Incredible Speed: Turbinia | HISTORY

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  • Опубликовано: 21 янв 2025

Комментарии • 538

  • @AlextheHistorian
    @AlextheHistorian  3 года назад +229

    Some Notes:
    1) the thumbnail isn't clickbait, reports said the Turbinia had "a 20 foot flame" shooting out of it's funnel as it darted through the procession.
    2) At around 5:49 I mention "the Dreadnoughts were lined up", that is a direct quote from a book I read. Yes these ships pre-date the HMS Dreadnought, HOWEVER, in time, historians would nickname these ships 'pre-dreadnoughts'. Because they are essentially the same class of ship, just without the turbines. There is a note on the screen at that time that explains it too.
    3) In the video when I say that turbines are rarely used today, I meant that turbines are rarely used on ships today, considering all the ships in existence currently, the amount using steam turbines is only a fraction of the total. In hindsight, I probably should have mentioned that steam turbines are used in a number of power plants and nuclear powered ships, but I thought people would understand my point.

    • @jamesbugbee9026
      @jamesbugbee9026 Год назад +7

      Capital ships of that period were still being called 'ironclads', tho' built of steel since the 1880s, while HMS Dreadnought was not very similar 2 her 'predreadnought' battleship predessors, being ~2000 tons heavier, w/ more than twice the number of the main battery guns (intended 2B directed by a unified fire control), & powered by turbines powerful enough 2 give a 2 knot speed advantage: There was more than enuff of a difference in the Dreadnought 2 oblige the world 2 go Dreadnought-happy until the Great War blew everyone's budgets & their enthusiasm 4 war in general 'til the dictators brought such waste back N2 fashion, where it tends 2 remain

    • @jebise1126
      @jebise1126 Год назад +2

      actually older ships still often have water turbines while new military ones have gas turbines...so not so rare in use.

    • @rogermetzger7335
      @rogermetzger7335 Год назад +10

      I failed to read your post in the comment section a year ago before posting my comment earlier today. Now I see you had already mentioned steam turbines being "used in a number of power plants and nuclear powered ships".
      I think you will probably be interested is something a read a few decades ago. I was waiting in a large book store for my wife to finish her shopping when I saw a book about steam engines. The back of the dust cover was written by a friend of the author of the book. The book had been written about 100 years before I saw it in the bookstore. The friend wrote that he, the author of the book and several of their other friends were in awe of steamships, steam locomotives et al. It seemed to them that nothing could stop them - not even hell or high water. And then he got to thinking, That's what makes them go - hell and high water.

    • @nilo9456
      @nilo9456 Год назад +1

      Yeah no, your sources are incorrect, do your own research.

    • @AlextheHistorian
      @AlextheHistorian  Год назад +18

      The video is about Turbinia. Expecting me to research every last word that goes into my videos when it doesn't directly connect to the subject matter is unreasonable. If the source is incorrect about pre-dreadnoughts, that's unfortunate but the video is about Turbinia, not those war ships.

  • @duneydan7993
    @duneydan7993 Год назад +11

    You can't believe how happy I am knowing she was preserved!
    I was bracing myself to hear the cursed word: "scraped".

  • @debbielough7754
    @debbielough7754 2 года назад +282

    Thank you for this. My great great grandad helped to build the Turbinia in Wallsend (he was a rivetter who also worked in the shipyards).

    • @r.williamcomm7693
      @r.williamcomm7693 Год назад +10

      That is so cool that your great grandfather helped to build the Turbina. My great grandfather wrapped locomotive boilers in asbestos. Men like your great grandfather worked hard with great skill.

    • @socialmediasetup8472
      @socialmediasetup8472 Год назад +2

      what do you do now?

    • @yuglesstube
      @yuglesstube Год назад +7

      My great grandfather was a steam engine expert, specialising in power generation. The turbine came in towards the end of his career. He didn't work on them. One day, I am supposed to inherit his set of Audels engineering books. It will be an interesting read!

    • @Nicho2020
      @Nicho2020 Год назад +10

      I remember seeing Turbinia at Exhibition Park when I was a kid. It's hard to appreciate how inventive this country was in the past. In the present, we have hedge fund managers that invest in quick-buck gains, not in the long-term benefit of the country.

    • @Sjanzo
      @Sjanzo Год назад +1

      ​@@Nicho2020true, the Concorde was the peak of British engineering, despite cooperation with the French....

  • @davidford694
    @davidford694 Год назад +112

    My former next door neighbor pointed out to me that the boiler needed to produce the prodigious amount of steam Turbinia needed also had to be very innovative. It was designed by Yarrow. The boiler went on to be standard equipment for most British merchant and military vessels in WW 1. The neighbor was Yarrow's g grandson.

    • @howardosborne8647
      @howardosborne8647 Год назад +13

      David Ford..That is interesting information. I was thinking as I watched this video that the boiler design would need to be more advanced than the relatively simple design that a triple expansion piston engine would tolerate. One very important design feature of a boiler feeding a bladed turbine is that the steam supply needs to be superheated dry steam otherwise the turbine blades will very quickly deteriorate due to wet steam erosion. The Turbinia was obviously a very innovative and advanced design on many fronts.

    • @herauthon
      @herauthon Год назад +1

      @@howardosborne8647 how can steam be dry ?

