SS Great Britain facts for kids
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|} The SS Great Britain is a famous old passenger ship that is now a museum. She was very advanced for her time. From 1845 to 1854, she was the longest passenger ship in the world!
The famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed her for the Great Western Steamship Company. Her job was to carry people across the Atlantic Ocean between Bristol, England, and New York City. Other ships had been made of iron or used a screw propeller. But the Great Britain was the first large ocean liner to use both. She was also the first iron steamship to cross the Atlantic in 1845. It took her 14 days.
The ship is 322 ft (98 m) long and weighs 3,400 tons. She was powered by two large steam engines. She also had masts for sails, just in case. Her four decks could hold 120 crew members and 360 passengers. Passengers had cabins, dining rooms, and walking areas.
When she was launched in 1843, the Great Britain was the biggest ship ever built. But it took six years to build her (1839–1845), and she cost a lot of money. This caused problems for her owners. In 1846, she ran aground in Dundrum Bay in County Down, near Newcastle, in what is now Northern Ireland. This happened because of a mistake in navigation. Her owners spent all their money trying to free her, and they went out of business.
In 1852, the ship was sold and repaired. From 1852 onwards, the Great Britain carried thousands of immigrants to Australia. In 1881, she was changed to rely only on sails. Three years later, in 1884, she was sent to the Falkland Islands. There, she was used as a warehouse, a place to keep sick people away from others, and a coal storage ship. She was finally sunk on purpose in 1937, 98 years after she was first started.
In 1970, after being abandoned for 33 years, Sir Jack Hayward paid to bring the ship back. She was repaired enough to be towed across the Atlantic Ocean to the United Kingdom. She returned to the same dry dock in Bristol where she was built 127 years earlier. Sir Jack Hayward was a well-known businessman and helper. Today, the Great Britain is a museum ship and a popular place to visit in Bristol Harbour. About 150,000 to 200,000 people visit her every year.
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom |
|
| Name | Great Britain |
| Owner | Great Western Steamship Company |
| Builder | William Patterson |
| Cost |
|
| Laid down | July 1839 |
| Launched | 19 July 1843 |
| Completed | 1845 |
| Maiden voyage | 26 July 1845 |
| In service | 1845–1886 |
| Homeport | Bristol, England |
| Status | Museum ship |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger steamship |
| Displacement | 3,674 tons load draught |
| Tons burthen | 3,443 bm |
| Length | 322 ft (98 m) |
| Beam | 50 ft 6 in (15.39 m) |
| Draught | 16 ft (4.88 m) |
| Depth of hold | 32.5 ft (9.9 m) |
| Installed power | 2 × twin 88-inch (223.52 cm) cylinder, bore, 6 ft (1.83 m) stroke, 500 hp (370 kW), 18 rpm inclined direct-acting steam engines |
| Propulsion | Single screw propeller |
| Sail plan |
|
| Speed | 10 to 11 knots (19 to 20 km/h; 12 to 13 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Complement | 130 officers and crew (as completed) |
Launching the Ship
The launch of the Great Britain happened on July 19, 1843. The weather was good, and many people came to see the event. A newspaper called The Bristol Mirror described the day:
Large crowds gathered early, including many who had traveled to Bristol. Everyone was excited as the Royal Emblem was shown. The streets were cleaned and decorated with flags, flowers, and ribbons. School children stood in neat lines. The whole route was full of color, and everyone was outside because it was a public holiday. The happy mood even made people forget about problems in London.
Prince Albert arrived at 10 a.m. by train from London. Isambard Kingdom Brunel himself was on the train. There was a special group of police, soldiers, and dragoons to greet the Prince. Bands played music as he stepped off the train.
The Prince then went to the Great Western Steamship yard. He found the ship already launched and waiting for him. He went on board and had some food in the fancy lounge. Then he started his tour. He was welcomed in the ship's banquet room, where many important people were gathered.
After the banquet and speeches, he went to the naming ceremony. Clarissa Miles, the wife of a company director, was chosen to christen the ship. She threw a champagne bottle at the ship's front. But a steam tug, the Avon, started pulling the ship too early. The bottle missed and fell into the water unbroken! Quickly, a second bottle was found, and the Prince threw it against the iron hull.
