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词条 SS Great Western
释义

  1. Development and design

  2. Service history

  3. See also

  4. References

  5. External links

{{other ships|List of ships named SS Great Western}}{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2013}}{{Infobox ship image
Ship image=The Steamer Great Western of Bristol RMG A7626.jpgShip caption=PS Great Western in 1838
}}{{Infobox ship career		Hide header=Ship country= United KingdomUnited Kingdom|government}}Ship name=Great WesternShip namesake=Great Western RailwayShip operator=Great Western Steamship CompanyShip ordered=Ship awarded=Ship builder=William Patterson, BristolShip yard number=Ship laid down=26 June 1836Ship launched=19 July 1837Ship completed=31 March 1838Ship sponsor=Ship christened=Ship acquired=Ship maiden voyage =*8 April 1838
  • Bristol-New York
Ship route= Bristol – New YorkShip in service=Ship out of service= December 1846 in LiverpoolShip registry=Ship fate=Ship status=Ship notes=*1839–40: Rebuilt for more passengers.
  • Now {{convert|76.8|m|ft|2|abbr=on}} long and {{GRT|1700|long|disp=long}}.
  • 45 Atlantic round trips before being taken out of service

}}{{Infobox ship career		Hide header=titleShip name=Ship namesake=Ship operator=Royal Mail Steam Packet CompanyShip ordered=Ship awarded=Ship builder=Ship yard number=Ship laid down=Ship launched=Ship completed=Ship sponsor=Ship christened=Ship acquired=24 April 1847Ship maiden voyage=Ship in service=Ship out of service=Ship registry=Ship fate=Scrapped, 1856Ship status=Ship notes=Transatlantic mail service Southampton – West Indies[1]
}}{{Infobox ship career		Hide header=titleShip name=Ship namesake=Ship operator=British GovernmentShip ordered=Ship awarded=Ship builder=Ship yard number=Ship laid down=Ship launched=Ship completed=Ship sponsor=Ship christened=Ship acquired=1855Ship maiden voyage=Ship in service=Ship out of service=Ship registry=Ship fate=Scrapped October 1856Ship status=Ship notes=Operated as troop transport in the Crimean War
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics		Hide header =Header caption =Ship type = Oak-hulled paddle-wheel steamship1340|metric}}, later {{GRT|1700|metric}}Ship displacement= 2300 tonShip elevators =71.6|m|ft|2|abbr=on}}, later {{convert|76.8|m|ft|2|abbr=on}} long17.59|m|ft|2|abbr=on}} across wheelsShip height =Ship draught =Ship power =*2-cylinder Maudslay steam engine
  • 750 HP
Ship propulsion = Two paddle-wheelsShip speed = 8.5 knotsShip capacity = 128 passengers in 1st class + 20 servantsShip crew = 60Ship notes =[2]
}}
SS Great Western of 1838, was an oak-hulled paddle-wheel steamship, the first steamship purpose-built for crossing the Atlantic, and the initial unit of the Great Western Steamship Company.[2] She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1837 to 1839. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Great Western proved satisfactory in service and was the model for all successful wooden Atlantic paddle-steamers.[3] She was capable of making record Blue Riband voyages as late as 1843.[3] Great Western worked to New York for 8 years until her owners went out of business.[4] She was sold to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and was scrapped in 1856 after serving as a troop ship during the Crimean War.[2]

Development and design

In 1836, Isambard Brunel, his friend Thomas Guppy and a group of Bristol investors formed the Great Western Steamship Company to build a line of steamships for the Bristol-New York route.[2] The idea of regular scheduled transatlantic service was under discussion by several groups and the rival British and American Steam Navigation Company was established at the same time.[5] Great Western's design sparked controversy from critics that contended that she was too big.[2] The principle that Brunel understood was that the carrying capacity of a ship increases as the cube of its dimensions, whilst the water resistance only increases as the square of its dimensions. This meant that large ships were more fuel efficient, something very important for long voyages across the Atlantic.[6]

Great Western was an iron-strapped, wooden, side-wheel paddle steamer, with four masts to hoist the auxiliary sails. The sails were not just to provide auxiliary propulsion, but also were used in rough seas to keep the ship on an even keel and ensure that both paddle wheels remained in the water, driving the ship in a straight line. The hull was built of oak by traditional methods. She was the largest steamship for one year, until the British and American's British Queen went into service. Built at the shipyard of Patterson & Mercer in Bristol, Great Western was launched on 19 July 1837 and then sailed to London, where she was fitted with two side-lever steam engines from the firm of Maudslay, Sons & Field, producing 750 indicated horsepower between them.[2]

