Steam engines in the fleet. Who invented the first steamboat

By the middle of the 19th century. It is becoming clear to the main shipbuilding powers that the times when the movement of merchant ships and warships of the sailing fleet entirely depended on the direction and strength of the wind are becoming a thing of the past.

By that time, a number of inventions had appeared (for example, Denis Papin's steam engine, Robert Fulton's model of the steamship, which he demonstrated to Napoleon Bonaparte), providing for the construction of ships driven by steam power.

If the first such inventions were significantly ahead of their time and appeared in an era when the corresponding technologies were still absent, then by the time of the Crimean War (1853 - 1856), the first steamships appeared in the fleets of the main powers of Europe and Russia.

The first known successful test of a steamship model called the Pyroscaphe took place in 1784. But the double-acting steam engine that rotated the steamship's wheels quickly broke down.

The first steamship to be successfully operated was Robert Fulton's North River Steamboat, which sailed from Albany to New York along the river. Hudson.

The benefits of steam ships, independent of wind and weather conditions and able to sail quickly against the current, quickly became clear. And similar ships began to appear in the fleets of the main shipbuilding powers of Europe.

By 1853, steamboats became a generally accepted form of river water transport.

Steamships on rivers, as vessels for navigation on inland waterways (IWW), quickly gained worldwide recognition. Repairing equipment and steam engines for river transport did not present any particular difficulties. The propellers of such steamships were wheels, and such steamships were called paddle wheel boats. Paddle wheels could be located on the sides or in the stern of the steamship. The paddle wheel continues to be used in our time as a propulsion device for river vessels, especially on pleasure or tourist vessels.

With the first steamships in the navy, the situation was much more complicated. Due to the unreliability of the first engines - steam engines - the steamships were combined sailing-steam vessels and had masts with spars and sails. If the car broke down, the ship could reach the port.

At first, the propeller of a sea-going steamship was also a paddle wheel. However, the unreliability of the paddle wheel as a propulsion device and its low efficiency led to the need to maintain sailing equipment during sea navigation. The engine on the first steamships was a steam engine, for example, like the one shown in Fig. 5.

Rice. 5. Steam engine for a steamship built in 1849, installed on the Atlantic sea liner.

Furnaces - fireboxes; boiler - steam boiler; steam pipe - steam pipeline; second engine - second engine (second steam engine); crankshaft - crankshaft; hot well - hot water tank; parallel motion linkage - parallel motion mechanism; cylinder - cylinder; side lever - side lever.

The steamship's wheels had a diameter of 11 m with 36 blades. The vessel was propelled by two side-lever steam engines with a power of 600 kW, one of which is shown in Fig. 5. Each steam engine had one cylinder with a diameter of 241 cm; steam entered the cylinder under a pressure of 120 kPa, which was then considered an example of expensive innovative technology. When the ship was moving with two cylinders of both steam engines running at full speed, the speed reached 16 rpm, and with the additional help of sails, the speed of the Collins liner reached 12-13 knots.

Fuel consumption (coal) was 1 ton for every 265 revolutions of the steamship wheel, or 85 tons within 24 hours. During the voyage, the steamship consumed an amount of coal almost equal to the weight of the steamship itself.

The Atlantic liner set off from Liverpool on its maiden voyage on April 27, 1850. It reached New York in a record time of 10 days and 16 hours. That is, during this time he completed a transatlantic voyage. Such was the ship technology of that time.

The first warships of that time were steam frigates. On the eve of the Crimean War, the last battle of sailing warships was the destruction of the Turkish fleet at Sinop by the squadron of Admiral Nakhimov. During the siege of Sevastopol, the sailing ships of the Russian fleet were scuttled in the fairway to block enemy ships from entering the Sevastopol Bay. Steam frigates took part in the Crimean War in the fleets of both belligerents. The first battle of the steamships was indicative: the battle of the frigate Vladimir with the Turkish steamer Pervaz-Bahri.

Watt began experiments on the use of the new machine in shipping. The most successful attempt can be considered a steamship built by the French inventor Geoffroy. In 1781, his steam boat, using a steam engine, could sail against the current for an hour.

The first steamship

The first ship suitable for navigation was invented by Irish engineer and mechanic Robert Fulton. He was born into a poor peasant family and was a self-taught genius.

Fulton built and tested his first, still imperfect, steamboat on the Seine in Paris. In 1803, the experiment was a success; the ship sailed along the Seine for 1.5 hours, developing a speed of 5 km per hour.