Because the Avon started pulling too soon, the tow rope snapped. This caused a delay, and the Prince had to leave for the train station. He missed the rest of the event.
Another Long Delay
After the launch, the builders planned to tow the Great Britain to the River Thames for her final work. But the harbor authorities had not made the necessary changes to their facilities in time. Also, the ship had been made wider than planned to fit the new propeller engines. The designers also decided to put the engines in before the launch, which made the ship sit deeper in the water.
This caused another expensive delay for the company. Brunel had to negotiate with the Bristol Dock Board for months. Finally, with help from the Board of Trade, the harbor agreed to change the locks. Work started in late 1844.
After being stuck in the harbor for over a year, the Great Britain finally floated out in December 1844. But she caused more worry for her owners. She passed through the first set of lock gates easily. But she got stuck in the second set, which led to the River Avon. Only the skill of Captain Claxton saved her from serious damage. The next day, many workers, led by Brunel, removed parts of the lock gates. This allowed the tugboat Samson to tow the ship safely into the Avon that night.
Ship Design and Features
When finished in 1845, the Great Britain was a groundbreaking ship. She was the first to have an iron body and a screw propeller. At 322 ft (98 m) long and weighing 3,400 tons, she was over 100 ft (30 m) longer and 1,000 tons bigger than any ship built before. She was 50 ft 6 in (15.39 m) wide.
She had four decks. She carried a crew of 120 and could hold 360 passengers. She also had space for 1,200 tons of cargo and 1,200 tons of coal for fuel.
Like other steamships of her time, the Great Britain also had sails. She had one square-rigged mast and five schooner-rigged masts. This simple sail plan meant fewer crew members were needed. Her masts were made of iron. They could be lowered to reduce wind resistance when sailing against strong winds. The ropes (rigging) were made of iron cable instead of traditional hemp. This also helped reduce wind resistance. Another new feature was that she didn't have heavy walls around the main deck. A light iron railing saved weight and let water easily flow back into the sea in rough weather.
The ship's body and single funnel were painted black. A white stripe ran along the hull, showing fake gunports. The hull was flat at the bottom and had no outside keel. It also had unusual bulges near the middle, which were added when the propeller engines were chosen.
Brunel wanted to make sure the ship was super strong because she was so big. He designed the hull to be very sturdy. Ten long iron beams ran along the bottom. The iron ribs were 6 by 3 inches (15.2 cm × 7.6 cm) in size. The iron plates on the bottom were an inch thick. The hull seams were overlapped and double riveted in many places. For safety, she had a double bottom and five watertight iron walls (bulkheads). All the iron, including the engines, weighed 1,500 tons.
Engines and Power
Two huge propeller engines, weighing 340 tons, were placed in the middle of the ship. They were based on a design by Brunel's father, Marc Isambard Brunel. These engines went from the bottom of the ship up through three decks. They had two large cylinders, each 88 in (220 cm) wide and with a 6-foot (1.8 m) stroke. They could produce 1000 horsepower at 18 rpm. Steam came from three large "square" saltwater boilers, each with eight furnaces.
Brunel had to invent a new way to connect the engines to the propeller. Other ships used noisy gears. Brunel decided to use a chain drive. He put a huge 18-foot (5.5 m) wide gearwheel on the engine's shaft. This wheel used four huge "silent" chains to turn a smaller gear near the bottom of the ship, which then turned the propeller shaft. This was the first time silent chain technology was used in a commercial ship.
The Great Britain's main propeller shaft was the largest single piece of machinery. It was 68 ft (21 m) long and 28 inches (71 cm) wide. It had a hole through the middle to reduce weight and allow cold water to be pumped through to keep it cool. The shaft was geared up, so for every one turn of the engine, the propeller turned three times (54 rpm). The first propeller had six blades and was 16 ft (4.9 m) wide.
Inside the Ship
The ship had three main decks. The top two were for passengers, and the bottom one was for cargo. The passenger decks were split into front and back sections, separated by the engines and boilers in the middle.
