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diogenesNY
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I have been reading the book _Able Seamen: The Lower Decks of the Royal Navy 1850-1939_ by Brian Lavery, Naval Institute Press 2011, and I came across an interesting paragraph regarding engine efficiency (and labor requirements) as steam began to replace sail. I reproduce the relevant paragraph for the enjoyment of those who enjoy their history of engineering leavened with a sprinkling of numbers.
This is the first paragraph on page 154 of the book.
"The introduction of the turbine engine with Dreadnought of 1906 did nothing to relive pressure on the stoker. There was a steady increase in fuel efficiency and Dreadnought herself needed only 1.52 pounds of coal to maintain one unit of horsepower for an hour, whereas Royal Sovereign of 1892 had needed 2 pounds. But this was swallowed up in the far greater horsepower needed. Royal Sovereign had 9660 horsepower and would need 19,320 pounds of coal to maintain full speed for an hour. Dreadnought had 27,720 horsepower and would need 37,544 pounds, all of which had to be shifted by the stokers. It was calculated that the whole fleet had 2,687,000 horsepower in 1905, rising to 5,665,000 by 1913, and it was projected to reach 8,328,000 by the following year.(12) The King Edward class, one of the groups of predreadnought battleships, needed 273 able and ordinary seamen compared with 120 stokers. In the battlecruisers of the Invincible class of 1907 the proportions were reversed - 163 seamen and 224 stokers."(13)
The individual footnotes read as follows:
(12) National Archives, Adm 116/3151
(13) National Archives, Adm 116/1014
Hope someone finds this fun/interesting.
diogenesNY
This is the first paragraph on page 154 of the book.
"The introduction of the turbine engine with Dreadnought of 1906 did nothing to relive pressure on the stoker. There was a steady increase in fuel efficiency and Dreadnought herself needed only 1.52 pounds of coal to maintain one unit of horsepower for an hour, whereas Royal Sovereign of 1892 had needed 2 pounds. But this was swallowed up in the far greater horsepower needed. Royal Sovereign had 9660 horsepower and would need 19,320 pounds of coal to maintain full speed for an hour. Dreadnought had 27,720 horsepower and would need 37,544 pounds, all of which had to be shifted by the stokers. It was calculated that the whole fleet had 2,687,000 horsepower in 1905, rising to 5,665,000 by 1913, and it was projected to reach 8,328,000 by the following year.(12) The King Edward class, one of the groups of predreadnought battleships, needed 273 able and ordinary seamen compared with 120 stokers. In the battlecruisers of the Invincible class of 1907 the proportions were reversed - 163 seamen and 224 stokers."(13)
The individual footnotes read as follows:
(12) National Archives, Adm 116/3151
(13) National Archives, Adm 116/1014
Hope someone finds this fun/interesting.
diogenesNY