The late Isambard Kingdon Brunel is entitled to the credit of
having first directed the attention of shipbuilders to this
important invention. He was himself a man of original views,
free from bias, and always ready to strike out a fresh path in
engineering works. He was building a large new iron steamer at
Bristol, the Great Britain, for passenger traffic between England
and America. He had intended to construct her as a paddle
steamer; but hearing of the success of the Archimedes, he
inspected the vessel, and was so satisfied with the performance
of the screw that he recommended his directors to adopt this
method for propelling the Great Britain. His advice was adopted,
and the vessel was altered so as to adapt her for the reception
of the screw. The vessel was found perfectly successful, and on
her first voyage to London she attained the speed of ten knots an
hour, though the wind and balance of tides were against her. A
few other merchant ships were built and fitted with the screw;
the Princess Royal at Newcastle in 1840, the Margaret and Senator
at Hull, and the Great Northern at Londonderry, in 1841.
The Lords of the Admiralty made slow progress in adapting the
screw for the Royal Navy. Sir William Symonds, the surveyor and
principal designer of Her Majesty's ships, was opposed to all new
projects. He hated steam power, and was utterly opposed to iron
ships.
Pages:
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105