At the back of the ship, the upper passenger deck had the main saloon. This room was 110 ft (34 m) long and 48 ft (15 m) wide. Along each side of the saloon were hallways leading to 22 passenger cabins, with two beds each. So, there were 44 beds in total for this area. Near the engine room, there were two private sitting rooms for ladies. These could be reached from the closest 12 cabins, which were for women. The other end of the saloon had windows looking out the back of the ship. Wide iron staircases led to the main deck above and the dining room below. The saloon was decorated in light colors with oak chairs and 12 decorated pillars.
Below the main saloon was the dining saloon. It was 98 ft 6 in (30.02 m) long and 30 ft (9.1 m) wide. It had dining tables and chairs for up to 360 people at once. On each side of this room, seven hallways led to four beds each, making 56 beds in total. The front of the dining room connected to a kitchen for the stewards. This saloon was the most impressive passenger area. It had 24 white and gold columns with beautiful tops. Eight decorated pillars with painted flowers and birds made it even prettier. Mirrors on the walls made the room look bigger. The walls were painted a light yellow with blue and gold details.
The two front saloons were set up similarly. The upper "promenade" saloon had 36 beds on each side, and the lower one had 30, making 132 beds in total. Further forward, separate from the passenger areas, were the crew quarters. The passenger areas were not as fancy as they could have been. This was probably because the company was running out of money. The ship cost £117,000 to build, which was £47,000 more than planned.
Ship's Journeys
First Atlantic Trips
On July 26, 1845, the Great Britain started her first trip from Liverpool to New York City. Captain James Hosken was in charge, and there were 45 passengers. The journey took 14 days and 21 hours. This was slower than the fastest ships at the time. The return trip took 13 and a half days, which was also not very fast.
Brunel had changed the propeller to his own six-bladed design. Now, he tried to make it faster by adding two inches of iron to each propeller blade. On her next trip to New York, with 104 passengers, the ship hit bad weather. She lost a mast and three propeller blades. On October 13, she ran aground on the Massachusetts Shoals. She was freed and got more coal. After repairs in New York, she sailed back to Liverpool with only 28 passengers. She lost four more propeller blades during this trip. By this time, another problem was clear: the ship rolled a lot, especially in calm weather, which made passengers uncomfortable.
The company's owners gave more money to fix these problems. The six-bladed propeller was removed and replaced with the original four-bladed, cast iron one. The third mast was taken off, and the iron ropes were replaced with normal ones. Two 110-foot-long (34 m) bilge keels were added to each side to help stop the rolling. These repairs delayed her return to service until the next year.
In 1846, the Great Britain made two successful trips to New York. But then she needed repairs for a worn-out chain drum. On her third trip of the season to New York, her captain made mistakes in navigation. On September 22, she ran hard aground in Dundrum Bay on the northeast coast of Ireland. Some people think this happened because the captain had old maps and mistook a new lighthouse for an older one.
She was stuck for almost a year. Brunel and James Bremner set up temporary ways to protect her. On August 25, 1847, she was finally freed. This cost £34,000, which used up all the company's remaining money. After sitting in Liverpool for a while, she was sold to Gibbs, Bright & Co. for only £25,000.
Repairs and New Journeys
The new owners decided to completely rebuild the ship. The bottom of the ship, which was badly damaged, was fully replaced for 150 feet (46 m) of its length. The owners also made the hull even stronger. The old main beams were replaced with ten new ones that ran the entire length of the ship. Both the front (bow) and back (stern) were also made stronger with heavy iron frames.
Engine technology had improved quickly. So, the original engines were removed. They were replaced with smaller, lighter, and more modern engines built by John Penn & Sons. These new engines had 82.5-inch (210 cm) cylinders and a 6-foot (180 cm) stroke. They were also given more support to reduce engine vibration.
The complicated chain-drive gears were replaced with simpler, proven cog-wheels. The engines still turned the propeller shaft three times faster than they turned themselves. The three large boilers were replaced with six smaller ones. These new boilers worked at twice the pressure of the old ones. Along with a new 300-foot (91 m) cabin on the main deck, the smaller boilers allowed the ship to carry almost twice as much cargo.
