The Steamboating Forum

I would say it was getting close!

I don't know who took this picture, I just found it on the old forum while searching for something.

Maltelec

That was taken from one of the Scottish boat, possibly Talisker, and is a Frolic in heavy weather on Loch Katrine, some time last year.

I do believe that the USA saw the development of a real steam powered submarine, one of which was recovered from the sea bed not too long ago. I am sure our american friends will provide the details.

Regards


Pete

I'm not sure about any United States steam powered genuine submarines prior to nuclear submarines . There were the Davids http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSS_David of the Civil War which had a very low freeboard , but they could not submerge - at least not deliberately in any way so that they could resurface .

In the late 1870s the Revd George Garret designed and had built Resurgam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resurgam which does seem to have been a workable and almost practical vessel .

As far as I know the next serious attempt to build steam submarines was the disastrous British K Class of the 1st World War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_K_class_submarine .

It wasn't till USS Nautilus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Nautilus_(SSN-571) was launched in 1954 that steam powered submarines became a reality though sadly vessels of this type are beyond the resources of most amateur steam boaters and most governments take a rather dim view of attempts to self build .

Regards Edward

PS The original photograph is of Larkrise ; later on during that voyage the fire was extinguished , the first step neccessary for Resurgam's preparations to dive although in this case it was involuntary and caused by the weather .

Oh dear,
thought I would not see that photo again!
Treena bless her "found religion" that day, but the
little Frolic just kept going until as Edward mentioned
we took on a lot of water and the pumps eventually
could not cope and out went the fire!!.
luckily not far from our destination so we limped in
with what we had on the gauge.
Heres another photo same day, poor Treena's forward
by did she laugh...NO she prayed/wanted to abandon/swore
like a trooper and still has'nt forgiven me...hayho.


Paul

The Germans built Steam Powered Submarines during WWII. Fuel was Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2), which decomposes into water, oxygen, plus heat energy. 2H2O2 > 2H2O + O2 + Heat. A silver grid is used to provide a catalyst for this reaction. Depending on the concentration of Hydrogen Peroxide, one can generate steam at over 1000 PSI, which allows good performance of the submarine. I am told the O2 that comes from the reaction was used to supply breathing oxygen for the crew.

A some technical problems with this "fuel", a pound of Hydrogen peroxide only provides about a half pound of steam, whereas ordinary combustion of fuel oil can provide 15 pounds of steam, so fuel storage requirements were large compared to a diesel powered vessel. Also the Hydrogen peroxide is much more expensive than fuel oil, and has several safety issues.

Pete The first US sub to sink a boat was the H.L.Hunley .It was recovered in approx 2000.But it was man-powered not steam. The "Monitor" was steam powered but not actually a sub. She was an ironclad with a turret and virtually no freeboard [the thought being I guess,sitting that low in the water provided little to shoot at! Den

Well done folks! It's a good job you are all out there to fill the details for those of us with hazy memories.

Regards


Pete

Fredrosse,

That system used by the Germans in WWII was called the Walther turbine. The catylitic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide to produced superheated steam and then fuel oil was injected into a cumbustion chamber along with water to produce even more steam!! The exhaust gases were dumped overboard after being seperated out of the steam.

It produced tremendous power allowing a submerged U-boat to do 25 knots!! Normal speed was 8 knts. This would have allowed a U-boat to speed in attack and speed away undected. However, hydrogen peroxide in the concentrations needed (80 + %, stuff we use at home is 3 %) is very volitle (a torpedo powered this way is what sunk the Russan sub Kirsk, as the engine leaked and set fire to the torpedo room, causing the torpedoes to expolode)

Both the US and British experimented with Walther turbine powered subs after the war, with many problems and finnally abandoned them (the US developed Nuclear steam plants that outperformed everything).

Boatbum is right when he comments on the dangers inherent in the Hydrogen-Peroxide fuel used for the Walter Turbine . After the war the British salvaged U-1407 and recommissioned her with replacement but original German machinery as HMS Meteorite . Trials showed the potential of a very high (for the time) top speed and orders were placed for two submarines . After protracted design and building these were launched in 1954 as HMS Explorer and HMS Excalibur .
They proved to be very fast and very dangerous . Unfortunately the danger was mainly for their crews rather than any potential enemy ; there were so many mishaps , some serious , that they became known respectively as HMS Exploder and HMS Excruciator and the engine rooms were unmanned during normal operation !
They were scrapped in 1962 .

Regards Edward .


My favourie story about the disastrous K Class is of an on-board telephone conversation between the Captain and his First Lieutenant : " I say number one , my end's diving , what's yours' doing ? "

Didn't some Cold War-era Russian subs have oil-fired auxiliary steam plants?