SS Pacific (1849)
SS Pacific was a wooden-hulled, sidewheel steamer built in 1849 for transatlantic service with the American Collins Line. Designed to outclass their chief rivals from the British-owned Cunard Line, Pacific and her three sister ships (Atlantic, Arctic and Baltic) were the largest, fastest and most well-appointed transatlantic steamers of their day.
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | Pacific |
| Namesake | Pacific Ocean |
| Operator | Collins Line |
| Route | New York-Liverpool |
| Builder | Brown & Bell, New York |
| Cost | $700,000 |
| Launched | 1 Feb 1849 |
| Maiden voyage | 25 May 1850 |
| Honors and awards | Blue Riband holder, 21 Sep 1850–16 Aug 1851 |
| Fate | Lost with all aboard under unknown circumstances, possibly sunk by iceberg, January 1856 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger ship |
| Tonnage | 2,707 gross register tons |
| Length | 281 ft (85.6 m) |
| Beam | 45 ft (13.7 m) |
| Propulsion | 2 × 95-inch cylinder (2.4 m), 9-foot stroke (2.7 m) side-lever engines, auxiliary sails |
| Speed | 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) |
| Capacity | Passengers: 200 1st class, 80 2nd class |
| Crew | 141 |
Pacific's career began on a high note when she set a new transatlantic speed record in her first year of service. However, after only five years in operation, the ship, with her entire complement of almost 200 passengers and crew, vanished without a trace during a voyage from Liverpool to New York City, which began on 23 January 1856. As of 2023 Pacific's fate is not known. A message in a bottle found on the remote island of Uist within the Hebrides in 1861 declared her sunk by icebergs.