The four-bladed propeller was replaced by a slightly smaller three-bladed one. The bilge keels, which were added to stop rolling, were replaced by a heavy outside oak keel for the same reason. The five-masted sail plan was changed to four masts, with two of them being square-rigged. After these changes, the Great Britain went back to sailing to New York. After only one more round trip, she was sold again to Antony Gibbs & Sons. They planned to use her for trips between England and Australia.
Trips to Australia
Antony Gibbs & Sons might have only planned to use the Great Britain for a short time. This was because many people wanted to travel to Australia after gold was found there in 1851. But she ended up working on this route for almost 30 years. For this new job, she was changed a third time. Her passenger space was increased from 360 to 730 people. Her sails were changed to a traditional three-masted, square-rigged style. She was also given a propeller that could be removed. This meant it could be pulled up onto the deck by chains to reduce drag when the ship was only using sails.
In 1852, the Great Britain made her first trip to Melbourne, Australia. She carried 630 emigrants. She caused a lot of excitement there, with 4,000 people paying to see her. She sailed on the England–Australia route for nearly 30 years. She only stopped twice to carry soldiers during the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Over time, she became known as the most reliable ship for immigrants going to Australia. She even carried the first English cricket team to tour Australia in 1861.
Alexander Reid wrote about a typical journey in 1862. The ship left Liverpool on October 21, 1861. She had a crew of 143 and carried 544 passengers (including the cricket team). She also carried many animals: a cow, 36 sheep, 140 pigs, 96 goats, and 1,114 chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. The trip to Melbourne (her ninth) took 64 days. The best day's travel was 354 miles, and the worst was 108 miles. With good winds, the ship sailed only with sails, and the propeller was pulled out of the water. Three passengers died during the trip. The captain was John Gray, who had been captain since before the Crimean War.
On December 8, 1863, it was reported that she had been wrecked near Santiago, Cape Verde Islands, while on a trip from London to Nelson, New Zealand. Everyone on board was saved. On October 8, 1868, The Argus newspaper in Melbourne reported that the Great Britain was leaving for Liverpool. She had fewer passengers than usual but a full cargo, including gold worth about £250,000. Captain Gray died mysteriously on November 25/26, 1872, during a return trip from Melbourne. On December 22, she rescued the crew of the British ship Druid, which had been abandoned in the Atlantic Ocean.
Later Years
In 1882, the Great Britain was changed into a sailing ship to carry large amounts of coal. She made her last voyage in 1886. She loaded coal in Penarth Dock in Wales and left for Panama on February 8. A fire broke out on board during the trip. When she arrived at Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, she was too damaged to be repaired cheaply. She was sold to the Falkland Islands Company and used as a floating storage ship for coal until 1937. Then, she was towed to Sparrow Cove, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from Port Stanley, sunk on purpose, and left there. As a coal storage ship, she supplied coal to the British fleet that defeated Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee's fleet in the First World War Battle of the Falkland Islands. In the Second World War, some of her iron was used to repair HMS Exeter, a Royal Navy ship that fought the Graf Spee.
Famous People on Board
The Great Britain carried over 33,000 people during her time at sea. Some notable passengers and crew included:
- Gustavus Vaughan Brooke: An Irish actor who traveled between Melbourne and Liverpool in 1861.
- Fanny Duberly: An author who wrote about the Crimean War and the Indian Rebellion of 1857. She traveled between Cork and Mumbai in 1857.
- Colonel Sir George Everest: A British surveyor and geographer, for whom Mount Everest is named. He traveled between Liverpool and New York in 1845.
- John Gray: The Great Britain's longest-serving captain, from 1852 to 1872. He mysteriously disappeared at sea.
- James Hosken: The first captain of the Great Britain.
- Anthony Trollope: A famous English novelist. He traveled between Liverpool and Melbourne in 1871 and wrote a novel during the trip.
- Francis Pettit Smith: One of the inventors of the screw propeller. He traveled between Liverpool and New York in 1852.
Bringing Her Home and Fixing Her Up
Bringing the Great Britain back was possible thanks to large donations, including from Sir Jack Hayward and Sir Paul Getty. The 'SS Great Britain Project' organized the rescue. An expert, Ewan Corlett, said she could be refloated. A special underwater platform, Mulus III, was rented in February 1970. A German tugboat, Varius II, arrived at Port Stanley on March 25. By April 13, the ship was successfully placed on the platform. The next day, the tug, platform, and Great Britain sailed to Port Stanley to get ready for the Atlantic journey.