In 1807, Fulton built the paddle steamer Clermont, installing Watt's double-acting steam engine. The length of the steamship was 43 m, the engine power was 20 hp. pp., tonnage - 15 tons. In 1807, the Claremont made its first voyage along the Hudson from New York to Albany, covering 150 miles (270 km). The voyage, which took place against the current and with a headwind, took 32 hours. Fulton's Claremont marked the beginning of steam shipping. Since that time, steamships began to be built in other countries.

Following the invention of the river steamboat, attempts are being made to technically improve all types of maritime transport. Already in 1819, the Savannah steamship appeared on the transatlantic line between America and Europe, delivering a cargo of cotton from the USA to England. "Savannah" was on the road for 26 days. In the same 1819, the Savannah arrived at the port of St. Petersburg. This was the first foreign ship to visit Russia. In 1825, the English steamer Enterprise traveled from London to Calcutta in 113 days. In 1829, the Dutch steamer Curaçao sailed from Holland to the West Indies in 32 days.

Steel hull and propeller - a new stage in shipbuilding

However, marine shipbuilding until the 40s of the 19th century. developed relatively slowly. The construction of steamships was hampered by design flaws identified during operation, which were not immediately possible to eliminate. And only a radical change in the design of steamships and engines, as well as the transition to new building materials for ship construction, stimulated the rapid development of marine shipbuilding.

The greatest significance for shipbuilding was the transition to the construction of iron and steel hulls of steamships.

Another very important factor in the development of the navy was the invention of the propeller, which replaced the paddle wheels of the first steamships. Until the end of the 30s of the XIX century. Steamships were built with paddle wheels that broke sea waves. They were the most vulnerable point during the battle; their damage immediately disabled the ship.

In 1838, the English engineer and inventor Smith built the first steamship, the Archimedes, with a propeller, quite suitable for practical purposes. Soon a number of improvements were made to screw steamers, and by the end of the 40s of the 19th century. The propeller began to quickly replace paddle wheels, primarily in the naval fleet.

From the beginning of the 30s, the first steamships suitable for regular ocean voyages began to appear. Since the late 30s of the XIX century. regular steamship communication was established between Europe and America, and then between Europe and other continents. In 1842, the first trip around the world by steamboat was made. Steamship lines, likewise, ensured speed and regularity of movement, and also sharply reduced the cost of transporting goods.

Until the 70s, the steam fleet was not the absolute master of the water expanses. There was also, occupying a significant part of the overall water transport system.

Steamboat... Spelling dictionary-reference book

STEAMBOAT- In the modern Russian language there are two small correlative groups of complex terms in which a peculiar opposition of the morphemes hod and voz has been created: motor ship, steamship and electric ship, on the one hand, and diesel locomotive, steam locomotive and electric locomotive with... ... History of words

STEAMBOAT- STEAMBOAT, steamboat, husband. A ship powered by a steam engine. Ocean steamer. Sea steamer. Passenger ship. Coastal steamer. Go by boat, by boat. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Steamboat- Waverlay. STEAMBOAT, a vessel driven by a steam engine or turbine (turbine steamships are called turboships). The first steamship “Clermont” was built in 1807 in the USA by R. Fulton. In Russia, one of the first steamships “Elizabeth” was built in 1815... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

steamship- steam engine, pyroskaf, steam locomotive, steamer, steamship, liner, whistle, vessel Dictionary of Russian synonyms. steamship see steam locomotive Dictionary of synonyms of the Russian language. Practical guide. M.: Russian language. Z. E. Alexandrova ... Synonym dictionary

STEAMBOAT- a ship driven by a steam engine or turbine (turbine steamers are usually called turbo ships). The first steamship Claremont was built in 1807 in the USA by R. Fulton. In Russia, one of the first steamships was the Elizaveta (for flights between St. ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

STEAMBOAT- STEAMER, see par. Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary. IN AND. Dahl. 1863 1866 … Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

STEAMBOAT- (Steamer) a vessel with a displacement of more than 100 tons, driven by a steam engine (steam engine or turbine). The first steamship was built in the North. America by Fulton in 1807. Samoilov K.I. Marine Dictionary. M.L.: State Military... ... Naval Dictionary

STEAMBOAT- STEAMER, see SHIP... Scientific and technical encyclopedic dictionary

STEAMBOAT- STEAMER, huh, husband. Steam engine powered ship. | adj. steamship, oh, oh. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

STEAMBOAT- a self-propelled river or sea vessel, the main engine of which is a steam engine (see). The propulsion mechanism is a propeller or paddle wheels. In the modern fleet, the main type of self-propelled vessel (see), the main engine of which is ... ... Big Polytechnic Encyclopedia

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Since ancient times, man has been striving to explore the expanses of water, looking for means and methods of transportation on water. Probably the first methods of movement of people on water were logs and fragments of trees. Later, man invented a raft and a canoe, which moved along the river with the help of poles and oars. Five thousand years ago, the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt built ships from many pieces of wood, which were fastened together, and the outside was caulked along the joints and grooves. Three thousand years BC. e. the first appeared in the Mediterranean Sea, with the help of which man began to use the power of the wind to move ships. Later, a person had the idea of ​​​​creating a self-propelled vessel that would be able to move against the wind and currents. It is no secret that it is very difficult for a loaded vessel to move along the river with oars against the current.

