Turbinia

Turbinia stands in the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the first steamship powered by a steam turbine, built in 1894 by Sir Charles Algernon Parsons. The ship was constructed in a light steel design by the firm Brown and Hood at Wallsend on Tyne. Turbinia was launched on 2 August 1894 and soon became the fastest ship in the world. Its original powerplant is now housed in the Science Museum in London. The vessel is worth the journey because it set the standard for turbine-powered steamships. At the Spithead Navy Review in 1897, Turbinia raced unannounced between lines of navy ships, easily evading a pursuing picket boat. Photographer Alfred J. West captured images of Turbinia at full speed, which became defining pictures of the era. The Admiralty later ordered turbine-powered destroyers, and by 1905 all Royal Navy vessels were to be turbine-powered. Visitors find Turbinia displayed in the Discovery Museum, raised on a platform with viewing galleries on three levels. The ship’s three axial-flow turbines drove nine propellers, achieving speeds over 34 knots. The museum’s 1994 reconstruction restored the vessel to full length after earlier sections were separated. The gallery around Turbinia was the first part of a major redevelopment completed in 2000. The ship remains a focal point of the museum’s collection.