History of the steam engine This boat could typically make 7 to 8 miles per hour, and traveled more than during its short length of service. The Fitch steamboat was not a commercial success, as this route was adequately covered by relatively good wagon roads. In 1802 William Symington built a practical steamboat, and in 1807 Robert Fulton used a Watt steam engine to power the first commercially successful steamboat. Oliver Evans in his turn was in favour of "strong steam" which he applied to boat engines and to stationary uses. He was a pioneer of cylindrical boilers; however Evans' boilers did suffer several serious
Submarine Command System Submarine Command System SMCS, the Submarine Command System, was first created for the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom's Vanguard class submarines as a tactical information system and a torpedo weapon control system. Versions have now also been installed on all active Royal Navy submarine classes. With the decision in 1983 to build a new class of submarine to carry the Trident missile system, the UK Ministry of Defence ran an open competition for the command system. Up to that point all RN ships and submarines had command systems built by Ferranti using custom-built electronics and specialised proprietary processors. In