Treadmill paddle-wheel warship
Barco de guerra con ruedas de paletas a pedal
- Date
- c. 1130-1135 · confidence medium
- Place
- Lake Dongting, Hunan, China
- Credited to
- Gao Xuan and the rebel army of Yang Yao
- People
- 👤 Gao Xuan
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Warships driven by several paddle wheels operated by men using treadles, able to manoeuvre without wind; some carried more than twenty wheels. They were used on rivers and lakes against the Jin.
There is a mention of a paddle-wheel boat by Li Gao in 782-785; in Europe there were projects (De rebus bellicis, 4th century) but no practical boats until steam.
What it led to
- river warfare on the Yangtze
- naval propulsion independent of wind