Anton Flettner Was A German Aviation Engineer Who Was The First To Build A Propulsion System

By Author: ISSAC Gates
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What is the Magnus Effect? The Magnus Effect is the phenomenon where a spinning object flying in a fluid creates a whirlpool of fluid around itself experiencing a force perpendicular to the line of motion. Its overall behavior is similar to that around an aerofoil with a circulation which is generated by mechanical rotation rather than by aerofoil action. It is the same force that causes a spinning baseball or golf ball to curve. The spinning surface of the cylinder carries a thin layer of air with it in the direction of the air. If wind is blown across the cylinder the moving airstream interacts with the surface layer of air rotating with cylinders. Who would ever have thought that a ship would be driven with that energy? But in 1926 the Magnus Effect was used by Anton Flettner to build a ship which sailed to the USA.Flettner predicted it would launch a new age of wind-powered ships.

In 1920 Anton Flettner bought a schooner and added two rotating 50-foot cylinder to it. The idea of building this ship occurred to him when he was at the beach with his wife and he used sand flowing over his rotating hand to describe ...
... the Magnus Effect and realized its potential on sail propulsion. The idea worked out but the propulsion force generated was less than the motor would have generated if it had been connected to a standard marine propeller.

These types of propulsion cylinders are now commonly called Flettner Rotors. His first idea was to produce propulsion force by using a belt running around two cylinders. Later Flettner decided that the cylinder would be better rotated with individual motors. The vessel that he first created using the Magnus effect was called Buckau. The vessel was a refitted schooner which carried two cylinders driven by electric propulsion system of 50hp. Following completion of its trials the Buckau set out on its first voyage in 1925 from Danzing to Scotland across the North Sea. The rotors did not give the slightest cause for concern even in the stormiest weather. Later it was named Baden Baden after the German spa town.

Anton Flettner’s invention as described in detail in February 1925 issue of Popular Science Monthly is simply the amplification of the scientific principle known for three quarters of a century. The key advantages of a telescopic Flettner rotor was that it had the ability to fold or collapse during the navigation time in the prohibited areas during the loading and discharging operations. The telescopic Flettner rotor is way more efficient than the traditional sails. Due to the cheap prices of oil this method became obsolete but with the hikes in the oil price the method has revived and at present a lot more research is being conducted by the scientists for the optimization of the telescopic Flettner rotor in the departments of design and application. Since we know about the power and availability of the wind energy scientists are now trying their best to use is judiciously to produce the best of transports using the Magnus Effect inspired by Anton Flettner.