Of a titan, winds and power: Transnational development of the icebreaker, 1890-1954
Icebreakers have traditionally been seen as symbols of technological nationalism. While ship science for open-water vessels developed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, understanding of how to cope with polar and subarctic ice conditions lagged behind. This led state organizat...
Published in: | International Journal of Maritime History |
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/08438714211062493 https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/d3c53534-74fc-48b1-9af3-f6189f7eb97e |
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ftchalmersuniv:oai:research.chalmers.se:527765 2023-05-15T16:42:02+02:00 Of a titan, winds and power: Transnational development of the icebreaker, 1890-1954 Sahari, Aaro Matala, Saara 2021 text https://doi.org/10.1177/08438714211062493 https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/d3c53534-74fc-48b1-9af3-f6189f7eb97e unknown http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08438714211062493 https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/d3c53534-74fc-48b1-9af3-f6189f7eb97e Economic History History technology carriers Shipbuilding technology transfer icebreakers 2021 ftchalmersuniv https://doi.org/10.1177/08438714211062493 2022-12-11T07:15:33Z Icebreakers have traditionally been seen as symbols of technological nationalism. While ship science for open-water vessels developed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, understanding of how to cope with polar and subarctic ice conditions lagged behind. This led state organizations in charge of icebreaking services to minimize risks in the development of new vessels by encouraging transnational expert cooperation. This article argues that such interactions were critical to the evolution of the modern icebreaker. We examine the development of three icebreakers in different countries in successive decades, and the critical technologies with which they are associated: the Ymer from Sweden and diesel–electric propulsion (1933); the American ‘Wind’ class and power-hull proportion (1942–1946); and the Voima from Finland and twin bow propellers (1956). We reconstruct the flow of information to explain the rationale for transnational cooperation in maritime technology development. The concept of ‘technology carriers’ is deployed in the analysis to enhance understanding of the role of international cooperation in polar and winter seafaring. Other/Unknown Material Icebreaker Subarctic Chalmers University of Technology: Chalmers research Titan ENVELOPE(33.629,33.629,67.560,67.560) International Journal of Maritime History 33 4 722 747 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Chalmers University of Technology: Chalmers research |
op_collection_id |
ftchalmersuniv |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Economic History History technology carriers Shipbuilding technology transfer icebreakers |
spellingShingle |
Economic History History technology carriers Shipbuilding technology transfer icebreakers Sahari, Aaro Matala, Saara Of a titan, winds and power: Transnational development of the icebreaker, 1890-1954 |
topic_facet |
Economic History History technology carriers Shipbuilding technology transfer icebreakers |
description |
Icebreakers have traditionally been seen as symbols of technological nationalism. While ship science for open-water vessels developed during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, understanding of how to cope with polar and subarctic ice conditions lagged behind. This led state organizations in charge of icebreaking services to minimize risks in the development of new vessels by encouraging transnational expert cooperation. This article argues that such interactions were critical to the evolution of the modern icebreaker. We examine the development of three icebreakers in different countries in successive decades, and the critical technologies with which they are associated: the Ymer from Sweden and diesel–electric propulsion (1933); the American ‘Wind’ class and power-hull proportion (1942–1946); and the Voima from Finland and twin bow propellers (1956). We reconstruct the flow of information to explain the rationale for transnational cooperation in maritime technology development. The concept of ‘technology carriers’ is deployed in the analysis to enhance understanding of the role of international cooperation in polar and winter seafaring. |
author |
Sahari, Aaro Matala, Saara |
author_facet |
Sahari, Aaro Matala, Saara |
author_sort |
Sahari, Aaro |
title |
Of a titan, winds and power: Transnational development of the icebreaker, 1890-1954 |
title_short |
Of a titan, winds and power: Transnational development of the icebreaker, 1890-1954 |
title_full |
Of a titan, winds and power: Transnational development of the icebreaker, 1890-1954 |
title_fullStr |
Of a titan, winds and power: Transnational development of the icebreaker, 1890-1954 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Of a titan, winds and power: Transnational development of the icebreaker, 1890-1954 |
title_sort |
of a titan, winds and power: transnational development of the icebreaker, 1890-1954 |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1177/08438714211062493 https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/d3c53534-74fc-48b1-9af3-f6189f7eb97e |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(33.629,33.629,67.560,67.560) |
geographic |
Titan |
geographic_facet |
Titan |
genre |
Icebreaker Subarctic |
genre_facet |
Icebreaker Subarctic |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08438714211062493 https://research.chalmers.se/en/publication/d3c53534-74fc-48b1-9af3-f6189f7eb97e |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/08438714211062493 |
container_title |
International Journal of Maritime History |
container_volume |
33 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
722 |
op_container_end_page |
747 |
_version_ |
1766032492761972736 |