Already in the Middle Ages, there were attempts to build a self-propelled ship using a water wheel, but the appearance of such ships became possible only with the invention of the steam engine. American Fitch was the first to build one steamship, on which the machine drove 12 shovel-shaped oars. In 1787, he created the second steamship, the Perseverance, where he replaced it with a propeller. In 1788, the steamship operated between Philadelphia and Burlington with 30 passengers on board. Unfortunately, this invention was not appreciated in time and did not receive proper development.

It was only in 1798 that Judge Livingston was the first to appreciate the capabilities of the steamship and the profit that it could make if the business was properly organized. He receives the right to carry out regular steamship service on the Hudson River and begins to build a steam one. However, the first attempts were unsuccessful and he made a business proposal to his compatriot Robert Fulton, who was living in France at that time. Fulton has been interested in the use of steam to propel ships since the 1790s. Already in 1794, he became convinced that the best engine for a self-propelled vessel was Watt's double-acting steam engine. Moving to France, he built and tested the Nautilus submarine in 1800, which anticipated the features of the modern submarine.

In the fall of 1802, Livingston and Fulton entered into an agreement, according to which the first party assumed all operating costs, and the second agreed to build a self-propelled ship that would carry up to 60 passengers at a speed of 13 km per hour. The profit received as a result of the operation of the vessel will be divided equally between the partners. Fulton built his first model of a steamboat in the spring of 1803; he borrowed Watt's steam engine from a friend. Unfortunately, the steamer turned out to be fragile and could not withstand the weight of the machine, which, together with all the equipment, broke the bottom and sank. With great difficulty, they managed to get the car out of the bottom, a strong hull was built, and in August 1803, Fulton demonstrated his model of a steamship, moving at a speed of 7.5 km per hour, on the Seine River. He offered his steamship to Napoleon, but the French government did not support this invention. In early 1804, Fulton moved to England, where he tried unsuccessfully to interest the English government in his submarine project. Finally, in December 1806, at the urgent request of Livingston, Fulton returned to the United States. Here he successfully creates the paddle steamer "Clermont", driven by a 20 hp steam engine. The tonnage of the vessel was 150 tons, the hull length was 43 m, two masts were installed on the vessel, on which, if necessary, sails were raised to help the machines. In 1807, his first voyage along the Hudson River from New York to Albany took place, beginning a new era in the history of shipping. Within a year, the Fulton-Livingston Company received revenue of $16 thousand, it continues to build ships and in 1816 it had 16 ships. In 1840, more than 1,000 river vessels sailed on the Mississippi River alone. At the same time, steam ships began to explore sea routes. The first sea steamship appeared in Russia in 1815 and was named "Elizabeth".

The history of any invention plays a big role in the advancement of humanity along the path of progress. People attach particular importance to the appearance of steamships, and this is fair, because from that moment on, water transport became exponentially faster and more powerful and the development of civilization rose to a new level.

• So who was first?
• How the oceans were conquered
• Device principle
• Video: Modern steamships

So who was first?

If we analyze the history of steam ships, it is difficult to determine which of them appeared first, although it is believed that the first was the "Clermont" ("North River Steamboat"), built by Robert Fulton in 1807 and set sail along the Hudson River from the New Pier. York to Albany.

The steamboat "Clermont" by Robert Fulton

It is not clear what to do with the fact that there was also a ship "Charlotte Dundas" in England and freely transported barges along the London Canal already in 1801 and its steam power was 10 horsepower. The very strong wooden hull of the ship was 17 meters long, it was a rather unique phenomenon, but somehow it was not noticed and was not taken seriously, so the name of the creator, the Englishman William Symington, remained in the shadows. The steamship became unclaimed within a year; in 1802 it was put on its eternal berth and remained there until 1861, when it was taken away for parts.

But Robert Fulton did not suffer a similar fate. His steamer set out on its first voyage almost to the hooting of onlookers on the pier, everyone was expecting it to sink or stop, but the ship quickly moved away from the shore and, overtaking all the boats and sailing ships along the way, it kept speeding up. For that time, a speed of 5 knots for water transport was fantastic.

Standing on the deck of his steamship, Robert Fulton understood that a miracle was happening and steam, as a propulsion device for ships, would henceforth replace the sail and the fleet would become completely different.

