The first of a new mini-series on maritime innovations, we look at the history of the propeller. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Joanna Mathers, Head of Collections at the SS Great Britain Trust in Bristol. This episode was inspired by the discovery of an unusual design for a propeller in the collections of the Lloyds Register Foundation: the 'De Bay Propellor' invented in 1876. Of a very unusual design which involved two interlocking propellers, the De Bay propellor was just one of numerous attempts to improve the propeller in the nineteenth century. To make sense of this we have created an animation of the propeller which can be seen on our YouTube Channel and also a short animation on the general history of propellers. In this podcast episode we find out all about the transition from sail to steam, from paddle wheels to propellers, and all of the problems face by maritime engineers and the solutions that they proposed. A particular focus is paid to the ss Great Britain, the iron-hilled, steam-driven passenger liner designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 1840s, because of its important position in the history of marine propulsion.

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