Gas turbine on and off to run it only at high efficiency. The emergence of the continuously variable transmission may also alleviate the responsiveness problem. Turbines have historically been more expensive to produce than piston engines, though this is partly because piston engines have been mass-produced in huge quantities for decades, while small gas turbine engines are rarities; however, turbines are mass-produced in the closely related form of the turbocharger. The turbocharger is basically a compact and simple free shaft radial gas turbine which is driven by the piston engine's exhaust gas. The centripetal turbine wheel drives a centrifugal compressor wheel through
Gas turbine gas-turbine powered ship was the U.S. Coast Guard's , a cutter commissioned in 1961 that was powered by two turbines utilizing controllable-pitch propellers. The larger High Endurance Cutters, was the first class of larger cutters to utilize gas turbines, the first of which () was commissioned in 1967. Since then, they have powered the U.S. Navy's s, and s, and guided missile cruisers. , a modified , is to be the Navy's first amphibious assault ship powered by gas turbines. The marine gas turbine operates in a more corrosive atmosphere due to the presence of sea salt in air and