Published Resources Details
Conference Paper
- Title
- The World's First Successful Guided Missile
- In
- Engineering Heritage Victoria, Speakers Programme
- Imprint
- 21 April 2016
- Url
- https://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/Event/worlds-first-successful-guided-missile-david-beauchamp
- Abstract
In 1870's Melbourne several fortuitous events occurred that resulted in the invention and development of the World's first successful guided missile. In 1874 the 22-year-old inventor Louis Brennan conceived the idea of a driving mechanism for propelling and guiding vessels on land and water. Because of the perceived need to defend the Heads at Port Phillip Bay against any ships that might attack Melbourne the government of the day helped fund the development and trialling of Brennan's torpedo. When these trials were observed by two Royal Engineers, who had come to Australia to advise on harbour defences for the colonies, they recommended taking the torpedo to England. After four years of development and testing at Chatham the British Government purchased the torpedo and for the next twenty years it was used to defend ports throughout the Empire.