A bridge (also known as a command deck), or wheelhouse (also known as a pilothouse), is a room or platform of a

ship A ship is a large watercraft, vessel that travels the world's oceans and other Waterway, navigable waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research and fishing. Ships are generally disti ...

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

, or spaceship from which the ship can be commanded. When a ship is under way, the bridge is manned by an

officer of the watch Watchkeeping or watchstanding is the assignment of sailors to specific roles on a ship to operate it continuously. These assignments, also known at sea as ''watches'', are constantly active as they are considered essential to the safe operation ...

aided usually by an

able seaman An able seaman (AB) is a seaman and member of the deck department of a merchant ship with more than two years' experience at sea and considered "well acquainted with his duty". An AB may work as a watchstander, a day worker, or a combination ...

acting as a lookout. During critical maneuvers the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

will be on the bridge, often supported by an officer of the watch, an able seaman on the wheel and sometimes a

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

, if required. File:Bridge of Cargo Ship in Port Everglades.jpg, Navigational bridge of a cargo ship docked in

Port Everglades, Florida Port Everglades is a seaport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, located in Broward County. Port Everglades is one of South Florida's foremost economic engines, as it is the gateway for both international trade and cruise vacations. In 2022, Port Ev ...

File:Bridge of the RV Sikuliaq.jpg, The interior of the bridge of the Research Vessel '' Sikuliaq'', docked in

Ketchikan, Alaska Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District. With a p ...

File:Wheelhouse of Leao Dos Mares.jpg, Wheelhouse on a

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

, topped with a flying bridge File:Bridge of a Modern Cruise Ship.jpg, Appearance of a bridge on a cruise ship

History and etymology

There are many terms for parts of a ship with functions similar to a bridge. Depending upon the design and layout of a ship, some of these terms may be interchangeable. Traditionally,

sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...

s were commanded from the

quarterdeck The quarterdeck is a raised deck behind the main mast of a sailing ship. Traditionally it was where the captain commanded his vessel and where the ship's colours were kept. This led to its use as the main ceremonial and reception area on bo ...

, aft of the

mainmast The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the median line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sails, spars, and derricks, giving necessary height to a navigation light ...

, where the

ship's wheel A ship's wheel or boat's wheel is a device used aboard a ship, boat, submarine, or airship, with which a helmsman steering, steers the vessel and controls its course (navigation), course. Together with the rest of the steering mechanism, it forms ...

was located (as it was close to the

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

). A ''wheelhouse'' was a small enclosure around the

on the quarterdeck of

s. On modern ships the ''wheelhouse'' or ''pilothouse'' refers to the bridge of smaller motor vessels, such as tugs. With the arrival of

paddle steamer A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

s, engineers required a platform from which they could inspect the paddle wheels and where the

's view would not be obstructed by the paddle houses. A raised walkway, literally a bridge, connecting the paddle houses was therefore provided. When the

screw propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

superseded the paddle wheel, the term ''bridge'' survived. Traditionally, commands would be passed from the senior officer on the bridge to stations dispersed throughout the ship, where physical control of the ship was exercised, as technology did not exist for the remote control of steering or machinery. Helm orders would be passed to an enclosed wheel house, where the

coxswain The coxswain ( or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the wiktionary:cockboat, cockboat, a ...

helmsman A helmsman or helm (sometimes driver or steersman) is a person who steering, steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, other type of maritime vessel, airship, or spacecraft. The rank and seniority of the helmsman may vary: on small vessels such as fis ...

operated the

. Engine commands would be relayed to the engine officer in the

engine room On a ship, the engine room (ER) is the Compartment (ship), compartment where the machinery for marine propulsion is located. The engine room is generally the largest physical compartment of the machinery space. It houses the vessel's prime move ...

by an engine order telegraph that displayed the captain's orders on a dial. The engine officer would ensure that the correct combination of steam pressure and engine revolutions were applied. Weatherproof pilot houses supplanted open bridges so that the

, who was traditionally the ship's navigating officer, could issue commands from shelter.

Iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

, and later

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

, ships also required a ''compass platform''. This was usually a tower, where a

magnetic compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with m ...

could be sited far away as possible from the

ferrous In chemistry, iron(II) refers to the chemical element, element iron in its +2 oxidation number, oxidation state. The adjective ''ferrous'' or the prefix ''ferro-'' is often used to specify such compounds, as in ''ferrous chloride'' for iron(II ...

interference of the hulk of the ship. Many ships still have a ''flying bridge'', a platform atop the pilot house, open to weather, containing a binnacle and voice tubes to allow the conning officer to direct the ship from a higher position during fair weather conditions. Larger

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

s may have a ''navigation bridge'', which is used for the actual conning of the ship, and a separate ''admiral's bridge'' can be provided in

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

s, where the admiral can exercise control over the squadron of ships without interfering with the captain's command of the vessel. In older warships, a heavily armored

conning tower A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armoured, from which an officer in charge can conn (nautical), conn (conduct or control) the vessel, controlling movements of the ship by giving orders to those responsible for t ...

was often provided, where the vital command staff could be located under protection to ensure that the ship could be commanded under fire. On a submarine, the bridge is the highest point on the

, to provide for better visual navigation when on the surface. They became standard on

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

submarines after 1917, greatly improving the function of the vessels while at the surface.