    • @AlextheHistorian
      @AlextheHistorian  Год назад +9

      Wet and dry steam are exactly as they sound. Wet steam is at a temperature between 212 degrees F to upwards of 400-600 dF. Wet steam is highly saturated with water vapor.
      Dry steam is superheated to 600+ dF, and at those temperatures the molecules are spaced so far apart that a cubic foot of dry steam will not have as much water vapor in it as a cubic foot of wet steam. Dry steam because it's superheated nature, has more energy in it, and therefore is more powerful when used in a steam engine.

    • @scudfarcus4343
      @scudfarcus4343 Год назад +2

      ​@@herauthon Steam can be categorized into: 1)saturated steam; and, 2)superheated steam.
      Saturated steam is defined as steam at a temperature equal to its boiling point temperature, while superheated steam is defined as steam at a temperature greater than that of its boiling point. "Dry steam" is simply another name for superheated steam. Saturated steam is mainly used where better heat transfer characteristics are desired such as in steam/radiator heating systems, while superheated steam is used primarily in power generation. Superheated steam has a lower density than does saturated steam, and, thus superheated steam will not condense as readily as saturated steam.

  • @williamnethercott4364
    @williamnethercott4364 Год назад +126

    As a native of Wallsend, whose father worked at Parsons Marine and whose grandfather worked on the refit of the Mauretania, I'm delighted to see Turbinia put into proper perspective. Very good video, thanks for posting!

    • @indigogolf3051
      @indigogolf3051 Год назад +3

      I was 24 and living in Wallsend when they closed Parsons. Tragic day and the very history had been lost even to the locals who didn't know the legacy of that factory. It was just another of hundreds of factories closing at that time. Very sad but very proud.

    • @gregtaylor6146
      @gregtaylor6146 Год назад +1

      @@indigogolf3051 - May I ask, what year was that 'Geordie?'

    • @indigogolf3051
      @indigogolf3051 Год назад +2

      @@gregtaylor6146 I think it was about 1982, there were factories closing every day from 82 to 84 as England rapidly de-industrialised. I walked all around the industrial estates of Newcastle and Gateshead looking for a job. Terrible times.

    • @gregtaylor6146
      @gregtaylor6146 Год назад +1

      @@indigogolf3051 - I feel your pain my friend, I was brought up in the so-called soft-south and well remember signing-on (which I hated to have to do) with hundreds of others in a queue which stretched round the block .... in a former market town which had previously enjoyed full employment. Dark days indeed!

    • @gregtaylor6146
      @gregtaylor6146 Год назад +1

      @@indigogolf3051 - Coincidentally, my youngest son is now at university in Newcastle and loves it, though I have to say , when i went up to collect him last year, the town centre looked quite grubby, not helped by the surprisingly high number of somali and-the-like faces I saw, littering the place? Will definitely pay a visit to the museum to see Turbinia on my next visit though.

  • @cv4wheeler
    @cv4wheeler Год назад +11

    When I visited the museum to see the Turbinia, it was closed for some sort of renovation. A person working at the museum saw me looking down as the boat and asked what I was up to. I said I had traveled across 8 time zones to see the Turbinia, and he provided me a one-on-one tour, excellent! The rest of the museum is quite nice too, well worth a visit.

    • @AlextheHistorian
      @AlextheHistorian  Год назад

      That is an awesome story! It was nice of the employee to do that!

    • @blueorange6026
      @blueorange6026 9 месяцев назад

      I was in there yesterday admiring the Turbinia and just looking at the Mauretania curiosities. An employee came over to give some information on Mauretania and I enquired whether they had anything relating to RMS Carpathia. They were almost at closing time so I wanted to see anything about the hero ship. Surprisingly they had nothing on Carpathia on display, but the employee was kind enough to show me into the private Carpathia function room, not usually accessible to museum visitors unless booked. It was a conference room adorned with lots of pictures of the Carpathia that I'd never seen before, plus a letter in a frame relating to a proposal to build her. The staff member went above and beyond and it made me very happy.
      If you love history the museum is fantastic. Next time I'll spend longer in there because I only saw a couple of the shipping parts.

  • @BerkeleyTowers
    @BerkeleyTowers Год назад +40

    As a young graduate engineer in the early eighties, I went to the factory (NEI Parsons by then) for an interview and a tour. The sheer scale of the engineering was breathtaking. The lathes that turned so slowly but took one inch chips off the huge shafts as they turned..... The huge pit in which they spun the turbines up to check for balance..... and the size/weight of the absolutely enormous lid that was needed to contain the energy if a shaft failed. The amount of kinetic energy in one of those shafts turning that quickly was staggering. I ended up in aerospace instead, but it left an impression and a sense of awe that has never left me.

    • @procatprocat9647
      @procatprocat9647 Год назад +1

      They also helped produce Sadam Husain's super gun for the Iraqi war. That's what those lathes were used for.

  • @jackking5567
    @jackking5567 Год назад +75

    I live local to the museum holding the vessel today - The Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne. You can get up close and personal with Turbinia and get to see and touch those propellors. Unfortunately you can't get inside her but there's a cutaway window in the hull to look inside.
    The engineering behind not just Turbinia but other Parsons inventions is astounding. His devices included hydraulic motors - hydraulics changed the machine world too.
    Great video recognising a local hero. Thanks for sharing!

