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Steam Cannon
A steam cannon is a cannon that launches a projectile using only heat and water, or using a ready supply of high-pressure steam from a boiler. The first steam cannon was designed by Archimedes during the Siege of Syracuse. Leonardo da Vinci was also known to have designed one (see the ''Architonnerre''). The early device would consist of a large metal tube, preferably copper due to its high thermal conductivity, which would be placed in a furnace. One end of the tube would be capped and the other loaded with a projectile. Once the tube reached a high enough temperature, a small amount of water would be injected in behind the projectile. In theory, da Vinci believed the water would rapidly expand into vapour, blasting the projectile out of the front of the barrel. Age of steam Various unsuccessful efforts were made during the age of steam to create working steam machine guns and cannons using methods and technology derived from steam locomotives. In 1826–29, a 17.5 mm bore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Architonnerre
The Architonnerre (Architronito) was a steam-powered cannon, a description of which is found in the papers of Leonardo da Vinci dating to the late 15th century, although he attributes its invention to Archimedes in the 3rd century BC. Leonardo's description was hidden amongst his papers until it was rediscovered by Étienne-Jean Delécluze of the French Institute in 1838 and published in the magazine '' L'Artiste'' in 1841, well after the modern high pressure steam engine had been independently invented. Description of operation The following is the most likely means of operation from the description given. A conventional muzzle-loading cannon would have a strong metal tube connecting the vented end, where the fuse would normally be placed, to a copper boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, inc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of America, Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by U.S. state, states that had Secession in the United States, seceded from the Union. The Origins of the American Civil War, central conflict leading to war was a dispute over whether Slavery in the United States, slavery should be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prohibited from doing so, which many believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction. Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War, Decades of controversy over slavery came to a head when Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery's expansion, won the 1860 presidential election. Seven Southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steam Roller
A steamroller (or steam roller) is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for leveling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine. The leveling/flattening action is achieved through a combination of the size and weight of the vehicle and the ''rolls'': the smooth wheels and the large cylinder or drum fitted in place of treaded road wheels. The majority of steam rollers are outwardly similar to traction engines as many traction engine manufacturers later produced rollers based on their existing designs, and the patents owned by certain roller manufacturers tended to influence the general arrangements used by others. The key difference between the two vehicles is that on a roller the main roll replaces the front wheels and axle that would be fitted to a traction engine, and the driving wheels are smooth-tired. The word ''steamroller'' frequently refers to road rollers in general, regardless of the method of propulsio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Naval Trawler
Naval trawlers are vessels built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes; they were widely used during the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. Some, known in the Royal Navy as "Admiralty trawlers", were purpose-built to naval specifications; others were adapted from civilian use. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust vessels designed to work heavy Trawling, trawls in all types of weather, and had large clear working decks. A minesweeper could be created by replacing the trawl with a mine sweep. Adding depth charge racks on the deck, Sonar#ASDIC, ASDIC sonar below, and a or gun in the bow equipped the trawler for anti-submarine duties. History Armed trawlers were also used to defend fishing groups from enemy aircraft or submarines. The smallest civilian trawlers were converted to danlayers. Contemporary Some nations still use armed trawlers for fisheries protection an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heinkel He 115
The Heinkel He 115 was an all-metal twin-engined military seaplane designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Heinkel. Early on its flying history, the He 115 established several new international records for floatplanes. The He 115 was developed during the latter half of the 1930s in response to a requirement issued by the German ''Reichsluftfahrtministerium'' (RLM). Heinkel opted to design a three-seat seaplane that could function as a torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft and minelayer. The initial model of the aircraft, the first prototype of which performed its maiden flight in August 1937, was powered by a pair of 960 PS (947 hp, 720 kW) BMW 132K nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engines. Subsequent models varied in several respects, such as being equipped with different engines or alternative armament arrangements, increased fuel capacity or payload, and some He 115s could even accommodate an additional crew member. The He 115 saw active com ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holman Brothers
