Anton Flettner’s rotor ship Buckau sailed across the North Sea in 1925 using two Flettner Rotors for propulsion. The event was recorded by British Pathé in a black & white silent film 5.5 minutes long. The file is simply titled “Rotor Ship (1925)” the film opens with the description: Rotor Ship arrives. Crosses North Sea in four days despite bad weather. Firth of Forth, Scotland. The ship is shown sailing under the famous Firth of Forth bridge. There are also scenes showing the spinning cylinders.
Several more films of Flettner’s rotor ships are also on Pathè’s web site.
- ROTOR SHIP’S FIRST VOYAGE (1925)
- THE ROTOR SHIP ( aka ROTARY SHIP ) (1924)
- Rotor Ship sails across Atlantic (1926)
- American rotor ship (1925)
- ROTOR SHIP (EXTRA) (1925)
- Odd looking boat in the water (1925)
