Model of Lumley’s Patent Rudder

...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

ObjectNumber: NG-MC-1167-B

Polychromed model of a rudder and rudder post, mounted on a base.

The post has a skeg and three rudder irons, the rudder head is round and is fitted with a crossbar and chains for demonstration purposes. The blade is divided vertically into two sections, the rear section fastened to the front section with three additional rudder irons. An S-shaped hinge attached to the rudder post and the rear section, provides an extra wide angle of deflection to the rear section when the rudder is turned.

The 6-gun transport Java was built in 1865 with ‘Lumley’s Patent Rudder’. After a successful voyage to the Dutch East Indies from 1866 to 1867, the rudder was replaced by a traditional one. The reports provide no details on the results of the rudder, but further experiments with the double flap rudder were ceased. The results of the tests were passed on to Mr Lumley. In the twentieth century similar rudders have been designed, such as Becker’s flap rudder and Gökdemir’s rudder.

Scale (on model) 1:24.

Journaal Rijkswerf Amsterdam, s.l. 1861-93, manuscript in HSM, inv. no. A.2277(02), 15/07/1865; J.M. Obreen et al., handwritten inventory list for items 944 to 1431, 1884, manuscript in HNA 476 RMA, inv. no. 1089, no. 1167; E. Vossnack, Hull Form Development 1775-1980, s.l. 1986, manuscript in HSM, inv. no. 1993.0404

J. van der Vliet, 2016, 'T. McKnight, Model of Lumley’s Patent Rudder, London, 1865', in J. van der Vliet and A. Lemmers (eds.), Navy Models in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.244981