How the oceans were conquered

The steamship arrived in the ocean spaces in 1819. It was the ship "Savannah" from America with paddle wheels, like all the very first ships. It was she who conquered the Atlantic, the ocean was crossed, although many miles of the journey were under sail. Then all ships were equipped with additional sails, this was an opportunity for maneuverability in an emergency and speed control.

Only in 1838 were they able to abandon sails completely and the English ship Sirius decided to sail across the Atlantic without sails. It, like all ships before it, had paddle wheels that were installed on the side or at the rear. In the same year (1838), the first version of a screw steamship appeared, the ship was called “Archimedes”, it was built by the English farmer Francis Smith. This was a revolution in world shipping, because the speed of movement increased significantly and the ship’s course itself became different, this was a completely new level of development of maritime transport, and it was screw steamships that completely replaced the sailing fleet.

Device principle

Subsequently, all ships were designed according to a similar principle. The propellers were installed on a single shaft with the steam engine. There were other steamships - with turbines, they are driven through a gearbox or the turbine is driven by an electric transmission, they are called turboships and also have their own history from low-speed turbines to high-speed ones.

On the eve of the 20th century, namely 1894, became another milestone in the history of shipping, Charles Parsons built a ship similar to the prototype “Turbinia”, driven by a steam turbine. It was the first high-speed ship; it accelerated to 60 kilometers per hour. Even steamships of the mid-20th century were inferior to turbo ships; the efficiency of steamships was 10% less.

About the beginning of the Russian Shipping Company

In Russia, Fulton's name is also associated with the development of shipping. In 1813, he decided to appeal to the Russian government with a request to grant him the privilege to build the steamship he created and use it on Russian rivers. Emperor Alexander I granted the designer a monopoly right to establish a steamship service between St. Petersburg and Kronstadt and on other Russian rivers for 15 years. But the inventor was unable to fulfill the contract within three years, as stipulated by the contract, and lost the privilege. Bird began to implement the contract in 1815.

Karl Byrd owned a mechanical foundry in St. Petersburg; the plant produced Wyatt's 4-horsepower steam engine. and a boiler, which were installed in a wooden boat and drove the side wheels. The first steamship was named in honor of the Empress “Elizabeth” and sailed from St. Petersburg to Kronstadt in 5 hours 20 minutes. The people waiting on the shore were very surprised at such speed, since this rowing journey took the whole day. It was hard to believe this, so they decided to test a rowing speedboat and a steamship in a competition. "Elizabeth" overtook the boat and it became clear to everyone that Russia had the prospect of building a new fleet.

Major milestones in the development of steamships in Russia

Further, the development of shipbuilding began to grow gradually, the era was marked by a new development of river communication routes, at first this affected the Volga region. In 1816, the steamship “Pozhva” began to ply on the Kama River between Pozhva and Yaroslavl; it was built at an iron foundry in the city of Pozhva, which belonged to V.A. Vsevolzhsky.

Byrd also continued to build steamships, in 1820 he launched the Volga steamship on the Mologa River, the ship then plied on the Volga until the middle of the century, it was modernized, the engines and hull were improved, and the ship served regularly on the great Russian river.

In 1823, the baton was picked up by the Dnieper, the steamship “Pchelka” was built on his estate by the governor of Novorossiya, Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, the ship overcame the Kherson rapids and regularly made voyages along the Kherson-Nikolaev route.

Then a quiet season begins in the shipping business in Russia. This happened because horse-drawn ships sailed on all rivers, barge haulers worked, and the traditional technology of moving cargo along the waterway won and destroyed the desire for something new. But the commercial interests of business increasingly required speeding up movement and increasing the transportation of cargo volumes, and this could only be done if steam-powered ships were included in cargo transportation. Merchants and industrialists were ready to create a river fleet, public opinion turned out to be a hindrance, people considered shipping a frivolous activity, including officials, on whom the movement along the path of creation depended.

The situation changed a quarter of a century later. By the mid-19th century, the shipbuilding industry began to grow at a rapid pace. Historical data indicate that by 1850, about one and a half hundred steamships were already sailing along Russian rivers. By this time, joint-stock companies and shipyards began to open on the Volga, on the Kama, in the North Dvina region, and in Siberia. This fact contributed to active industrial activity and the growth of cities along the Volga and Siberia, the development of the natural resources of these lands and an increase in population on the outskirts of Russia.

Thus, the appearance of the first steamship in America on the Hudson River can be considered a global event and a positive moment for a new round of development of world civilization.

Video: Modern steamships

These days, steamships are popular mainly among enthusiasts. Watch the video.