    • @SeattlePioneer
      @SeattlePioneer Год назад +6

      Perhaps on the 200th anniversary of it's race through the British fleet, Turbinia can be put back in the water and powered up for another race into history.

    • @skippyripley1239
      @skippyripley1239 Год назад

      Hadaway and shite man from Sunderland..

  • @aloysiussnailchaser272
    @aloysiussnailchaser272 Год назад +7

    Charles Parsons came from a very interesting family.
    His father built what was the largest telescope in the world for 76 years at Birr in Ireland, and was the first to see that some 'stars' actually had internal structure. He sketched the Crab Nebula, and his drawings may have been the the inspiration for Van Gogh's Starry Night.
    His mother was an early pioneer of photography and took some fabulous photos of the telescope. For many years it was abandoned and fell into disrepair, but some years ago was restored to its former glory. I was lucky enough to visit it both before and after. It’s an amazing thing.

  • @yesterdayschunda1760
    @yesterdayschunda1760 2 года назад +29

    The impact of this invention on power production can not be forgotten either, This is the same technology that spins in a nuclear power plant today.

    • @monsieurcommissaire1628
      @monsieurcommissaire1628 Год назад +3

      Indeed, and nearly all electrical power, with the exception of hydro-electric or wind turbine, is generated by steam turbine. It's all about boiling water...

    • @frankkoester257
      @frankkoester257 Год назад +1

      Also needs mentioning, every nuclear Aircraft Carrier and submarine uses steam turbines for propulsion. Prior to nuclear propulsion they were oil fired boilers that provided the steam that spun turbines in all capital ships.

  • @billymcmedic4221
    @billymcmedic4221 Год назад +9

    Living near Newcastle I’d been to the discovery museum in Town a lot as a kid, and every time I walked through that central hall I never paid attention to that random boat sat there, there were always more interesting things to see. But in recent years, after learning the history of turbinia, I always stop for a moment to appreciate it, that such a revolutionary craft was designed and built up here and what a massive impact it left on the naval world, and that it’s still with us in that museum

  • @Freesavh1776
    @Freesavh1776 9 месяцев назад +2

    That is so awesome that this amazing boat didnt get lost to time. Most get tossed away like so many other great feats of technology from the early 20th. Its great he had the foresight to get it out of the wayer to save it. Jolly godd show Britain. 🇬🇧

  • @ChrisCooper312
    @ChrisCooper312 Год назад +60

    As well as ships, planes and power generation, the turbine has also been very important for road and rail too, in the form of the turbocharger, and for space travel in the form of the turbo-pump. The turbine is up there with the steam engine, the transistor and the integrated circuit as one of the great technological leaps of the past 200 years.

    • @Porsche4life
      @Porsche4life Год назад +3

      Don’t forget the actual turbine powered trains and tanks but spot on comment

    • @Philcopson
      @Philcopson Год назад

      But it wasn't a great "technological leap", was it - unless you mean backwards? Parsons simply realised that he could do away with valve-gear, pistons, cylinders, and crankshaft - and direct the high pressure steam directly at the blades in the manner of a water-mill.

    • @procatprocat9647
      @procatprocat9647 Год назад

      In 1905, Swiss born Dr. Alfred Büchi received the first patent on a turbocharger for a marine engine. However, the concept of turbocharging goes back to the end of the 19th century when both Gottlieb Daimler and Rudolf Diesel were doing research into forced induction. The first turbochargers were not applied to marine or automotive: they were applied to airplanes.

  • @gorazdvahen492
    @gorazdvahen492 Год назад +3

    Ever since I first saw that famous photo and read about Turbinia, I was waiting for a video like this. Moved me to tears. I am such a wuss.
    Thank you!

  • @PaulinesPastimes
    @PaulinesPastimes Год назад +14

    It is so nice to have a video that is well researched and narrated by an actual human. I like that you added the clarification notes, it shows that you care about the content. It's a great story and I can only imagine the sensation it created. Charles Parsons really had the courage of his convictions. 👍😊

  • @ponytrishpip
    @ponytrishpip Год назад +4

    I used to cycle 17 miles each way in my early teens to go to the Science and Technology museum as a kid and Turbinia was my favourite display. Probably swayed my career choices as I have been a marine engineer for 43 years now

  • @danjames4086
    @danjames4086 Год назад +6

    Ive spent many happy hours mooching around the Discovery Museum...it is a great place for adults and kids. Seing Turbinia in the entry hall is always impressive...it looks big in there, but actually it is a tiny vessel.

  • @davidshepherd397
    @davidshepherd397 Год назад +3

    That desk at 1:31 is absolutely incredible. they sure don't make furniture like that any more. Great video, that must have been awe inspiring to see them race around those stately ships

  • @soaringvulture
    @soaringvulture Год назад +82

    Parsons' development of the high-speed boat propeller was nearly as significant as his invention of the turbine itself. He needed to do it to make the turbine useful.

    • @sicstar
      @sicstar Год назад +1

      No grip on the road for your 500HP engine with bad tyres indeed ;)

  • @paulrandig
    @paulrandig Год назад +10

    This video only gives tribute to a small part of Parsons's incredible innovations. Just his research to solve the cavitation problem would deserve a whole video.

