Bland's atmotic ship | State Library of New South Wales

Bland's atmotic ship

Drawings of Dr William Bland's original design for his Atmotic Ship were sent to England to be registered for patent on 15 April 1851. They were lithographed by W.L. Hutton in November 1851.

Dr Bland's final design was a hydrogen-filled balloon, propelled by two steam driven screw propellers and another two using atmospheric pressure. Models were exhibited at the Crystal Palace, London in 1854 and in Paris the following year. Unfortunately, a full size atmotic ship (60 metres long and designed to lift 1½ tonnes) was never built.

Hutton's lithographs have been animated to demonstrate how the atmotic ship was designed to fly.

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 > View catalogue record for William Bland's Seven views of the atmotic ship