Rembrandt (III) 1960

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Rembrandt 1960

8104 tons and 12940 dwt

Length 149.9 and 140.5 LPP x 18.3m

Gas turbine Pescara

Controllable pitch propeller

13 kts

Smith's Dock Co., South Bank, Middlesbrough

Yard No 1259

G.T.V. Rembrandt was one of only three vessels in the British merchant navy to have been fitted with a free piston gas turbine engine. She was also the first gas turbine ship to cross the Atlantic.

Shell film explaining the system

While the turbines proved to be reliable it proved impossible to correctly adjust the fuel injection system. Also the gasifiers were not robust and the plant became unacceptably expensive to maintain.

In a critical study of post-war British shipbuilding, S.G. Sturmey remarked that the Rembrandt was built 'with an adventurousness sufficiently rare to be worthy of special note'.

1967 sold to Greece, converted into a motor ship and renamed Galini. New speed 15.5 kts

1984 22nd Jan scrapped at Kaohsiung, Taiwan by Kuo Dar Steel & Iron Enterprise Co

1st Hand

The gas turbines were 'a great piece of work, no trouble at all'

Donald Grierson - Engineering Superintendent

1st Hand

The fumes from the exhaust gases were initially unbearable on the bridge with any forward motion or with the wind anywhere forward of the beam. We had a set of large scale builder's plans on board ( I still have them ) and using these I constructed a wooden scale model of the basic superstructure approx.30" long, with a removable hollow funnel. Using smouldering polystyrene scrap ( I was a " Revell" model kit maker ) , I was able, by positioning an electric portable fan, to replicate clearly the way the exhaust fumes eddied around the housing.

The addition of aft-sloping truncated cone above my model's exhaust carried the fumes clear ! Captain Bill Copping was impressed to the extent that we demonstrated the result when we got back to Smith's and a cone, just as on my model, was installed on the real Rembrandt - problem solved ! The photo on your website is presumably prior to all this.

All engine movements were made using control from the bridge ( common now I believe ) but the noises from the gasifiers and turbine were always very unusual and impressive. From an initial low whistle from the turbine and the muted roar from the exhaust ( the propeller being " feathered") , the application of power immediately produced the noise of a jet aircraft in take off mode .- fantastic.

I seem to remember that power was applied slowly as there was a tendency for the air cushion behind the pistons in the gasifiers ( no con. rod or crank ) to sometimes lose balance if demand was too hasty. Having seen the turbine top cover removed at the end of the first trip ( for inspection?), I was surprised to see how small it was.

Bob Mawson - Deck Officer late 50's and early 60's