''Vandal'' was a river tanker designed by Karl Hagelin and Johny Johnson for Branobel. Russian ''Vandal'' and French '' Petite-Pierre'', launched in 1903, were the world's first diesel-powered ships (sources disagree over which of the two, ''Vandal'' or ''Petite-Pierre'', was ''the'' first). ''Vandal'' was the first equipped with fully functional diesel-electric transmission. In the 1890s oil industry searched for an economical oil-burning engine, and the solution was found by German engineer Rudolph Diesel.Tolf, p. 168. Diesel marketed his technology to oil barons around the world;His first licensees included

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

, Burmeister and Vain and

Adolphus Busch Adolphus Busch (10 July 1839 – 10 October 1913) was the German-born co-founder of Anheuser-Busch with his father-in-law, Eberhard Anheuser. He introduced numerous innovations, building the success of the company in the late 19th and early ...

. in February 1898 he granted exclusive licenses to build his engines in Sweden and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Emanuel Nobel Emanuel Ludvig Nobel ( , ; Saint Petersburg, 1859 – Stockholm, 31 May 1932) was a Swedish oil baron, the eldest son of Ludvig Nobel and his first wife, Mina Ahlsell, grandson of Immanuel Nobel and nephew of Alfred Nobel. Businessman After h ...

of the Nobel family.Tolf, p. 169. The Russian licence cost Nobel 800,000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel ...

in cash and stock of the newly founded Russian Diesel Company. The

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

engine plant was a quick success; it started with diesel-powered industrial pumps for oil pipelines and soon grabbed the mass market for

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...

engines.Tolf, p. 170. It produced more diesel engines than any other concern in the world.Tolf, p. 171. In 1902 Karl Hagelin, "a veteran of the

Volga The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

and sometime visionary", suggesting mating diesel engines to river barges. He envisioned direct shipment of oil through a 1,800-mile route from the lower Volga to Saint Petersburg and

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. The canals of the

Volga–Baltic Waterway The Volga–Baltic Waterway (Volgobalt, Волгобалт), formerly known as the Mariinsk Canal System (Russian: Мариинская водная система), is a series of canals and rivers in Russia which link the Volga with the Balti ...

dictated use of relatively small barges, making use of steam engines uneconomical. Diesel engine seemed a natural choice. Hagelin believed that reversing the engine and regulating its speed could be done with an electrical transmission, and contracted Swedish

ASEA ''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'' (English translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company; Swedish abbreviation: ASEA) was a Swedish industrial company. History ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in Västerås a ...

to test the electrical drive system. Hagelin then recruited

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture occupations Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role ...

Johny Johnson of Gothenburg to design the ship. Johnson placed the diesel engine and electric generator in the middle, and the electric motors in the stern, driving the propellers directly.Tolf, p. 172. The holds were separated by longitudinal (rather than transverse) bulkheads running the length of the ship, a feature that became common on ocean-going tankers. Gorskii 04417u

The ship's power plant of three 120hp diesel engines was built in Sweden by Swedish Diesel (Aktiebolaget Diesels Motorer) and ASEA. Each engine had three cylinders with a bore of 290 mm and stroke of 430 mm. They ran at a constant 240 rpm,
Trials and tribulations of the marine diesel
'. The Motorship. November 01, 2003. and the electrical transmission, controlled by a

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

-like lever, varied propeller speed from 30 to 300 rpm. The hull was built at Sormovo shipyard in

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

and towed to Saint Petersburg for the final assembly. Its size (244.5 × 31¾ × 8 feet) was tailored to the canals of the North rather than the Volga. Named ''Vandal'', it commenced commercial operation in the spring of 1903. ''Vandal'' was accidentally damaged on its maiden voyage, repaired and served on the Volga route for ten years. The larger '' Sarmat'', with four 180 h.p. engines, was launched next summer. Unlike ''Vandal'', ''Sarmats engines could be coupled to the propellers directly, bypassing the electrical drive and saving up to 15% of engine power that would be otherwise lost in the electric transmission. ''Sarmat'' operated until 1923; the hulk was moored in

until the 1970s. The new ships attracted public and professional interest and brought in new orders. Plant payroll expanded to more than a thousand men, but growth brought in management problems.Tolf, p. 173. Rolf Nobel, Ludwig Nobel Jr. and Hagelin split with Emanuel over the future of diesel-powered shipping. Hagelin's proposal to convert existing steam-powered fleet to diesel engines was rejected by Emanuel. Hagelin quit, and accepted the post of Swedish

consul general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in Saint Petersburg. In 1907 Hagelin and Johnson designed a 4,500-ton tanker, and again Emanuel Nobel rejected the proposal. The inventors sold their blueprints to Merkulyev Brothers of

Kolomna Kolomna ( rus, Колóмна, p=kɐˈlomnə) is a historical city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, (by rail) southeast of Moscow. Population: History Mentioned for the first time in 1177, Ko ...

who built the world's first true seagoing diesel-powered tanker, ''Mysl'', in 1908. This, at last, compelled Emanuel to grant Hagelin sweeping rights to modernize the company fleet that reached 315 vessels in 1915.

Notes

References

* Gardiner, Robert; Greenway, Ambrose (1994).
The golden age of shipping: the classic merchant ship, 1900–1960
'. Conway Maritime. . * Tolf, Robert (1976).
The Russian Rockefellers: the saga of the Nobel family and the Russian oil industry
'. Hoover Press. . * Thomas, Donald E. (2004).
Diesel: Technology And Society In Industrial Germany
'. University of Alabama Press. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandal (Tanker) 1903 ships Tankers of Russia Marine propulsion Diesel-electric vehicles