  • @ianthepelican2709
    @ianthepelican2709 Год назад +8

    Now here is a story worthy of being made into a film. Let's hope that someone can do it justice.

  • @larrys.3992
    @larrys.3992 Год назад +6

    I was a operator of geothermal power plants. The first four plants installed were reused ships turbines.

  • @leeharwood9624
    @leeharwood9624 Год назад +2

    Another great invention that change the world that came from my home town of Newcastle upon Tyne ❤🖤 ⚪

  • @malcolmbrown3532
    @malcolmbrown3532 3 года назад +35

    Parson Had actually been invited to the Review, by the Admiralty. The only thing is they hadn't informed the media/press. Who in turn were most surprised by Turbinia, when she arrived. In turn with not only the World's greatest navy, but media/press in attendance Parson put on a show running rings round the Royal Navy......

    • @AlextheHistorian
      @AlextheHistorian  3 года назад +3

      Thats confusing because history would know the Turbinia as "the uninvited guest". I would need a citation to learn more.

    • @malcolmbrown3532
      @malcolmbrown3532 3 года назад +4

      The same can be said about the history of the "unsinkable" Titanic. It was all press/media hype. Once you looked deeper into the history......

    • @mahbriggs
      @mahbriggs 2 года назад +8

      @@AlextheHistorian
      In David K Brown's book "Warrior To Dreadnought", he claims that the Engineer-in-Chief, Durstan and White, Head Constructor kept close contact with Parsons and were aware of his efforts at the 1897 review. I have also read elsewhere, that he had the support of Fisher and other Admirals!

    • @MrJeep75
      @MrJeep75 2 года назад +1

      It's Parsons with a S

    • @georgemorley1029
      @georgemorley1029 Год назад +3

      “If you believe in a principle, never damage it with poor expression. You must go the whole way”. Words to live by. Words to change the world by.

  • @Stobb0
    @Stobb0 Год назад +9

    As a little kid I used to boggle at the Turbinia when she was at the Science & Engineering Museum at the Exhibition Park in Newcastle which we would walk to as a family. I knew the exciting part of her history but not the detail of the initial unsuccessful trial before the admiralty’s refusal to engage in further evaluation. Thank you very much for taking the time to create this record. Don’t you just wish that someone on one of the big ships had had their iphone with them to video the chase 😀

  • @gerardoconnor4278
    @gerardoconnor4278 Год назад +9

    Thank you, great video. His achievement in design detail and implementation is extraordinary but not surprising. His family were steeped in science and engineering, notable for their development of practical systems that made important contributions. His father, William Parsons was the great astronomer who built the world's largest telescope at the family home in Birr Castle, County Offaly Ireland. It was the worlds largest telescope from ~1850 to the early 20th century. Amongst its great discoveries was the spiral nature of M51, the Whirlpool nebula.

  • @bjw4859
    @bjw4859 Год назад +7

    That was by far the most interesting video I have seen in a while, history never fails to amaze.

  • @Modeltnick
    @Modeltnick Год назад +2

    Wow! What a great video! Wonderful editing and audio quality! Production quality top notch!

  • @jetsons101
    @jetsons101 3 года назад +12

    Alex, great job again. As a A&P mechanic this was a fun watch for me, thanks. Lot of information and detail with your usual GREAT narration. The 70's TV was a nice touch, was it imposed over a image of the Queen Mary's interior? You are quite the historian, "a teller of history." Thanks again for your hours of work.........

    • @AlextheHistorian
      @AlextheHistorian  3 года назад +1

      Yes that was Queen Mary's first class restaurant. And thanks!

    • @mattbartley2843
      @mattbartley2843 Год назад

      @@AlextheHistorian I happened to end up at that museum when I was in Newcastle a couple years ago and seeing Turbinia was an unplanned surprise.
      By the way, I remember part of the exhibit there mentions Queen Mary, probably as an example of enormous steam turbine power. (4 propeller shafts, each powered by multiple levels of steam turbines, IIRC)
      I also had a feeling that background was from Queen Mary, though I haven't visited (or seen the movie Poseidon Adventure) in many years. Very memorable.

  • @titaniummechanism3214
    @titaniummechanism3214 Год назад +4

    When I was about 10 years old, I got a book with cutaway drawings of interesting vehicles of all types. Along drawings of the SR-71 Black Bird and the Hawker Typhoon it featured a drawing of the Turbinia. I totally forgot about that boat, what a coincidence, that I find this video years later.

  • @jantyszka1036
    @jantyszka1036 Год назад +16

    Such a shame there was no film footage of Turbinia in action - I would love to see that!

    • @SeattlePioneer
      @SeattlePioneer Год назад +5

      Heh, heh! In particular, I would like to see the British Navy trying to coral this ship in action!

    • @Aiwendill
      @Aiwendill Год назад +2

      actually there is a film footage of Turbinia in action, but only two frames of it exists today...

    • @MrSvetozar11
      @MrSvetozar11 Год назад

      Я бы добавил к этому имиджу цепочку тонкую! Чёрный цвет прекрасно отсвечивает золотистое!

