Horace See

Horace See (1835-1909)

Horace See(Philadelphia,July 16, 1835 -New York City,December 14, 1909) was an Americanmechanical engineer,marine engineer,naval architect,inventor, and superintendent. He is known as principal naval architect at theWilliam Cramp & Sonsshipyard in Philadelphia,and as president of theAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineersin the year 1888–89.

See is also known for his contribution to "bringing triple and quadruple expansion engines to theUnited Statesand for making significant improvements in their operation. "

Biography

See was born in Philadelphia in 1835, son of the well-known silk importer R. Calhoun See. He received classical and mathematical education at theEpiscopal Academyand the private school of H. D. Gregory. He started his career as regular apprentice in the Port Richmond Iron Foundry, Machine and Steam Boiler Shop, I.P. Morris & Co. After the completion of his apprenticeship he became chief draughtsman, and later superintending engineer atNeafie & Levy,and next superintendent with theNational Iron Armor and Shipbuilding Company.

In 1868 See joined George Snyder Machine Works in Philadelphia as engineer and assistant superintendent, he designed and constructed the machinery for the Lehigh and Susquehanna planes at Wilkesbarre, and the hoisting and pumping machinery for many of the prominent anthracite coal mines.After his service in the Civil War, 1m 1871 he started building iron vessels atWilliam Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Companyin Philadelphia, first as designer and since 1879 as superintendent of engineering.

After Camp and Sons, in 1889, See moved to New York, where he worked as consulting engineer for theNewport News Steamship and Dry Dock Company.He was superintending engineer for theSouthern Pacific Company,and thePacific Mail Steamship Company,superintendent for the Cromwell Steam Ship Company. In his private practice as amarine engineerandnaval architecthe designed and prepared specifications for many yachts and commercial vessels.

See was a member of theSociety of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers;of theRoyal Institution of Naval Architectsof Great Britain; the Northeast Coast Institute of Engineers and Shipbuilders; and theAmerican Geographical Society;associate member of theAmerican Society of Naval Engineers;and theUnited States Naval Institute;and fellow of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science.He was also member of theAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers,and its president in the year 1888–89.

Work

William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Company

1890s advertisement for William Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, PA.

See made his most significant contributions working atWilliam Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Companyin Philadelphia from the late 1870s to the late 1880s. See has designed and managed the building of some fifty or more large marine engines of, in some cases, as high as 4000 horse power, among which were those of theUSS Alameda,one of the first vessels fitted, withtriple expansion enginesin the United States.

See designed the machinery and superintended the construction of many well-known vessels, such as the USS cruisersPhiladelphiaandNewark;dynamite cruiserVesuvius;gunboatsYorktown,Concord,andBennington;yachtsAtalantaandCorsair;Ss.El Mar,El Monte,El Norte,of the Morgan line; theTacoma,San Pedro,andSan Pablo,of the Central R. R. Co.; theCaracas,Valencia,Philadelphia,andVenenzuela,of the Red D. line;MariposaandAhneda,of the Sandwich Island line; and theMonmouthof the N.J.C.R.R. Co.

The ASME (1910) summarized that See had been "designing vessels and machinery of greatly improved construction and performance, introducing improved methods of work and standards in that great establishment, and giving to the United States a shipbuilding plant of capacity and quality to compare favorably with the products of the Clyde and Newcastle."

At Camp and Sons, according to the ASME (1910), it was "under his leadership that the United States Navy contracts for the first vessels of what was then called theNew Navy of the United Stateswere taken, and the big ships of the American Line at that day bore his impress "

Hydro-pneumatic ash ejectors

Horace See invented a Hydro-pneumatic ash ejectors, which found their way in many ship designs in his days. For this invention See was awarded in 1904 aJohn Scott Medalin the field of engineering on behalf of the City of Philadelphia.

In 1906 Horace See published his own trade catalog,Some Sea Specialties.with pictures of yachts, merchant vessels, liners and warships for which his firm provided his hydro-pneumatic ash ejectors.

Cross Ocean at 30 Knots per Hour

In the 1907 article "To Cross Ocean at 30 Knots per Hour," inThe New York Times,republished in theHawaiian Star,Horace See commented on the design of the first trans-atlantic steamer to do 30 knots per hour.

Turbiniaat speed in 1897.

According to See the constructing of a 30-knot turbine steamship for transatlantic trade was entirely feasible.Turbine enginewould come to stay, and would solve many marine problems. He and a colleague had declared, according to the article, that "there is no question but that the turbine engine will ultimately displace the reciprocating one on shipboard, as it Is now doing on land, but up to, the present time it has failed to do ee or shewn any. Superiority outside of reduced vibration, as there yet remains unsolved the exact combination of turbine, hull, and screw propeller to give results superior to those obtained from the reciprocating engine in vessels..."

One of the chief engineers at the Cramps yard declared, that "it was not until 1894, that the idea of propelling a vessel by means of a turbine was first put into practical form. Before that time the turbine had never been used for marine purposes, but its use had been devoted to pumping, coaling driving fans forced draught and ventilating purposes. The first vessel to be fitted with turbine engines was theTurbinia.Then came torpedo boat destroyers, theViperandCobra,achieved remarkable speed, but unfortunately were both lost before it was able to obtain comparisons in service with other destroyers, and this somewhat adversely effected the progress of the turbine engine generally. "

Furthermore, the "British cruiserAmethystwas the next step of the application of the turbine war vessels, and the result of the trail of this vessel in compared with sister vessels ordered at the same time and of the same dimensions and lines, butt fitted with other engines demonstrated the economy of the turbine to fit to this class of vessels and more especially of higher power. "

Publications

Horace See was portrayed in the July 1892 edition ofCassier's Magazine.

• Horace See,Some Sea Specialties.New York. 1899, 1906.

Articles, a selection

• Horace See. "Build-up work in engine construction,"in:ASME Transactions,Vol. 3, 1882. p. 195-98.
• Horace See. "The production of true crankshafts and bearings,"in:ASME Transactions,Vol. 7, 1888. p. 521-530.
• Horace See. "President's Address 1888,"Trans. Am.Soc.M.E.,vol. 10, 1889, p. 482-498
• Horace See, "The building of the steamship in America."Engineering Magazine,Vol 1, 1891;Part 1, May 1891;Part 2, June 1891;Part 3, July, 1891;and:Part 4, August 1891
• Horace See. "Some Notes On Steam Boiler Troubles,"Transactions: The Society of Naval Architects and Marine EngineersVol 13, 1905, p. 209-13

Patents, a selection

• Patent US231501 Tube for surface condensor,1880
• Patent US439695 Extractor for removing air,1890
• Patent US505489 Regulating Plug-Cock,1892-93
• Patent US600237 Steam-boiler,1897-89

Publications about Horace See

• Charles Morris, "Horace See,"in:Men of affairs in New York,New York: L.R. Hamersley, 1906. p. 100-102 (also onlinehere)

External links

• Horace See,at gracesguide.co.uk