Steamship Great BritainIn 1843, the S.S. Great Britain, was launched from Bristol, England, the world's first all-metal liner, first single screw-propeller driven and with 322-ft overall length, the biggest ship of the time. The six-masted, 3,270-ton vessel, designed by Isambard Kingdom. Brunel, became the world's first iron-hulled steamship to cross the Atlantic (1845). Its crew of 130 included 30 stewards for the 360-seat dining room. As a luxury liner, it carried passengers to New York and Melbourne. Later it became a ferry carrying troops to the Crimea and India, then a cargo ship, finally abandoned in the Falkland Islands following storm damage (1886). On this day in 1970, it was towed back to Bristol's Great Western Dock (where it was originally built) to be restored by volunteers.« |
