SS Great Western
SS Great Western of 1838, was a wooden-hulled paddle-wheel steamship with four masts, the first steamship purpose-built for crossing the Atlantic, and the initial unit of the Great Western Steamship Company. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1837 to 1839, the year the SS British Queen went into service.
PS Great Western in 1838 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | |
| Name | Great Western |
| Namesake | Great Western Railway |
| Operator | Great Western Steamship Company |
| Route | Bristol – New York |
| Builder | William Patterson, Bristol, England |
| Laid down | 26 June 1836 |
| Launched | 19 July 1837 |
| Completed | 31 March 1838 |
| Maiden voyage |
|
| Out of service | December 1846 in Liverpool |
| Notes |
|
| Operator | Royal Mail Steam Packet Company |
| Acquired | 24 April 1847 |
| Fate | Scrapped, 1856 |
| Notes | Transatlantic mail service Southampton – West Indies |
| Operator | British Government |
| Acquired | 1855 |
| Fate | Scrapped October 1856 |
| Notes | Operated as troop transport in the Crimean War |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Oak-hulled paddle-wheel steamship |
| Tonnage | 1,340 GRT, later 1,700 GRT |
| Displacement | 2300 ton |
| Length | 71.6 m (234 ft 11 in), later 76.8 m (252 ft 0 in) long |
| Beam | 17.59 m (57 ft 9 in) across wheels |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | Two paddle-wheels |
| Speed | 8.5 knots |
| Capacity | 128 passengers in 1st class + 20 servants |
| Crew | 60 |
| Notes | |
Designed by British civil engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Great Western proved satisfactory in service and was the model for all successful wooden Atlantic paddle-steamers. She was capable of making record Blue Riband voyages as late as 1843. Great Western worked to New York for eight years until her owners went out of business. She was sold to the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and was scrapped in 1856 after serving as a troopship during the Crimean War.