John Isaac Thornycroft facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir John Isaac Thornycroft
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Photographic portrait from Cassier's Magazine, 1896
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| Born | 1 February 1843 Via Sistina, Rome, Papal States
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| Died | 28 June 1928 (aged 85) Bembridge, Isle of Wight, England
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| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Spouse(s) | Blanche Coules |
| Parent(s) | Mary Francis and Thomas Thornycroft |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Civil, Mechanical, Naval architect |
| Institutions | Institution of Naval Architects (Honorary Vice-President), Royal Society (Fellow, 1893), Institution of Civil Engineers (Council Member 1899–1907), Institution of Mechanical Engineers (Honorary Life Member), University of Glasgow (LL.D., 1901). |
| Projects | High speed vessels, steam- and combustion-engine vehicles. |
| Significant design | Hull designs, boiler designs |
Sir John Isaac Thornycroft (1843–1928) was a brilliant English engineer and shipbuilder. He founded the famous Thornycroft shipbuilding company. John Thornycroft was known for building very fast ships and later, powerful lorries (trucks). He helped change how ships were designed and built, making them quicker and more efficient.
Early Life and First Inventions
John Thornycroft was born in 1843. He loved engineering from a young age. He studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic and the Royal School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. While still a student, he began building his first steam-powered boat, called Nautilus, right in his father's study!
Nautilus was special because it was very fast for its time. In 1862, it became the first steam boat quick enough to keep up with the famous University Boat Race. This success made his father buy some land by the River Thames in 1864. This land became the start of John Thornycroft's amazing shipbuilding journey.
In 1866, John Thornycroft fully took over the shipyard. This is when John I. Thornycroft & Company officially began. He also studied engineering at the University of Glasgow, learning from famous scientists like Lord Kelvin.
In 1870, John Thornycroft married Blanche Ada Coules. They had seven children. Three of them, John Edward Thornycroft, Blanche Thornycroft, and Isaac Thomas, later joined the family business.
After his studies, Thornycroft built another fast steam yacht called Miranda in 1871. This boat proved that small ships could reach speeds no one thought possible back then.
Building Faster Ships
The success of Miranda brought many new orders for similar fast boats. One of these was Gitana, built in 1876, which could travel at an amazing 20.8 knots (about 38.5 km/h).
Besides yachts, Thornycroft found a very important business in building torpedo boats. These were small, fast warships designed to carry torpedoes. His first torpedo boat was for Norway in 1873. These early boats used thin steel plates to be light and quick.
When new, self-propelled torpedoes came out in 1876, torpedo boats became even more important. Thornycroft designed HMS Lightning for the Royal Navy. Orders for his torpedo boats quickly grew. Many people called him "the founder of the torpedo-boat industry" because of his huge influence.
To make ships even faster, Thornycroft worked on improving boiler systems. Older boilers were heavy and limited speed. In 1885, he perfected his own Water-tube boiler design. This new boiler was much lighter and more efficient. It became one of his most important inventions, leading to many patents.
With these new boilers, the Spanish ship Ariete reached 26.2 knots (about 48.5 km/h) in 1887. In 1894, the Royal Navy received HMS Speedy, their first ship with Thornycroft's water-tube boilers.
John Thornycroft also tried to solve the problem of ships rolling too much in rough seas. He experimented with a special movable water tank on a yacht, but this idea was not used further.
In 1894, Thornycroft and his team also helped understand cavitation. This is a problem where propellers lose power at high speeds. They found that changing the shape of the propeller blades made them much more effective, allowing ships to go faster with the same engine power.
From Ships to Lorries
In 1896, John Thornycroft started a new business venture. He built a steam-powered lorry (truck) for his local town. This led to the creation of the Thornycroft Steam Carriage and Wagon Company.
His lorries became very successful. In 1901, he won a competition for heavy lorries for military use. In 1898, the company opened a new factory for lorries in Basingstoke. This factory quickly became the biggest employer in the town. Later, the company also started building vehicles with combustion engines. Production continued there until 1969.
John Thornycroft never stopped trying to make vessels faster. He experimented with different hull shapes for motor boats. He eventually found that a "stepped hull" design could almost lift the boat out of the water, allowing for incredible speeds.
In 1910, his company built a 25-foot (7.6-meter) boat called Miranda IV. This boat, powered by a 120-horsepower engine, could reach 35 knots (about 65 km/h)!
During World War I, in 1915, John Thornycroft suggested that the Royal Navy use fast motor boats armed with torpedoes for coastal defense. In 1916, his company received an order for twelve of these boats. This was the start of a long line of Coastal Motor Boats (CMBs) supplied to the Royal Navy and other navies.
The Hovercraft Museum still has many of the model hulls John Thornycroft used for his experiments. Some of these models, which he used to test how air could help lift boats, date back to 1877.
John Thornycroft was recognized for his achievements and was made a knight in 1902 by King Edward VII.
Legacy
Sir John Isaac Thornycroft passed away in 1928. He is remembered for his many inventions and engineering skills. His son, John Edward Thornycroft, and grandson, John Ward Thornycroft, both became leaders of the John I. Thornycroft & Company.
His daughter, Blanche Thornycroft, was also very involved in the family business and her father's experiments. She continued to test model hulls for the company for many years after his death.
The Thornycroft company name eventually disappeared from the motoring business in the 1960s. It also left shipbuilding in 2001 when Vosper Thornycroft became VT Group plc.
