Propulsion Gallery

HMS Habbakuk in section

Illustration showing a cross section of the top secret design for HMS Habbakuk a giant aircraft-carrier built of ice and wood pulp, which was proposed as a secret weapon in the Second World War. This project was put forward by Geoffrey Pyke in 1942, but was never built as the practicalities involved were too much for the British war effort. The system of construction and propulsion, the crew's accomodation, air craft hangars and defensive armament are detailed

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

Magnetic evitated train by Emile Bachelet 1914

Diagram for a magnetic evitated trains, primarily the invention is designed for the carrying of mail at the speed of 300 miles per hour. Works on the concept of lifting the train into the air without touching the ground by magnet propulsion, the railway line consists of a pair of rails about 35 feet long, laid over a series of coils or bobbins, intented by M. Emile Bachelet. Date: 1914

© Illustrated London News Ltd/Mary Evans

LCC-LFB Early motorised fire engine

This machine was one of the early self-propelled petrol motor fire engines used by the LFB. It was made by Merryweather and Sons Limited, who had built the very first motor fire engine some eight years previously for the Rothschild estate in France. The power unit was used for both propulsion and pumping. The tank below the driver's seat is a sixty gallon soda-acid first-aid extinguisher

© London Fire Brigade / Mary Evans Picture Library