Great Western (ship)

Great Western

Ship data flag  United Kingdom Ship type Paddle steamer Launch July 19, 1837 Whereabouts Wrecked in 1856

Ship dimensions and crew length 65 m ( Lüa ) width 10.8 m Draft Max. 5.2 m measurement 1,300 GRT   crew 60 men

Machine system machine 4 steam boilers 2 2-cylinder steam engines Machine performance 450 hp (331 kW) Top speed 8.6 kn (16 km / h) propeller 2 paddle wheels

Transport capacities Permitted number of passengers 148

The Great Western was a passenger - paddle steamer , which the railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel was constructed (1806-1859). She was the largest steamship of her time and won the Blue Ribbon in 1838 on the west and east courses .

history

The ship was operated by the Great Western Steamship Company and was the first steamship built specifically for transatlantic passenger service. Its hull was built in traditional wood construction and reinforced with iron plates.

The Great Western had two paddle wheels . These were driven by two side balancing machines with a nominal output of 225  hp each (2-cylinder steam engine from Maudslay, Sons and Field ). The cylinders had a diameter of 1,867 mm and a piston stroke of 2,134 mm.

The steam was generated in four smoke tube ship boilers, each with three furnaces . The coal bunkers held 800 t of coal and could be flooded when the coal was used up. The paddle wheels had four-part articulated blades. These were immersed vertically into the water with a cycloid control and therefore ran more smoothly than radial blades.

On April 8, 1838, the Great Western sailed from Bristol, England, on her maiden voyage to New York . With only 24 first-class passengers on board, the ship was clearly underutilized. After 15 days at sea, the ship reached New York. On this trip she suggested with an average speed of 8.66 knots , the Sirius and won the Blue Riband.

Until 1846, the Great Western was in service as a passenger ship in Atlantic traffic. During the Crimean War it served as a troop transport until it was finally scrapped in Millbank in 1856 .

Trivia

The plastic model manufacturer Airfix produced a 1: 180 scale kit of the SS Great Western in the 1970s. The model was reissued on Brunel's 200th birthday in 2006 with the item number 08252G. It seems that both versions are out of print.

See also

• List of the largest wooden ships in the world
• Great Britain
• Great Eastern

literature

• Robert D. Ballard / Ken Marschall : Lost Liners - From the Titanic to Andrea Doria - the glory and the sinking of the great luxury liners . Wilhelm Heyne Verlag GmbH & Co., Munich 1997, ISBN 3-453-12905-9 (English: Lost Liners: From the Titanic to the Andrea Doria. The ocean floor reveals its greatest lost ships. Translated by Helmut Gerstberger).

Web links

Commons : Great Western  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• greatoceanliners.net: Great Western (English)
• wettringer-modellbauforum.de: Kit presentation: Airfix Great Western (accessed on June 23, 2013)