The idea of the ship ahead of its time (4 photos)

The Netherlands Maritime Museum has a very interesting engraving that depicts a ship built in Rotterdam in 1653 year.





The creator of this miracle promised that in just one day it the ship will destroy a hundred others, will reach from Rotterdam to London and back also in one day that he cannot be stopped on his journey to West Indies no hurricanes, bullets and storms.

The strange ship was 3.7 meters high, 2.5 meters wide and 22 meters long. The keel and prow of the ship were sheathed in iron and were something like rams. The ship moved due to the paddle wheel inside.

In the 17th century, such a ram-boat was a real breakthrough. The French inventor Jean Deson decided to build such a ship in period of the war 1652-1654 (Anglo-Dutch). Such a powerful vessel was to become the advantage of the Dutch army and turn the tide of the war in your favor.



Drawing

The spies of the Lord Protector of England, Oliver Cromwell, handed him a report that some kind of miracle ship was built in the Netherlands, which can pass through the fleet of British ships and attack sea ports. The founder of the English revolution was discouraged.





Miracle ship and its creator

People came by the thousands to the shipyard where the ship was being built. Behind "look" charged a fee and approximately 2,700 people saw "Strange Ship". But unlike the townspeople, the Dutch authorities treated Deson's plan is pretty cool. Took the main financial share French aristocrat Monsignor Du Plessis Bonnot.



What did the battle with such a ship look like. 17th century engraving

But Deson could not find an engine that would drive wheel movement. The ship remained in place. Advertisement for the miracle ship stunning, but the implementation failed. Inventor promptly packed up and disappeared.

And the ship stayed for some time at the Rotterdam shipyard, but it was eventually dismantled and put into firewood.