Ferdinando Primo

Ferdinando Primo

Ship data flag  Kingdom of the Two Sicilies other ship names Ferdinando I Ship type Paddle steamer Owner Pierre Andriel, Pajol et Cie., Paris Shipyard Stanislao Filosa Launch June 24, 1818

Ship dimensions and crew length 38.80 m ( Lüa ) width 6.15 m Draft Max. 1.90 m measurement 247 tn.l.

Machine system machine Steam engine Machine performance 45 hp (33 kW) Top speed 6 kn (11 km / h) propeller 2 paddle wheels

The Ferdinando Primo ( Italian Ferdinand I ) was the first steam-powered ship in what is now Italy and in the Mediterranean . It sailed from 1818 to 1820 under the flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies with its home port of Naples and was named after Ferdinand I , King of the Two Sicilies.

prehistory

Ferdinand I was a passionate technician and wanted to promote technical progress in his country. On January 17, 1817, he granted the French shipowner Pierre Andriel a concession to operate a regular sea connection between Naples and Marseilles , which should also head for the ports of Genoa , Livorno and Civitavecchia . For this purpose, a sailing ship with an integrated steam engine was commissioned in 1818 - the Ferdinando Primo .

Launch and technical data

The ship was launched on June 24, 1818 at the Stanislao Filosa shipyard in Naples . There was a three-master with Rahschoner - rigging , at all three poles hung fore- and on Fockmast addition Rahsegel , wherein the thin chimney formed the intermediate tower simultaneously. The British side balancing steam engine with two cylinders had an output of 45 hp and was located in the front nave. Directly in front of it, in the foredeck, the passengers lodged in a communal salon of 50. Aft there were also 16 individual cabins. The ship was 38.80 meters long and 6.15 meters wide; it weighed only 115 t due to the timber construction prevailing at the time.

The first trips

Under the command of Captain Giuseppe Libetta , the Ferdinando Primo made her maiden voyage from Naples to Genoa on September 27, 1818 . Although the journey took almost a month, the Genoese gave her a triumphant welcome. From Genoa she went on to Marseille and was the first steamer ever to enter this port (on November 4, 1818).

Retirement

The Ferdinando Primo was only in service for a few years, she made her last voyage in March 1820 and was replaced in 1824 by the steamer Real Ferdinando , which had been built on the Clyde . The main reason was certainly various shortcomings in this ship, which was designed as an absolute prototype of its time. In any case, as a demonstration object of progress, she had done her duty.

Web links

• Ferdinando Primo at alernavios.blogspot.de (Portuguese)
• Dalla vela al vapore. L'industria metalmeccanica navale at bicentenario.provincia.napoli.it
• La prima nave a vapore del Mediterraneo at ilportaledelsud.org
• Ferdinando Primo at shipstamps.co.uk
• Ferdinando Primo at ships.academic.ru (Russian)

literature

• Duncan Haws : Ships and the Sea - Chronicle of the Seafaring . 3rd edition, Augsburg 1994, ISBN 3893500545 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ernesto Mazzetti: Mare , Naples 2006, ISBN 88-6042-156-X , pp. 103-104 ( online )