Incredible Speed: Turbinia | HISTORY

The steam turbine altered the course of history; jet engines and modern power plants would not have been possible if it weren't for the engines that originally powered Charles Parsons's steamship, Turbinia. Rocketing across the water at 34.5 knots, the Turbinia could outrun any merchant or naval vessel of the 1890's, but convincing the British Admiralty to adopt his steam turbine wasn't going to be easy, it would take a crazy publicity stunt of great proportions to garner the attention the Turbinia deserved.

#Turbinia #Steamship #SteamEngine

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Parsons Steam Turbine
3:14 Trying Again
5:17 "The Uninvited Guest"
7:31 The Impact of Turbinia
9:43 The little steamship in Newcastle upon Tyne

CREDIT:
footage of the coal-fired power plant is from ERA films:

REFERENCES:
Fleet Review at Spithead

About Turbinia

National Historic Ships: Turbinia

“The Only Way to Cross” by John Maxtone-Graham. Chapter 2 “Building the Mauretania” Turbinia story is featured on pages 18-20

Turbinia on Wikipedia:

MUSIC:
"Keys of Moon - Flowing Energy" is under a Creative Commons (CC-BY 3.0) license

"Keys of Moon - The Inspiration" is under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license.

"Hayden Folker - Lock And Load" is under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license.

"Scott Buckley - Bring Me The Sky" is under a Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0) license.

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DISCLAIMER: I am not a University-educated historian, Alex the Historian was a nickname I got while working at Disneyland as a tour guide. After 5 years of using it as a stage name for my channel, it would be detrimental to the channel to suddenly change the name.

[AlextheHistorian]

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.

[debbielough]

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).

[Schlipperschlopper]

Why not restoring Turbinia back to moving on her own power on the water? Would be great to see that little steamer fyling over the sea!

[glennjames]

I may be wrong, but who really invented the steam turbine?
As we all know from history, the person receiving the credit for the invention usually is never mentioned. The person named is the financier !

[jackuzi]

The SS United States operated in commercial transatlantic service until 1969. It is laid up in Philadelphia today awaiting restoration, and can be seen from (among other places) the restaurant of the IKEA store.

[jeffreyhutton]

That was well said Alex the only thing you missed how is the turbine put in reverse so ocean liners can back themselves out of it’s mooring pier?

[RailfanLoy]

Can you do a video of the history of Dollywood and the Dollywood express

[lillyanneserrelio]

It's amazing what man can dream up and build when he's not distracted by Netflix, apps and all the other hypnotic entertainment venues we've weaved into modern society in order to pacify the population

[ciala]

2:08 they launched it on my birthday (altho I wasn’t born until 2010) but still out of the other 364 days of the year it happened to be on the same day that I would be born on meny meny meny years later

[beakittelscherz]

Y'all need to watch "African Queen"...

[davidford]

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.

[duneydan]

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

[jackking]

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!

[williamnethercott]

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!

[BerkeleyTowers]

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 The huge pit in which they spun the turbines up to check for 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.

[ChrisCooper]

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.

[yesterdayschunda]

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.

[malcolmbrown]

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

[SMGJohn]

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

[PaulinesPastimes]

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. 👍😊