  • @jellysquiddles3194
    @jellysquiddles3194 Год назад +6

    I love the fact that he had the foresight to see it'd be the fastest ship and actually give it that cute and fitting name!

  • @rickmcdonald1557
    @rickmcdonald1557 Год назад +6

    Great video and as an old sailor I am very interested in Ship History and enjoyed your History Lesson to the max. Thanks for your efforts on this and the narration was also excellent. New Sub today~!

  • @yesterdayschunda1760
    @yesterdayschunda1760 2 года назад +12

    Something really epic about the front end coming out of the water at full speed

  • @NorseNerdleMeister
    @NorseNerdleMeister 3 года назад +19

    This was a super cool vid. I used to build scale rc boats as a hobby and have looking at getting back into it, this would be a neat one to attempt a model of (minus the 20’ flame shooting out of the funnel of course!).

    • @AlextheHistorian
      @AlextheHistorian  3 года назад +5

      But the flame is what sells it! 😧

    • @monsieurcommissaire1628
      @monsieurcommissaire1628 Год назад +3

      That'lI be the coolest RC watercraft ever. I believe it's technically possible to make your scaled-down Turbinia actually steam turbine powered. How practical it would be is another matter, but how cool would that be! I think the biggest challenge would be making boilers that would produce enough steam pressure while not setting the little vessel ablaze. I think electrically heated boilers would be safest, but they wouldn't bo shooting flames from the funnel... Hm. I'll have to to think about this.
      I'm only half serious here, but it's fun to speculate. I do wish you well with your project. Fair winds and following seas!

    • @wojciechbieniek4029
      @wojciechbieniek4029 Год назад +2

      @@monsieurcommissaire1628 what about an induction heating, or resistive wire heating?

    • @boooju
      @boooju Год назад +1

      @@monsieurcommissaire1628 he could use a jet turbine,not exactly steam powered but it's the same concept. commonly used on RC helicopters and aircraft.
      Those units are compact and could deliver tons of thrust.

  • @Crazyguy_123MC
    @Crazyguy_123MC Год назад +3

    It’s surprising they actually cared to preserve this vessel that far back. Usually something like this would have ran until it was crashed or scrapped but they cared enough to save it and now we have it still and it can still wow people 100 years later and maybe many more.

  • @glenpenrose1834
    @glenpenrose1834 Год назад +2

    Wow. Great vid mate. Just when you think you’ve seen it all...

  • @leod87
    @leod87 Год назад +5

    Great video Alex. Thank you. My Great-Grandfather worked at Brown & Hood in Wallsend. Very proud of Turbinia. Of course, Wallsend has a lot of history of its own. The town's name is a clue...

    • @procatprocat9647
      @procatprocat9647 Год назад

      Deprivation and drugs.
      Edit - also a lot of crime.
      Lovely place.....

  • @SMGJohn
    @SMGJohn Год назад +25

    There should been a movie made of this, but sadly no one has the balls to make good movies anymore

    • @cedriclynch
      @cedriclynch Год назад +10

      The firms making movies don't like making them about something being built. They much prefer making films showing things being destroyed.

    • @astrafaan
      @astrafaan Год назад +3

      I think the Turbinia would look a little silly in Spandex...... Just my opinion 😉

    • @stevenvater8720
      @stevenvater8720 Год назад +2

      Tubinia doesn't comply to NET ZERO

    • @blogengeezer4507
      @blogengeezer4507 Год назад +1

      @@stevenvater8720 ..Neither, according to those now in total control, do the rest of us... humanity.. sigh ;/

  • @jonathanwetherell3609
    @jonathanwetherell3609 Год назад +8

    The other neat idea was the condenser. This was fed sea water by a rocking scoop and another for water return. They could be rocked closed in shallow water to prevent blockages and reversed to clear blocks by reversing the water flow. As the boat speed increased, so did the water flow to match the increased need for cooling. No pumps needed.

  • @TheModelBoatGuy
    @TheModelBoatGuy 3 года назад +6

    Fantastic video, thank you for making.
    When you think about what that vessel did it’s quite remarkable really. Pity there isn’t a proper model available of her. Oh well! Thank you for posting

  • @howardosborne8647
    @howardosborne8647 Год назад +12

    Great video content on the Turbinia👍 . Also interesting to note that the 'big shots' of the Navy were unwilling to listen when he wanted to give a 2nd demonstration....some things never change as we still have many arrogant types in positions of high authority to this present day who dismiss advanced thinking that costs their nation in lost opportunities.

    • @JohnSmith-yv6eq
      @JohnSmith-yv6eq Год назад

      Some of them work for other governments with other agendas....
      another British trait over the centuries....Philby., McLean, Burgess, Blunt...et al...

  • @conradnelson5283
    @conradnelson5283 Год назад +2

    Great video. Something I did not know and I’ve been around a long time. Well done.

  • @UnwrittenSpade
    @UnwrittenSpade Год назад +1

    Awesome video mate! I was in the U.S. navy and now own a private marina so I def have spent my whole life on boats! Pretty interesting channel glad I found you

    • @AlextheHistorian
      @AlextheHistorian  Год назад +1

      Thanks! And thank you for your service

    • @UnwrittenSpade
      @UnwrittenSpade Год назад

      @@AlextheHistorian oh no problem it was a great experience. Thank you mate!!!!

