This allowed him to actively pursue applications for his newly patented thrust bearing. It was at this university that he envisioned the Kingsbury thrust bearing. Unfortunately, the first test of his thrust bearing was a failure. The middle bearing is also the thrust bearing. The spherical roller thrust bearing was introduced by SKF in 1939. The rotor thrust on a thrust bearing is not related to the engine thrust. The Kingsbury thrust bearing of Holtwood's Generator No. A thrust bearing is a particular type of rotary bearing.