John Coates (naval architect)

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John Francis Coates, OBE (30 March 1922 – 10 July 2010) was a British naval architect best known for his work on the study of construction of the Ancient Greek trireme. His research led to the construction of the first working replica of triremes, the fastest and most devastating warship of Classical Mediterranean empires, and gave a greater understanding of how they were built and used. He also carried out research into the use of shipping in Northern Europe during the Bronze Age, in particular the Ferriby Bronze Age boat and the Dover Boat.

Career

Coates was born and raised in

University College of Swansea. He was educated at Clifton College[1] and took Engineering Science at The Queen's College, Oxford. He joined the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors and in 1943 saw sea service on the Arctic convoys. After the war, he continued to work in the Admiralty. An early project was the design of new inflatable life jackets and life rafts for which he was appointed OBE in 1955. He was the leading ship design architect for the County-class destroyers
. Coates remained in Admiralty service until 1979 when he retired from the post of Chief Naval Architect.

Trireme Reconstruction

Main article: Olympias (trireme)
Olympias, a reconstruction of an ancient Athenian trireme

In 1982 he was approached by Professor

John F. Coates actively oversaw the accuracy of the construction, including the manner in which the hull shell was held together by 20,000 pinned mortise and tenon joints.[2][3] In 1989, he was awarded an Honorary Degree (Doctor of Science) by the University of Bath.[4] He also researched the archaeological remains of Bronze Age seagoing ships in Northern Europe, exploring their seaworthiness.[citation needed
]

Personal life

Coates married Jane Waymouth in 1954, she predeceased him in 2008. He died on 10 July 2010, leaving two sons and five granddaughters.[5][6] Coates' elder brother, chemist Geoffrey E. Coates, died in Laramie, Wyoming, in 2013.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Clifton College Register" Muirhead, J.A.O. ref no 9006: Bristol; J.W Arrowsmith for Old Cliftonian Society; April, 1948
  2. ISBN 0521311004
    .
  3. ^ Scientific American, April, 1989 pp. 96–103
  4. ^ "Honorary Graduates 1989 to present". bath.ac.uk. University of Bath. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  5. ^ "John Coates". The Daily Telegraph. 16 July 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  6. ^ Dodd, Christopher (2 August 2010). "John Coates obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
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