Power Plant Design on HM Submarine Resurgam

[Eric S. L]

I am currently writing a paper on the ill-fated submarine Resurgam,(1878) that sunk off the North Wales coast, including the life of the Manchester designer, the Reverend George Garrett, together with the submarine’s design, its construction in Birkenhead, and its operation over its short life span.

I am struggling somewhat with the precise mode of operation of the power plant, which is designed to function by latent heat, on the principle of the Lamm Engine, similar in design to the early power plant on the Metropolitan Underground Line. I have obtained conflicting information on the websites visited so far, and wondered whether any member could shed some light on precisely how the boiler and engine plant functioned on the submarine.

[Anonymous]

You may already familiar with the following website [on ammonia motors], but in case not, I draw it to your attention:
http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/POWER/ammonia/ammonia.htm

Would Resurgam‘s power plant have worked in similar fashion to the one described here?

[Eric S. L]

Thank you for this direction to the website. I have already seen this site from a different link. Here lies my confusion, in that I am given to understand that the Lamm Engine in the submarine operated from a conventional fire tube boiler, on the ‘latent’ heat of steam, and not by a Lamm Ammonia engine. Does anyone have any further thoughts on this?

[Anonymous]

There is a full description of the Resurgam in The Engineer for 6 January 1882, pages 8 and 13. It shows engine and boiler layout and also goes into the mode of operation.

[Author]

Posts