Configuration

upThe RMS ''Queen Mary 2'', showing bridge with enclosed bridge wings that permit a view along both sides of the vessel Modern advances in remote control equipment have seen progressive transfer of the actual control of the ship to the bridge. The wheel and

throttle A throttle is a mechanism by which fluid flow is managed by construction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases (by the use of a throttle), but usually decreased. The term ''throttle'' ha ...

s can be operated directly from the bridge, controlling often-unmanned machinery spaces. Aboard modern warships, navigational command comes from the bridge, whereas electronically directed weapon systems are usually controlled from an interior compartment. On a commercial vessel, the bridge will contain the

equipment Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by ...

necessary to safely navigate a vessel on passage. Such equipment will vary with ship type, but generally includes a

GPS navigation device A satellite navigation (satnav) device or GPS device is a device that uses satellites of the Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). A satnav device can determine the user's geographic coordinat ...

, a Navtex receiver, an ECDIS or chart system, one or more

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

s, a communications system (including distress calling equipment), engine (

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

) controls, a wheel/autopilot system, a magnetic compass (for redundancy and cross check capability) and light/sound signalling devices.

Navigation station

Navigation station on a ship The navigation station of a ship may be located on the bridge or in a separate chart room, nearby. It includes a table sized for

nautical chart A nautical chart or hydrographic chart is a graphic representation of a sea region or water body and adjacent coasts or river bank, banks. Depending on the scale (map), scale of the chart, it may show depths of water (bathymetry) and heights of ...

s where calculations of course and

location In geography, location or place is used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ambiguous bou ...

are made. The navigator plots the course to be followed by the ship on these charts. Besides the

desk A desk or bureau is a piece of furniture with a flat table (furniture), table-style work surface used in a school, office, home or the like for academic, professional or domestic activities such as reading (activity), reading, writing, or using ...

and the navigation charts, the area contains navigational instruments that may include

electronic equipment Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

for a

Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide ge ...

receiver and chart display, fathometer, a

compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with No ...

, a

marine chronometer A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and the time at t ...

two-way radio A two-way radio is a radio transceiver (a radio that can both transmit and receive radio waves), which is used for bidirectional person-to-person voice communication with other users with similar radios, in contrast to a broadcast receiver, whi ...

s, and

radiotelephone A radiotelephone (or radiophone), abbreviated RT, is a radio communication system for conducting a conversation; radiotelephony means telephony by radio. It is in contrast to ''radiotelegraphy'', which is radio transmission of telegrams (messag ...

, etc.

Flying bridge

A flying bridge, also known as "monkey island", is an open area on top of a surface ship that provides unobstructed views of the fore, aft, and the sides of a vessel. It serves as an operating station for the ship's officers, such as the captain or

. Prior to World War II, virtually every

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

, or large pleasure ship had a flying bridge above the main bridge. Flying bridges were generally not enclosed at all (although sometimes they were partially enclosed), and often had little equipment—usually just a speaking tube or telephone to allow communication with the helmsman or wheelman on the main bridge. On military warships after 1914, the flying bridge was usually the station for the air defense officer and the gunnery officer. The amount of equipment on a flying bridge varies widely with the need of the captain. During World War II, for example, American submarine chaser surface ships had a well-outfitted flying bridge which usually contained a pelorus, signal lamps,

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

, and voice tube to permit the captain to command the ship. U.S. Navy attack transport ships could be outfitted with either 20mm or 40mm automatic cannons on their flying bridges. Flying bridges were almost always the highest bridge on the ship. They were usually above the flag bridge. Since the 1980s, large pleasure craft may have a flying bridge toward the stern that is used as additional outdoor seating space and a place to store a tender. On the smallest surface vessels, such as a sport fishing boat, the flying bridge may have controls permitting the ship to be piloted from the flying bridge, but will lack the full range of controls of the pilot house. On larger small vessels, the flying bridge may actually be enclosed, in which case it is more properly called an "upper pilot house" or "upper bridge".

Flag bridge

Warships that were also flagships (had a

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

onboard) sometimes contained a flag bridge. Also known as the "admiral's bridge", these were a bridge below the main bridge on a command warship where a high-ranking officer such as an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

could conduct fleet operations, plan strategy, and conduct large battles.

Bridge wing

Some flying bridges have "bridge wings", open areas which thrust outward from the flying bridge over the sides of the vessel by approximately to allow an officer to see the side of their ship while docking or working with smaller vessels. A bridge wing is a narrow walkway extending from both sides of a pilothouse to the full width of a ship or slightly beyond, to allow bridge personnel a full view to aid in the maneuvering of the ship. Officers use bridge wings when

dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

ing or maneuvering in locks and narrow

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

s. Each bridge wing may be equipped with a console controlling the

bow thruster Manoeuvering thrusters (bow thrusters and stern thrusters) are transversal propulsion devices built into or mounted to either the Bow (watercraft), bow or stern (front or back, respectively) of a ship or boat to make it more manoeuvrable. Bow th ...

, stern thruster, rudder and engines.

References

External links

Video clips of (nautical) bridges aboard various ships
{{Authority control Marine propulsion Ship compartments