  • @brissiAU
    @brissiAU Год назад +1

    This presentation is first class, beautiful edited and what an interesting topic, thank you.

  • @dekeburns801
    @dekeburns801 Год назад +1

    What a great documentary, this is very well done. I am subscribed, thanks

  • @robertklein1497
    @robertklein1497 Год назад +4

    Sadly both the Viper and Cobra were lost soon after they entered their services. It was quickly discovered that the engine was not to blame for the accidents, but Parsons was devastated by the news. Also because one of the engineers of his company had been tragically lost aboard one of those ships.

  • @wheelsofafrica
    @wheelsofafrica Год назад +2

    Wow, what a great story!
    Thank you so much!

  • @TheKopalhem
    @TheKopalhem Год назад +1

    one side note: when Parsons was asked if internal combustion engine would be "parsonified" (in other words, will it became a turbine too) - he answered it would not. so Parsons himself believed jet engine was not possible due to technical limitations.
    Thank you for the great video!

    • @boooju
      @boooju Год назад

      Boy was he wrong about that, his work on the steam turbine, gave birth to turbochargers. Which is on half of all the cars produced today.

    • @danl6634
      @danl6634 Год назад

      To be fair, they didn't have anything near the metallurgy required to make a jet engine work at that time. Lots of expensive & exotic metals inside those engines.

  • @GeordieAmanda
    @GeordieAmanda Год назад +1

    Wonderful, both Turbinia and the video. Thank you :)

  • @thorenjohn
    @thorenjohn Год назад +1

    Excellent presentation. Thank you!

  • @tomklock568
    @tomklock568 3 года назад +7

    Interesting video, and I appreciate your clarifications to maintain accuracy.

  • @bigyin2794
    @bigyin2794 Год назад +2

    Super history hit, well done.

  • @donmac7780
    @donmac7780 Год назад +5

    34 knots is pretty fast even today, it must have seemed incredible back then!

  • @KarlTalbott-jf8cd
    @KarlTalbott-jf8cd Год назад +3

    Steam turbines are still in use on merchant marine ships. Matson and Sealand shipping company are still running ships that are steam driven. I even sailed on a couple of them.

  • @whyjnot420
    @whyjnot420 Год назад +20

    That fleet review must have been a magnificent sight in its own right. I love my naval history and I am at a loss to think of any other fleet review (or whatever you want to call it) that would surpass this one. This was afterall, the Royal Navy more or less at its zenith. Sure, in terms of raw power, the RN would grow a bit more from here and would eventually be eclipsed by multiple other navies. But when you also contrast it with the other navies of the world as well as look at things like logistics. This is the height of the Royal Navy's dominance of the worlds oceans.

    • @kn4cc755
      @kn4cc755 Год назад +3

      Aye, Brittania did rule the waves and a large part of the land as well.

    • @Legal-gv4gg
      @Legal-gv4gg Год назад +3

      ... and the sun ever set on the British Empire !
      Rule Britannia (and I'm not even British), It was the greatest of the great empires. It yielded more than any other colonial power the largest number of eventuially independent nations, with basic good laws. and that universal polyglot language. English.
      Here's Cheers to the Commonweath.

    • @Weird.Dreams
      @Weird.Dreams Год назад

      @@Legal-gv4gg Raping and pillaging. Hurrah.

    • @whyjnot420
      @whyjnot420 Год назад +2

      @@Legal-gv4gg Personally I argue that there is one empire that was even more successful than the British. I argue that within the US, all of the land outside of the original 13 colonies constitutes the most successful land empire in history. With the crux of the argument basically being a combination of the idea of manifest destiny (which was quite imperialistic, nationalist and exceptionally jingoistic) and the fact that in the end, integration of the land became so seemless, that nobody even notices that it is an empire.
      The British Empire was one that mixed subjugation with settlement and mercantile activity. The US, while certainly guilty of subjugation via conquest, put far more emphasis on direct control through settlement. In the end, creating a land that truly was just as American as any of it. Compare that to the British, who never really managed to, for instance, make Canada as British as England. Canada is and always has been a distinct entity of its own that one can clearly see as something separate from the UK heartland. In the US Connecticut, Massivetwoshits, Rhode Island, New York and company are no more American than any other state west or south of those original borders.
      A comparison here can be made with Roman Spain after Rome had controlled it for some time. Or Roman Gaul (modern France for the most part). Which were decidedly Roman and not something simply built by and/or controlled by Rome. You can even look at the breakaway region from the late third century known as the Gallic Empire. Sometimes you will hear it called the Gallic Roman Empire, in order to hammer home the fact that this was a Roman empire in Gaul, not a native uprising of Gauls carving out their own little empire. These were places that were in every way that matters here, Roman.
      But that is really food for thought that I like to throw out there. Makes for some good discussions on what "empire" means in practical and legal ways. As well as what the overall net gain/loss is from its creation.

  • @btwnl
    @btwnl Год назад +9

    Although steam turbines are not very common anymore, when we realize how many vehicles contain a "turbo" (i.e. turbine) nowadays, it shows , besides jet engines, the enormous significance, even today, of this invention.

