Trireme
A trireme was a warship propelled by banks of oars arranged on three levels. Its narrow hull, coordinated rowing and projecting ram were designed...
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Maritime & Aviation · 25 entries
A trireme was a warship propelled by banks of oars arranged on three levels. Its narrow hull, coordinated rowing and projecting ram were designed...
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The caravel was a relatively small sailing ship associated with Portuguese and other Atlantic voyages. Its rig and hull balanced manoeuvrability...
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A carrack was a large ocean-going sailing ship with a high-sided hull and multiple masts. Its carrying capacity supported expanding trade, explor...
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Clippers combined long, narrow hulls with extensive sail area to emphasize speed. They became associated with competitive trade routes carrying c...
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Brunel's SS Great Britain combined an iron hull with screw propulsion for ocean service. The preserved ship in Bristol offers a major surviving e...
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Great Eastern was an exceptionally large iron steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Equipped with paddle wheels and a screw propeller, i...
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Turbinia demonstrated Charles Parsons's steam-turbine propulsion at high speed. Its experimental machinery helped show how turbines could replace...
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A paddle steamer turns large paddle wheels to push against the water. Side-wheel and stern-wheel arrangements were used on rivers, lakes and coas...
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A marine steam engine converts steam pressure into the motion that drives a ship's paddles or propeller. Compact arrangements, multiple expansion...
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A screw propeller produces thrust as its rotating blades accelerate water. Blade shape, diameter and pitch link the engine's rotation to the move...
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A diving bell carries a trapped air space below the surface of the water. Suspended and supplied from above, it provided an early means of extend...
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A submarine controls buoyancy and propulsion to operate below the water surface. Ballast tanks, pressure-resistant structures and underwater powe...
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Britain's Holland-class boats were an early Royal Navy submarine class based on John Philip Holland's designs. Separate surface and submerged pow...
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Cornelis Drebbel demonstrated an early submersible on the River Thames. Accounts describe an enclosed, oar-powered craft; modern reconstructions...
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A hot-air balloon rises because heated air inside its envelope is less dense than the surrounding air. Early flights by the Montgolfier brothers...
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The Wright Flyer combined a lightweight engine, propellers and a system for controlling an aircraft in three axes. Its flights at Kitty Hawk demo...
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The Blériot XI was a light monoplane with a tractor propeller and wire-braced structure. Louis Blériot used one to cross the English Channel in 1...
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The Sopwith Camel was a single-seat British fighter of the First World War. A rotary engine, compact structure and concentrated mass gave it dist...
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The DC-3 was a twin-engine transport that helped make passenger airline service commercially practical. Its robust airframe also supported extens...
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The Spitfire was a British fighter developed around a streamlined airframe and distinctive elliptical wing. Successive versions adapted engines,...
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The Me 262 was an early operational jet fighter powered by two turbojet engines. Its speed demonstrated the potential of jet propulsion, while pr...
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The Comet brought jet propulsion to scheduled passenger airline service. Early structural failures prompted major investigations into pressurized...
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The Boeing 747 introduced a large wide-body airliner with a distinctive raised forward deck. Its scale and four-engine layout expanded capacity o...
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The R-4 was an early helicopter produced in quantity for military service. Its single main rotor and tail rotor helped establish a practical arra...
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An autogyro uses an unpowered rotor that turns in the airflow to generate lift. A separate propeller provides forward thrust, distinguishing its...
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