Spam in History: Turbina at Queen Victoria’s 60th Jubilee Naval Review
Taking a break from Clancy’s Debt of Honor to pick up a brick (more like a cinderblock) that’s mentioned in it, Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie.
And before even getting to the numbered pages, we find an interesting episode. During the huge naval review to celebrate Queen Victoria’s 60th Jubilee (here’s the breathless contemporary NY Times account) Portsmouth harbor was filled with the cream of the global nautical crop. The queen herself, though, was not up to attending due to exhaustion from the big parade a few days before.
During the stately proceeedings a small boat promoting a more modern mode of propulsion made an unexpected and unauthorized appearance.
The Turbina (aka Turbinia) zoomed onto the scene, disrupting the proceedings, before dignitaries from all over the world — and probably to the delight of the 46 train-loads of spectators from London. Its inventor, Sir Charles Parsons, was looking to make a splash in the presence of much of the British fleet and government, and representative ships from the world’s best navies. This page has more information and here’s the photo of the nautical spam in progress:
Spammed: Turbina disrupts the Queen's 60th Jubilee Naval Review. Queen Victoria was not present, but it's safe to say she would not have been amused.
And make a splash Parsons did. Massie describes:
While the Prince was inspecting the fleet, the lanes between the warships were kept clear of pleasure and spectator boats by naval tugs and patrol boats. But once [royal yacht] Victoria and Albert had passed, an impudent maverick craft made a sudden appearance and began to race up and down the lines, weaving and darting between ships with astonishing speed and maneuverability. Patrol boats, attempting to overtake and intercept the intruder, failed. This strange craft, painted gray, shaped like a torpedo one hundred feet long and nine feet in beam, was Turbina, the world’s fastest vessel, capable of 34 knots. Her performance was intended to persuade the navy to give up the heavy reciprocating steam engines which powered its warships and change to the steam turbine which sent Turbina knifing across the water. The boat’s designer, Sir Charles Parsons, was on board, standing just aft of the tall amidships funnel, which belched a flame at least as tall as the funnel itself. Racing among the towering men-of-war, defying authority, Turbina dramatically upset protocol. “Perhaps her lawlessness may be excused by the novelty and importance of the invention she embodies,” grumbled The Times.
Queen Victoria, Turbina, history | bshears March 14, 2010