    • @procatprocat9647
      @procatprocat9647 Год назад

      In 1905, Swiss born Dr. Alfred Büchi received the first patent on a turbocharger for a marine engine. However, the concept of turbocharging goes back to the end of the 19th century when both Gottlieb Daimler and Rudolf Diesel were doing research into forced induction. The first turbochargers were not applied to marine or automotive: they were applied to airplanes.

    • @codprawn
      @codprawn Год назад +1

      They are still very common. Used in most power stations for generating electricity! If and when fusion reactors start working properly they will also use steam turbines!

  • @oliversherman2414
    @oliversherman2414 Год назад +1

    Imagine being the pranksters who sped through that naval show and got hired by the admiralty for it 😂

  • @bhutcheons
    @bhutcheons Год назад +1

    Really well presented video and I learnt some more things about this little boat that I didn’t know. Thank you

  • @CanetCinema2024
    @CanetCinema2024 Год назад +3

    Maybe said earlier, but anyway: the was no warships called "Dreadnoughts" in 1897. Sure the name has been in use for Royal Navy ships from sailing ship days, but the warship type known universally as dreadnoughts only came in being since 1906. RN had to first digest the turbine idea and then plan and build it's first big gun (12") turbine powered battleship HMS Dreasnought. Nice video, lots of good pictures.

    • @AlextheHistorian
      @AlextheHistorian  Год назад +1

      Thank you, yes an explanation was given on screen and in the pinned comment at the top of the comments section.

  • @andrewsteele7663
    @andrewsteele7663 Год назад +2

    Thank you, brilliant story and I have subscribed, Cheers

  • @Legal-gv4gg
    @Legal-gv4gg Год назад +1

    Thank you for bringing back a piece of memorable history, and the gigantic Fleet Review. Folks today think too often that earlier generations lacked "entertainment"
    What? No TV? You Tube? Movies? Well they DID have 'reading' and it did stimulate the mind and generated something more- THINKING, which in turn yielded great feats of engineering that underpins so many industries that allows us all to have such increased leisure to enjoy the aforementioned modern distractions. . . .
    for better or... for worse ?

  • @iampapa318
    @iampapa318 Год назад +1

    This is an awesome story! Thank you for sharing

  • @ljprep6250
    @ljprep6250 Год назад +1

    Wonderful story of historic origin! Thanks, Alex.

  • @RCAFpolarexpress
    @RCAFpolarexpress Год назад +4

    This is an OUTSTANDING INFORMATIVE VIDEO and very well made too 🧐👌👍✌✨🚀Cheers 🍻

  • @YXUHUNTER
    @YXUHUNTER Год назад +2

    Fantastic video! Thank you!

  • @dcallan812
    @dcallan812 Год назад +1

    The ship is still on show in Newcastle. Its a beautiful bit of kit. great video 2x👍

  • @BlueJazzBoyNZ
    @BlueJazzBoyNZ Год назад +2

    Great post and History

  • @RetroAmateur1989
    @RetroAmateur1989 2 года назад +12

    I want this made into a movie.

  • @MegaGeorge1948
    @MegaGeorge1948 Год назад +2

    The Parson's turbine engine also drove the center propeller in front of the rudder on the RMS Titanic using the waste steam from the two steam piston engines. It could only propel Titanic forward. So it was only used when crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

  • @grizzle273463
    @grizzle273463 Год назад +2

    Wow what a wonderful historic journey,.

  • @michaelcerkez3895
    @michaelcerkez3895 Год назад +1

    Nice piece of history. Thank you for the education.

  • @mdtransmissionspecialties
    @mdtransmissionspecialties Год назад +1

    As a journeyman turbine Millwright, the problem they had with the beginning age of turbines was the fact they had no way to align them and balance one. That why they always had issues with vibration. Great video!

  • @peteredwards7760
    @peteredwards7760 Год назад +3

    About 30 years ago I met an elderly lady who lived in the West End of Newcastle upon Tyne she told me her father in law had been a crewman on the Turbinia that day. I believe Mr. Parsons lived in the village of Pigdon Northumberland.

  • @glenskingsley5812
    @glenskingsley5812 Год назад +2

    As a child in the 70s and 80s I grew up visiting the Turbinia at exhibition park Newcastle. I had many happy hours playing in and on the Turbinia. Happy Days I still live in Newcastle and often visit my old friend

    • @EllieMaes-Grandad
      @EllieMaes-Grandad Год назад +1

      At the Discovery Museum.

    • @glenskingsley5812
      @glenskingsley5812 Год назад +1

      @@EllieMaes-Grandad yes it was in an large glassed area, I recall it being very hot inside. My uncle knew the staff at the museum. I was told the story of the way it outran all the other ships. As s child it captivated my imagination and I had huge enjoyment pretending I was the captain

    • @EllieMaes-Grandad
      @EllieMaes-Grandad Год назад +1

      @@glenskingsley5812 The video shows it in the Discovery Museum, which also has a large gallery with beautiful ship models representative of Tyneside construction.

    • @glenskingsley5812
      @glenskingsley5812 Год назад +1

      @@EllieMaes-Grandad yes I still live in Newcastle. I visited the museum last year, but sadly you can’t get onboard as I did as a child.

    • @EllieMaes-Grandad
      @EllieMaes-Grandad Год назад

      @@glenskingsley5812 I visit from Durham from time to time. Turbinia is certainly one magnificent exhibit.

