Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a

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company based on the

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Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

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History

Charles Algernon Parsons Sir Charles Algernon Parsons (13 June 1854 – 11 February 1931) was an Anglo-Irish mechanical engineer and inventor who designed the modern steam turbine in 1884. His invention revolutionised marine propulsion, and he was also the founder of C ...

founded the company in 1897 with £500,000 of capital. It specialised in building the

steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

engines that he had invented for marine use. The first vessel powered by a Parsons turbine was ''

Turbinia ''Turbinia'' is the first steam turbine-powered steamship. Built as an experimental vessel in 1894, and easily the fastest ship in the world at that time, ''Turbinia'' was demonstrated dramatically at the Fleet review (Commonwealth realms), Sp ...

'', launched in 1894. The successful demonstration of this vessel led to the creation of the company and the building of engines for the first two turbine-powered

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

s for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, and , launched in 1899. Although both these vessels came to grief, the new engines were not to blame, and the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

was convinced. Parsons' son became a director in the company and was replaced during the First World War by his daughter Rachel Parsons. Wirnik turbiny parowej ORP Wicher

Parsons turbines powered the Royal Navy's first turbine powered

battleship A battleship is a large, heavily naval armour, armored warship with a main battery consisting of large naval gun, guns, designed to serve as a capital ship. From their advent in the late 1880s, battleships were among the largest and most form ...

, , and the world's first turbine

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). The ...

s, and '' Virginian''. Parsons turbines powered the

Cunard The Cunard Line ( ) is a British shipping and an international cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its four ships have been r ...

express ocean liners and . All early marine turbines drove their propellers directly. Parsons developed helical

reduction gearing A gear train or gear set is a machine element of a mechanical system formed by mounting two or more gears on a frame such that the teeth of the gears engage. Gear teeth are designed to ensure the Pitch circle diameter (gears), pitch circles of e ...

for marine turbines, and in 1908 converted the

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

to turbine propulsion with reduction gearing. Four direct-drive Parsons turbines powered battleship . They were designed to produce a total of , but achieved only in ''Arizona''s

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

s, when she met her designed speed of . The Royal Navy,

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

and

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

used Parsons turbines on their destroyers. The s all used Parsons propulsion systems. In 1944, Parsons was one of 19 companies which formed the 'Parsons and Marine Engineering Turbine Research and Development Association', usually known as Pametrada. The destroyer , launched in 1964, had a Parsons propulsion system. The Cunard liner ''

Queen Elizabeth 2 ''Queen Elizabeth 2'' (''QE2'') is a retired British ocean liner. Built for the Cunard Line, the ship was operated as a transatlantic liner and cruise ship from 1969 to 2008. She was laid up until converted into a floating hotel, operating sin ...

'', launched in 1969, had Parsons turbines. The company was absorbed into

C. A. Parsons and Company C. A. Parsons and Company was a British engineering firm which was once one of the largest employers on Tyneside. The company became Reyrolle Parsons in 1968, merged with Clarke Chapman to form Northern Engineering Industries in 1977, and bec ...

and survives in

Heaton, Newcastle Heaton is a district and Suburb#In the United Kingdom and Ireland, suburb in the city of Newcastle upon Tyne, in Tyne and Wear, England, east of the city centre. It is bordered by the neighbouring areas of Walkergate to the east, Jesmond to the ...

as part of

Siemens Energy Siemens Energy AG is a German publicly-traded energy corporation formed through the spin-off of the former Gas and Power division of Siemens, and it includes full ownership of Siemens Gamesa. Christian Bruch is the CEO, and the former CEO of S ...

, a

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energy industrial conglomerate.

History

See also

References

Further reading