Turbinia

The Turbinia was the first turbine ship in the world, so the first steamboat that was not through a vapor ( piston ) engine, but driven by a steam turbine.

It was built in 1894 under the direction of the steam turbine inventor Charles Parsons to test the performance of the turbine drive and to demonstrate its superiority. The experiment was a success: The Turbinia immediately became by far the fastest ship in the world and so rang the generational change in ship propulsion from the steam engine to a turbine.

Admirals of the Royal Navy - Britain was in the 19th century by far the most powerful navy in the world ( Trafalgar ) and had the largest colonial empire (see also British Empire ) - recognized the potential of this invention.

History

Development and construction

After Parsons had in 1884 invented the Parsons steam turbine, in 1893 he founded the Marine Steam Turbine Company in Wallsend -on- Tyne, to develop the new turbine ready for the market as a drive for ships. This field was by then firmly in the hands of steam piston engines. As a test vehicle he had a small and lightweight steel vessel from the shipyard Brown & Hood build in Wallsend -on- Tyne. On August 2, 1894, the first ran just simply as " Experimental Run" ( test run ) called, later on the name " Turbinia " baptized ship from the stack. ( Still later the yacht was due to their speed and the slender shape in honor of the builder also approvingly as " Parsons ' Ocean Greyhound", German: called " Parsons Ocean Greyhound ". )

The test vessel experimented Parsons, who had no training in shipbuilding, with different turbine and propeller configurations. The first version was only a screw is driven by a radial-flow turbine. She stayed at a speed of less than 20 knots far behind Parsons expectations. The reason was mainly based on the hitherto unknown problem of cavitation, which reduces performance and quickly destroyed the propeller. At the much lower propeller speeds of slow running steam engines this problem does not occur. Parsons examined the phenomenon on the basis of full-scale models in a specially built water channel with observation window, recognized the cause and adjusted its structure, because it increased the number of screws and their diameter (and thus the peripheral speed ) reduced at the same time.

The developers optimized the flow resistance and studied the effect of the bow wave and stern wave, which were higher due to the speed than hitherto in boats of this size known.

Finally, after almost two years of development, seven propeller designs and more than 30 test runs was the successful drive concept: Three axial-flow Parsonsturbinen ( a high-pressure, medium pressure and a low pressure turbine ) driven directly, without a gearbox, the a wave on which to series ( at a distance of about 1 m, with intermediate storage ) were arranged three propellers. On the shaft of the intermediate-pressure turbine could be engaged for switching the rotational direction of a reverse drive turbine.

Public demonstration and record runs

The Royal Admiralty was informed generally about the development of the turbine drive; but the revolutionary results initially remained unheeded.

At the public Parsons joined with its development in spectacular fashion when he unannounced aground with the Turbinia on June 26, 1897 at a naval parade with 165 ships on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria in the roads at Spithead. The highlight of the parade was to form a race of the fastest destroyer of the Admiralty. Under the eyes of the Crown Prince Albert Edward, the Lords of the Admiralty and numerous dignitaries and invited guests from home and abroad, the Turbinia hoisted a red pennant, broke out the order of the parade and took as a civilian ship illegally part in the race. With an initial outrage ( whether of disorderly conduct ), astonishment and admiration were able to follow the crowd, as the Turbinia dominated the field. Thanks to its superior speed and maneuverability distanced yacht ease the patrol boats of the Navy, which were set out to chase the Turbinia and stop.

The surprising presentation was followed by other, supervised by the Admiralty tests that confirmed the first impression. In the same year presented the Turbinia the official speed record of 34.5 knots on; more than four nodes faster than any other ship at this time.

In 1900 the Turbinia on the local World Fair ( Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Paris) was sent to Paris for a demonstration and presented, where she won a Grand Prix and a gold medal.

Successor models

Buoyed by the success of Turbinia Parsons founded his own shipyard Turbine Works in Wallsend -on- Tyne, and built the first commissioned by the Royal Navy two turbine-powered torpedo boat destroyer, HMS Viper and HMS Cobra. They were completed in 1899, and although both fell later in accidents, they convinced the Navy finally the performance of the turbine drive. A few years later, in 1905, ordered the Admiralty that all future built for the Royal Navy warships should get a turbine drive. In 1906 the first turbine-powered battleship of the Navy, the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought, was put into service.

The first civilian ship with turbine drive that left Parsons ' yard, was the King Edward, a passenger ship sailing on the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Shortly thereafter, with the RMS and the RMS Virginian Victorian (built in 1905) the first ships with Parsonsturbine who crossed the Atlantic Ocean and the RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania (built in 1907), the first large passenger steamer, both carriers of the blue ribbon were.

Remain in the Museum

1907 Turbinia was rammed by a larger ship and severely damaged. It was fixed, but then had to contend with mechanical problems, so it was finally decommissioned and preserved on land.

In 1926 the famous ship at the Science Museum ( Science Museum ) was sold in London. As the designated exhibition space in the South Kensington Museum did not offer enough space in London, the Turbinia was cut and it was only the tail exposed to the drive. The front part was in 1944 in an open-air museum in Newcastle upon Tyne.

In 1959 the damaged central part has been reconstructed from the Science Museum, composed the entire ship again and at the Municipal Museum of Science and Industry (Municipal Science and Industry Museum ) issued in Newcastle. 1994 Turbinia was moved to the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, where they can be visited to this day. The original turbine was taken out and be seen in the Science Museum in London.