  • @lani6647
    @lani6647 Год назад +3

    Amazing that despite the passage of more than a century and a quarter, naval top speeds haven’t really meaningfully exceeded what parsons attained in 1897.

  • @pigpuke
    @pigpuke Год назад +2

    The old "it's easier to get forgiveness than permission" tactic - well played, sir.

  • @MarsFKA
    @MarsFKA Год назад +2

    In 1998, I visited the Queen Mary at Long Beach. Part of the tour was the engine room, where I saw the high-speed turbine for one of the propellor shafts. It didn't look that big, but the notice board said it developed forty thousand horsepower.

    • @AlextheHistorian
      @AlextheHistorian  Год назад +1

      Each of Queen Mary's 4 propellers was driven by a turbine engine set. In each engine set were 4 turbines: high pressure, intermediate pressure, second intermediate pressure and low pressure. So that high speed turbine you saw was just one of 4 turbines in that engine, driving just one of the propellers.
      Those 4 turbines on the engine together produced a service output of 40,000 HP, but had a maximum output of 50,000 HP to help the ship compete for speed.

    • @MarsFKA
      @MarsFKA Год назад +1

      @@AlextheHistorian Yes, I saw the other turbines for that particular propellor shaft, but must have mis-interpreted the part of the information board that specified the power of each of the turbines.
      Still, all that power made the ship fast enough that it could cross the Atlantic during the War, unescorted.

  • @mrs6968
    @mrs6968 3 года назад +4

    I had no clue about this ship and it's stunt thank you for this now I want to look further into all those ships being on display for queen Victoria

  • @andersson.l.e
    @andersson.l.e Год назад +1

    Thank you for an interesting and informative video.

  • @shaunglobal
    @shaunglobal Год назад +2

    Very interesting. Thanks 👍👍

  • @SAGHAJAR
    @SAGHAJAR Год назад +1

    I have been fortunate to see this magnificent boat at Newcastle Upon Tyne Discovery museum.

  • @TimpBizkit
    @TimpBizkit 2 года назад +41

    I like this because it's the equivalent of a teenage boy doing burnouts through a precession of horses and chariots whilst the queen is out and the police going "actually that's pretty damn impressive! You mean the power of 100 horses fits in that little box?"

    • @villiersman951
      @villiersman951 Год назад +4

      👍

    • @procatprocat9647
      @procatprocat9647 Год назад

      Each horse has 14 horses.
      Get your head around that.

    • @TimpBizkit
      @TimpBizkit Год назад

      @@procatprocat9647 the horsepower was an approximate measurement for a draught horse trotting in a circle towing a capstan for many hours a day. For a horse is was a fairly easy load. For a human it's almost an all out sprint.

  • @incomingshell3268
    @incomingshell3268 Год назад +1

    Great job making this video.....Thank you !

  • @wadkin1973
    @wadkin1973 Год назад +3

    It really is quite a small vessel, I bet it looked amazing travelling at those speeds

  • @jameshowland7393
    @jameshowland7393 Год назад +2

    Every genius has his day!! Well done!

  • @skyline9577
    @skyline9577 Год назад +2

    Great video!

  • @wdwadindwatri
    @wdwadindwatri Год назад +1

    Amazing! this story deserves a movie! it would be close to sci-fi, but it's real! :D

  • @markmark2080
    @markmark2080 Год назад +10

    What a great story of a great invention, halfway back to that time, in the 1960s, I spent considerable time standing watches just above the high and low pressure turbines on a naval vessel. I've just recently realized that fuel oil boiler steam turbine propulsion is pretty much a thing of the past, I'm thankful for the experience I had and happy I wasn't in the time of the coal burners...It's great that they saved that little boat.

  • @fsj197811
    @fsj197811 Год назад +1

    That was really good, thanks for sharing.

  • @aaronolson2469
    @aaronolson2469 3 года назад +2

    Really good video. I had no idea but had heard of Parsons engine

  • @lindasolis7117
    @lindasolis7117 3 года назад +5

    Very cool! Never heard of this ship/story. Thanks!

  • @sav2236
    @sav2236 Год назад +1

    Thank you for interesting vid.

  • @panzerceremoniaire8359
    @panzerceremoniaire8359 Год назад +1

    Very interesting, thank you! 👍

  • @ginog5037
    @ginog5037 2 года назад +1

    Excellent video Alex, much appreciated...

  • @GraemeMurphy
    @GraemeMurphy Год назад +4

    I am one of only a few people that were allowed access to her engine room (back in 1979 when she was housed in the Science Museum) that I found to be very cramped.
    She is now but eleven miles away from my home housed in the Discovery Museum of Newcastle upon Tyne.

  • @oldtugs
    @oldtugs Год назад

    Thanks for not removing the copyright mark from my animation of the triple expansion engine.

  • @johnking6252
    @johnking6252 Год назад +1

    Excellent story, interesting, informative and very entertaining also great food for thought. 👍✌️

  • @chubeye1187
    @chubeye1187 Год назад +1

    I have worked at a few power station and parsons have made the turbine and/or maintained it

  • @sidneyalmeidajunior7968
    @sidneyalmeidajunior7968 Год назад +2

    Congratulations! Good history!