Parsons Marine Steam Turbines: From Destroyers to Dreadnoughts 1898-1918 at Segedunum

Geoff Horseman, Chief Turbine Engineer at Siemens and the keeper of the historic archive at the CA Parsons Works in Newcastle, will deliver this double talk, which coincides with the exhibition Coal, Ships and Zeppelins: North Tyneside in the First World War.

K Class Submarines: the Suicide Club
In 1913, it was decided to build submarines which were fast enough to keep pace with surface ships. These were powered by steam turbines to produce sufficient power and they were as large as modern nuclear submarines. The engines were a success but the submarines were an ill-conceived design in other regards. In this short talk, Geoff will describe the series of accidents and mishaps which led to these submarines becoming known as the ‘Kalamity Class’ and the ‘Suicide Club’.

Parsons Marine Steam Turbines: From Destroyers to Dreadnoughts 1898 - 1918
This talk will look at the evolution of the Parsons steam turbine for naval duty up to 1918. After the success of Turbinia, steam turbines were quickly adopted as the main engines for the fastest and most powerful ships in the navies of all major industrialised countries. This talk will describe how Parsons turbines evolved from rudimentary direct drive engines of 2,000hp to multi-cylinder geared turbines producing up to 100,000hp capable of propelling the largest battleships of WW1.
11am-12.30pm. £4 per person; free for students with valid ID.
Please reserve a ticket by contacting Marleen Vincenten (0191) 277 2166 marleen.vincenten@twmuseums.org.uk or you can Book Online.