Service history

On 31 March 1838, Great Western sailed for Avonmouth (Bristol) to start her maiden voyage to New York. Before reaching Avonmouth, a fire broke out in the engine room. During the confusion Brunel fell {{convert|20|ft|m}}, and was injured. The fire was extinguished, and the damages to the ship were minimal, but Brunel had to be put ashore at Canvey Island.[2] As a result of the accident, more than 50 passengers cancelled their bookings for the Bristol-New York voyage and when Great Western finally departed Avonmouth, only 7 passengers were aboard.[7]

Construction of the rival British and American's first ship was delayed, and the company chartered Sirius to beat Great Western to New York. Sirius was a {{GRT|700|link=off}} Irish Sea steam packet on the London – Cork route, and had part of her passenger accommodation removed to make room for extra coal bunkers.[6] She left London three days before Great Western, refuelled at Cork, and departed for New York on 4 April.[8] Great Western was delayed in Bristol because of the fire and did not depart until 8 April.[6]

Even with a four-day head start, Sirius only narrowly beat Great Western, arriving on 22 April.[5] When coal ran low, the crew burned 5 drums of resin. Great Western arrived the following day, with 200 tons of coal still aboard.[2] Although the term Blue Riband was not coined until years later, Sirius is often credited as the first winner at {{convert|8.03|kn|km/h}}. However, Sirius only held the record for a day because Great Western's voyage was faster at {{convert|8.66|kn|km/h}}.

Great Western proved completely satisfactory in service and influenced the design of other Atlantic paddlers. Even Cunard's Britannia was a reduced version of Great Western.[3] During 1838–1840, Great Western averaged 16 days, 0 hours (7.95 knots) westward to New York and 13 days, 9 hours (9.55 knots) home. In 1838, the company paid a 9% dividend, but that was to be the firm's only dividend because of the expense of building the company's next ship.[3] After the collapse of British and American, Great Western alternated between Avonmouth and Liverpool, before abandoning Avonmouth entirely in 1843.[3] The ship remained profitable even though she lacked a running mate because of the protracted construction on Great Britain. In 1843, Great Western's receipts were GB£33,400 against expenditures of GB£25,600.[2]

The company's fortunes improved in 1845 when Great Britain entered service.[3] However, in September 1846 Great Britain ran ashore because of a navigational error and was not expected to survive the winter. The directors suspended all sailings of Great Western and went out of business.[2] Great Western had completed 45 crossings for her owners in eight years.[4] In 1847 she was sold to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and used on the West Indies run.[3] In November 1851 she ran aground at Liverpool at the end of a voyage from New York, United States and was damaged.[9] She was refloated on 23 November and was found to have damaged her keelson.[10] Later, after serving as a troopship in the Crimean War, in 1856 she was broken up at Castles' Yard, Millbank on the Thames.[3]

See also

  • SS Great Britain
  • SS Great Eastern
  • List of world's largest wooden ships

References

1. ^About Great Western from Merseyside Maritime Museum, Liverpool
2. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 {{cite book | last = Corlett | first = Ewan | title = The Iron Ship: the Story of Brunel's SS Great Britain | location = | publisher = Conway | year = 1975 | oclc = | pages = }}
3. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 7 {{cite book | last = Gibbs | first = Charles Robert Vernon | title = Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean: A Record of Atlantic Steam and Motor Passenger Vessels from 1838 to the Present Day | location = | publisher = John De Graff | year = 1957 | oclc = | pages = 41–45}}
4. ^1 {{cite book |last=Kludas |first=Arnold |title=Das blaue Band des Nordatlantiks |location=Hamburg |publisher=Koehler |year=1999 |page=36 |language=German |isbn=3-7822-0742-4 }}
5. ^1 {{cite book | last = American Heritage | first = | title = The Annihilation of Time and Space | location = | publisher = | year = 1991 | oclc = | pages = }}
6. ^1 2 Rolt, L.T.C., "Victorian Engineering", 1970, Allen Lane The Penguin Press, {{ISBN|0-7139-0104-7}}
7. ^1 MaritimeQuest.com about SS Great Western
8. ^MaritimeQuest.com about SS Sirius
9. ^{{Cite newspaper The Times |articlename=Ship News |date=22 November 1851 |page_number=3 |issue=20968 |column=F }}
10. ^{{Cite news |title=Shipping Intelligence |newspaper=Daily News |location=London |date=25 November 1851 |issue=1718 }}

External links

{{Commons category|Great Western (ship, 1838)}}
  • Houghton-Mifflin "Ships of the World"
  • Maritimequest Great Western photo gallery
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10 : 1837 ships|Blue Riband holders|Ships built in Bristol|Steamships|Troop ships of the United Kingdom|Victorian-era merchant ships of the United Kingdom|Ships designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel|1837 establishments in England|Scrapped ships|Maritime incidents in November 1851
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