The journey (called "Voyage 47") started on April 24. They stopped in Montevideo from May 2 to May 6 for checks. Then they crossed the Atlantic, arriving at Barry Docks, west of Cardiff, on June 22. (Voyage 47 was chosen because it was on her 47th voyage from Penarth in 1886 that she went to the Falklands.) Tugboats from Bristol then took over. They towed her, still on her platform, to Avonmouth Docks.
The ship was then taken off the platform to get ready to enter Bristol, now truly floating again. On Sunday, July 5, with many media watching, the ship was towed up the River Avon to Bristol. A memorable moment was when she passed under the Clifton Suspension Bridge, another design by Brunel. She waited for two weeks in the Cumberland Basin for a high enough tide. This allowed her to go through the locks and back to her birthplace, the dry dock in the Great Western Dockyard.
The journey from the Falklands to Bristol was shown in a 1970 BBC TV show called The Great Iron Ship.
At first, the plan was to make her look exactly like she did in 1843. But then the idea changed. The new goal was to save all the parts that survived from before 1970. In 1984, the SS Great Britain was named a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark.
By 1998, a study found that the hull was still rusting because of the humid air in the dock. Experts thought she would rust away in 25 years. A lot of work began to save her. This led to putting a glass plate across the dry dock at the level of her waterline. Two machines called dehumidifiers keep the space below the glass very dry (20% humidity). This is dry enough to save the remaining parts of the ship. Once this was done, the ship was "re-launched" in July 2005. Visitors could then go into the dry dock again. The site gets over 150,000 visitors each year. In 2006, 200,000 people visited.
Awards and Recognition
The engineers Fenton Holloway won an award for Heritage Buildings in 2006 for restoring the Great Britain. In May of that year, the ship won the important Gulbenkian Prize for museums and galleries. The head judge, Professor Robert Winston, said:
SS Great Britain got our unanimous vote for being outstanding at every level. It combines a truly groundbreaking piece of conservation, remarkable engineering and fascinating social history plus a visually stunning ship above and below the water line. Most importantly, the SS Great Britain is accessible and highly engaging for people of all ages.
The project also won The Crown Estate Conservation Award in 2007. It won the European Museum of the Year Awards Micheletti Prize for 'Best Industrial or Technology Museum'. In 2008, the project's educational value was honored with the Sandford Award for Heritage Education.
Ship's Measurements
- Length: 322 ft (98 m)
- Width (Beam): 50.5 ft (15.39 m)
- Height (main deck to keel): 32.5 ft (9.91 m)
- Weight empty: 1,930 long tons (2,160 short tons; 1,960 tonnes)
- Displacement (weight when floating): 3,018 long tons (3,380 short tons; 3,066 tonnes)
Engine
- Power: 1,000 horsepower (750 kW)
- Weight: 340 long tons (380 short tons; 350 tonnes)
- Cylinders: 4 x inverted 'V' 88 inches (223.5 cm) bore
- Stroke: 72 inches (182.9 cm)
- Pressure: 5 psi (34 kPa)
- RPM (Revolutions per minute): Max. 20 rpm
- Main crankshaft: 17 feet (5.18 m) long and 28 inches (71.1 cm) wide
Propeller
- Diameter: 15.5 ft (4.72 m)
- Weight: 77 long hundredweight (3,900 kg)
- Speed: 55 rpm
Other Facts
- Fuel capacity: 1,100 long tons (1,232 short tons; 1,118 tonnes) of coal
- Water capacity: 200 long tons (224 short tons; 203 tonnes)
- Cargo capacity: 1,200 long tons (1,344 short tons; 1,219 tonnes)
- Cost to build: £117,295
Images for kids
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The SS Great Western on her maiden voyage
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Artist's impression of SS Archimedes
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Replica of Great Britain's original six-bladed propeller on the museum ship. This propeller proved totally unsatisfactory in service and was quickly replaced with a four-bladed model.
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Aboard SS Great Britain
See also
In Spanish: SS Great Britain para niños
