Fig. 13 F.P. Smith's Screw Propeller.
Traced from his Specification, A.D. 1836, May 31. No. 7104.
This was done simultaneously by Smith in England, and by Ericsson in the United States.
Both were men of great ability. Each considered himself to be inventor of the screw propeller. Each took out patents in England, in 1836, and in the United States, two or three years afterwards. Each patent differed radically from the other; neither patent, for the general application of the screw propeller, was sustained, either here or abroad; and neither Smith nor Ericsson patented additional improvements on the screw propeller.
Each built small screw vessels, in England, that were successfully tried in 1837; Smith's being of six tons burthen, with a wooden screw, driven by a six horse-power engine, and Ericsson's, named the "Francis B. Ogden," having about double the tonnage and power.
Each built larger screw vessels that were successfully tried in England in 1839. Smith's vessel, the "Archimedes," being upwards of 200 tons burthen, and driven by engines designed by Rennie, of 90 horse-power, circumnavigated the island of Great Britain in May, 1840. Ericsson's vessel, the "Robert F. Stockton," smaller, and with less power, was tried in England under steam, and then, in April, 1839, crossed the Atlantic under sail.
Each introduced the screw propeller on merchant vessels in 1840.
Each introduced the screw propeller on war vessels in 1843. Ericsson, on the "Princeton," and Smith, on the "Rattler."
Both were materially assisted in the introduction of the screw propeller into use, by the improvements of those who built screw propeller vessels independently of the patents of either.
The plan of Ericsson's screw propeller on the "Robert F. Stockton" was in exact accordance with his patent. Smith's plan on the "Archimedes ' varied essentially from his patent.
Both finally modified their screw propellers, as patented, into the short screw propellers now in common use.
By the annexed drawing, traced from that of Smith's patent, his screw is shown with one long blade modeled after the screw of "Archimedes," a screw for lifting water, that differs radically in its action from the screw propeller. The length of the blade, measured longitudinally on the hub, is shown on his drawing to be sixteen times greater, in proportion to the diameter of the screw, than that of the "Rattler," in 1843.
This long single-bladed screw is shown placed far under the Vessel's stern, while on the "Rattler," in 1843, it is shown placed in
Smith had great business ability, judgment and perseverance. Assisted by his friends, he organized the Ship Propeller Company; chartered by Parliament, in 1839, and, backed throughout by this company and by the English Admiralty, he introduced the screw propeller in England.
The writer examined the machinery of the "Robert F. Stockton," a few days after her arrival in the Hudson River, in May, 1839; and, a few days after that, he examined the two propellers, one being right-handed, and the other left-handed, on the wharf at Bordentown, New Jersey.
Both machinery and screw corresponded with the annexed drawing of the patent taken out three years previously. When tried on the Delaware River, the vessel was found unmanageable
under steam, and the position of her rudder was changed to that shown in Cummerow's patent, and the second screw was discarded. Thus altered, with her name changed by Commodore Stockton to the "New Jersey," she remained in service for 30 years. The defects of Ericsson's plan were, the unnecessary complication of the two screws, the one placed behind the other, and having its shaft running through the shaft of the other,-the small size of his rudder, and its position ahead of the screw, and in that position much too close to it;-lastly, the form of his propeller, with its blades attached to a cylinder, which, though fairly effective, is inferior to the ordinary screw now in use.
Bourne, in his "Treatise on the Screw Propeller," published in England in 1852, says: "Probably the exertions of either [Smith or Ericsson] would have sufficed to introduce the screw into practical operation."
The writer ventures the opinion, that the screw propeller would have certainly been introduced into practical operation in both, England and this country, in the decade between 1836 and 1846, independently of the exertions of either Ericsson or Smith, for the following reasons : Prior to 1836, when their patents were taken out, the subject of crossing the Atlantic by steam had been widely discussed on both sides of the ocean, and steps had been taken for regular communication across the ocean by the paddle.
This was effected in 1838 by the "Great Western"; but the defects of the paddle for ocean navigation were, then, as now, generally admitted. The accounts of the different screw propellers, that had been tried at different times, previous to 1836 had been widely published, both here and abroad; and the substitution of the screw for the paddle wheel, had been many times proposed. In the seven years previous to the patents of Ericsson and Smith in 1836, eleven patents for the screw propeller were taken out by the United States; the plans of three of which-viz., the patent of B M. Smith, in 1829, for twin screws; that to Josiah Copely, in 1830, for a close approximation to the short screw propeller now in use , and that to J. B. Emerson, for a single wheel, on Ericsson's plan, in 1834 ; were superior to the wheels, as they were patented in 1836, of either Smith or Ericsson.
The patent records of the United States show, that up to the present time, more than two hundred patents have been taken out for various forms of screw propellers, which embody the general principle of the rotation of blades, having their surfaces placed obliquely to the axis of the shaft that turns them: this shaft being placed parallel or nearly so, to the keel. These forms, are varied in almost every conceivable manner; many whimsical, and even grotesque: and, yet, any one of them will propel a vessel. In the year 1840, the United States was well prepared for the introduction of the screw propeller; having then, an abundance of machine shops, good tools, and excellent machinists; and the first trial of a screw propeller, of almost any form, driven by a steam engine, and placed on a vessel fit for commercial purposes, must then have led to the introduction of screw propulsion.
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