Holman Brothers Ltd. was an English mining equipment manufacturer founded in 1801 based in Camborne. Holman was Camborne's, and indeed Cornwall's largest manufacturer of industrial equipment. Holman played a part in World War II making the Polish designed 20mm Polsten gun, similar to the Oerlikon but simpler to build and use. It also produced the Holman Projector for the Royal Navy. At its height Holmans was spread over three sites within Camborne, employing some three and half thousand people. Cornish mining is renowned worldwide. Alongside the mining industry there evolved an industry manufacturing specialised mining equipment. Holman's founder, Nicholas Holman started a boiler works in 1801. The company expanded to develop subsidiary companies in centres of mining all over the world and at one stage approximately 80% of products were exported. Rock drills In 1881, brothers John Henry and James Miners Holman, had taken over running the business from their father John. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steam Engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cylinder. This pushing force can be transformed by a connecting rod and Crank (mechanism), crank into rotational force for work. The term "steam engine" is most commonly applied to reciprocating engines as just described, although some authorities have also referred to the steam turbine and devices such as Hero's aeolipile as "steam engines". The essential feature of steam engines is that they are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separated from the combustion products. The ideal thermodynamic cycle used to analyze this process is called the Rankine cycle. In general usage, the term ''steam engine'' can refer to either complete steam plants (including Boiler (power generation), boilers etc.), such as railway steam locomot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Gun
An air gun or airgun is a gun that uses energy from compressed air or other gases that are mechanically pressurized and then released to propel and accelerate projectiles, similar to the principle of the primitive blowgun. This is in contrast to a firearm, which shoots projectiles using energy generated via exothermic combustion (detonation) of chemical propellants, most often black powder or smokeless powder. Air guns come in both long gun (air rifle) and handgun (air pistol) forms. Both types typically propel metallic projectiles that are either diabolo-shaped pellets or spherical shots called BBs, although in recent years Minié ball-shaped cylindro-conoidal projectiles called slugs are gaining more popularity. Certain types of air guns (usually air rifles) may also launch fin-stabilized projectile such as darts (e.g., tranquilizer guns) or hollow-shaft arrows (so-called "airbows"). The first air guns were developed as early as the 16th century, and have sin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CompAir
CompAir is an engineering and manufacturing company specialising in compressed air and gas systems. It is a division of NYSE-listed Ingersoll Rand. History CompAir was formed when Holman merged with BroomWade to produce "an organisation with the resources to compete effectively in world markets.... the name of the group was the International Compressed Air Corporation. Four years later the name was changed to CompAir." Timeline * Holman Bros Ltd formed in 1801 in Camborne, Cornwall *BroomWade in 1898 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK *In 1968 the two companies merged to form CompAir *In 1985 Compair was acquired by Siebe Gorman *In 1999 Siebe PLC and BTR plc merge to become Invensys *In 2002 acquired from Invensys by Alchemy Partners (Guernsey) Ltd. for £1. from Invensys. Alchemy invested £41.4 million to fund a complete restructuring of the loss-making CompAir business, in return for a 67% shareholding. *October 2008 Alchemy sold Compair to Gardner Denver for a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mills Bomb
"Mills bomb" is the popular name for a series of British hand grenades which were designed by William Mills. They were the first modern fragmentation grenades used by the British Army and saw widespread use in the First and Second World Wars. Development William Mills, a hand grenade designer from Sunderland, patented, developed and manufactured the "Mills bomb" at the Mills Munitions Factory in Birmingham, England, in 1915. The Mills bomb was inspired by an earlier design by Belgian captain Leon Roland, who later engaged in a patent lawsuit. Col. Arthur Morrow, a New Zealand Wars officer, also believed aspects of his patent were incorporated into the Mills Bomb. The Mills bomb was adopted by the British Army as its standard hand grenade in 1915 as the No. 5. The Mills bomb underwent numerous modifications. The No. 23 was a No. 5 with a rodded base plug which allowed it to be fired from a rifle. This concept evolved further with the No. 36, a variant with a detachable bas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Holman Projector
The Holman Projector was an anti-aircraft warfare, anti-aircraft weapon used by the Royal Navy during World War II, primarily between early 1940 and late 1941. The weapon was proposed and designed by Holman Bros Ltd, Holmans, a machine tool manufacturer based at Camborne, Cornwall. A number of models were produced during the war years, but all worked on the principle of a Pneumatic weapon, pneumatic mortar, using compressed air or high pressure steam to fire an explosive projectile at enemy aircraft. Intended primarily as a stop-gap defensive weapon for British merchant ships, which had been suffering heavy losses from Luftwaffe aircraft flying anti-shipping missions, the low altitude at which such strikes often took place (such as during Aerial torpedo, torpedo attacks by Heinkel He 111s or Skip bombing, skip-bombing attacks by Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor) meant that a weapon of such limited range and velocity could throw up an effective screen of fire over a vessel, even if only to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
