Neptune's Needle

Inventor and engineer.

At the age of seventeen Ericsson entered the Swedish army as an ensign. His drawing and engineering talents were soon recognized, and he was assigned to topographical surveying duties. By 1826 he was interested in the development of a more efficient engine than steam, and at age twenty-three he left the military and migrated to London.

Another of Ericsson's projects was the screw propeller as a means of marine propulsion. Although he did not invent the screw propeller, he recognized that a warship with engines under the water line could not be propelled by the typical paddle wheel and improved on the idea. In 1837 the Francis B. Ogden tested Ericsson's screw propeller, showing significant promise. Consequently, Americans approached Ericsson to design vessels for the U.S. Navy.

Ericsson arrived in New York City on 23 November 1839 with two primary goals. One was the installation of his propeller design on vessels operating in the canals and inland waters of the fast-growing country, and the second was the development of a "big frigate" for the U.S. Navy. He quickly impressed his new hosts. In 1840 he easily won a prize. for the best design of a steam fire engine. By 1844 he had made great progress on the screw propeller, and twenty-five boats operating on the Great Lakes were equipped with Ericsson's designs. Also in 1844 the first screw-propelled vessel of war, the USS Princeton, was commissioned. However, while the Princeton was going through trials, a gun exploded, killing many people and wounding many others. Although Ericsson could not be faulted, a stigma was cast over the Princeton, and Ericsson's long list of successes was dealt a serious blow. Nevertheless, this tragic incident did not deter Ericsson's enthusiasm for his work.

When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Ericsson was again in demand by the U.S. government. Other countries had begun developing armored ships, but the idea was just budding in the United States. The secretary of the Confederate States Navy had the sunken USS Merrimac at the Norfolk Navy Yard raised and converted into an ironclad vessel, renamed the CSS Virginia. The resulting concern in the Lincoln cabinet generated interest in Ericsson's plan for an armored vessel, which he had sent to the president at the beginning of the war. The U.S. contracted for three armored warships, one of which was Ericsson's "floating battery" that became the USS Monitor. Building the Monitor, from keel to launch, took just one hundred working days, a remarkable feat attesting the superb organizational skills of Ericsson and the people he chose to work with him. The ship was launched on 30 January 1862.

The battle between the Monitor and the Virginia at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on 9 March 1862 yielded no victor, but it is recognized by historians as the battle that changed the face of naval warfare. The revolving gun turrets, construction of iron plates over a wooden frame, complete steam power, and screw propeller made the USS Monitor the mother of the great battle wagons of the future. Ericsson was hailed nationwide, and the U.S. government placed him in charge of the design and construction of a large fleet of bigger and better monitor vessels.

After the war Ericsson spent most of his time designing and supervising the construction of small gunboats for Spain and other foreign countries. In the 1870s his attention turned to submarines and torpedo ordnance. During the Civil War a crude type of submarine had appeared, and the idea had intrigued Ericsson as early as 1826. In 1878 he was ready to test a torpedo that could be fired under the water line of a ship. He also worked on heavy guns and the problem of recoil, especially on-board ship. He continued to work until the day of his death in New York City.

Sources

Images

Public Domain Source

Compiler

Peter Richards