3. Ships with Propellers.
While pioneers in the United States were experimenting with steamships, other countries were making advancements as well. In 1812, the British inaugurated steamship transportation between Glasgow and Helensburgh, and two years later, two steamships began operating on the River Thames. Thanks to Stevens and Fulton demonstrating the capabilities of steamships, inventors started looking for ways to improve engines and ship designs. Initially, these engineers were influenced by the diagrams and tools of sailing vessels, so early steamships featured masts and sails, with the engine considered a secondary component. Paddle wheels were still in use, and Stevens’ proof of the propeller’s effectiveness was forgotten by many.
Gradually, reforms emerged: wooden hulls were replaced with iron, and later, steel. Engines became increasingly powerful and efficient, and paddle wheels were replaced by propellers. As these improvements were implemented, steamships grew in size, cargo capacity, and range. All these advancements contributed to the growth of transoceanic shipping.
The first transoceanic voyage using a steamship occurred in 1818 with the sailing ship Savanna, which carried mail and cargo. This vessel operated on the route from New York to Le Havre. The Savanna was equipped with an auxiliary engine and paddle wheel and, over 80 hours of transit, a steam engine was used to boost the ship’s speed.
The Royal William ship completed by Samuel Cunard and associates in 1883 in Quebec
crossed the Atlantic Ocean in a record time of 25 days (Image: unb)
However, the rightful honor for crossing the ocean using solely steam power belongs to the ship Curacao, a Dutch vessel that departed from Rotterdam to the West Indies in 1827. Within ten years, many other ships completed perilous ocean crossings, with transit times decreasing progressively. Notably, the record for crossing the Atlantic in 25 days was set by the Royal William, which was completed by Samuel Cunard and associates in 1883 in Quebec. These ocean voyages demonstrated that steamships operated better at sea than on rivers, leading to the establishment of several companies dedicated to building ships for regular voyages.
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John Ericsson (Image: instoneinc) |
In 1838, the British and American Steam Navigation Company began operations with the ship Sirius, weighing 703 tons. More advanced engines started to appear, allowing ships to travel further and carry more passengers and cargo. The time for transoceanic voyages was also shortened, with a record of 15 days set by the Great Western, a 1,440-ton ship launched by the Cunard Line in 1840.
Although at this time, ships had reached speeds of 9 knots thanks to more powerful engines, most steamships still relied on sails to take advantage of the wind. While paddle wheels proved effective for river and lake navigation, this method was found to be inefficient and inconvenient for ocean-going vessels. Years earlier, the propeller had been used on the ship Clermont operating on the Hudson River. In 1836, propellers were independently patented by two inventors: F. P. Smith from England and John Ericsson from Sweden, who was a naturalized American. Numerous experiments with small ships equipped with propellers demonstrated that using propellers provided both increased power and better fuel efficiency compared to paddle wheels.
In fact, the advantages of the propeller were only fully realized with the launch of the Great Britain in Bristol in 1844. This large ship, measuring 96 meters in length and weighing 3,440 tons, was equipped with a 200-horsepower four-cylinder engine, allowing it to travel at a speed of 12 knots. In addition to its propeller, the hull was made of iron, and all these advantages earned the ship the title of “revolutionary.”
From 1856 onwards, steamships in the United States still used paddle wheels. Nine years earlier, two ships, Herman and Washington, with a capacity of 1,850 tons, began service between Bremen and New York, followed shortly by the New York – Le Havre route. Wooden-hulled paddle wheel fleets were established, initially receiving government subsidies, but after numerous accidents, the subsidies were withdrawn. As wooden paddle wheel steamships gradually disappeared from the Atlantic, the wave of immigration to America increased. Thus, from 1850, many modern ships were built for companies like North German Lloyd, Hamburg-American Lines, British-Inman Line, and Cunard Line to transport large numbers of passengers. These ships featured iron hulls and all utilized propellers.
The Great Eastern ship measuring over 180 meters and weighing 18,900 tons (Image: arnygrimbear)
One of the most significant events in shipbuilding history was the failed construction of the Great Eastern. This ship was designed for trade with Australia and the Far East, modeled after the Great Britain. The Great Eastern measured over 180 meters, weighed 18,900 tons, and to ensure adequate propulsion, it employed both paddle wheels driven by a 3,400-horsepower engine and a propeller powered by another engine with 4,800 horsepower. The ship was launched in 1851 but ran aground as soon as it hit the water, leading to the bankruptcy of the shipyard. The ship was then sold to operate on the Atlantic, but this was unsuitable as the vessel was tasked with laying cables across the ocean.
Engineers continuously sought to improve steamships, aiming to save fuel and increase power. Starting in 1854, twin engines were applied to steamships. Twin propellers were also introduced in 1862, followed by three and four-bladed propellers.
After Sir Charles Algernon Parsons invented the turbine engine, the first ship fitted with this type of engine was the Turbinia. Built at Clyde in 1894, it achieved a speed of 34 knots. In 1905, the 19,000-ton ship Carmania was equipped with a turbine engine. The success of this engine type led to the construction of two more ocean liners: Mauretania and Lusitania. The Mauretania, weighing 31,900 tons, featured a turbine engine with 68,000 horsepower and a four-blade propeller, achieving a speed of 25 knots. This transoceanic vessel held the speed record for 22 consecutive years.
The Carmania weighing 19,000 tons with a turbine engine (Image: ca.geocities)
In addition to turbine engines, engineers also began using diesel engines in ships. From 1903, the British ship Wandal utilized a diesel engine for power generation. Initially, diesel engines were used only for cargo ships, but from 1924, passenger vessels also began to be equipped with this type of engine. The first large ship to use a diesel engine was the Gripsholm, completed in 1925. Two years later, a diesel engine was also installed in the 32,000-ton Augustus of Navigazione Generale Italiana.
By 1930, diesel engines were employed in most steamships, and although they no longer emitted smoke as before, traditional smokestacks remained in use for venting steam into the atmosphere.
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Return: History of Steamships (Part 1)
