A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 1800s; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.
Steam frigates, the larger screw ships of the line and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. The first such ships were paddle steamers. Later on the invention of screw propulsion enabled construction of steam-powered versions of the traditional ships of the line, frigates, corvettes, sloops and gunboats.
PS Waverley is the last seagoing passenger-carrying paddle steamer in the world. Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973. Bought by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society (PSPS), she has been restored to her 1947 appearance and now operates passenger excursions around the British coast.
PS Maid of the Loch is the last paddle steamer built in the United Kingdom. She operated on Loch Lomond for 29 years and as of 2021 is being restored at Balloch pier.
The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a Scottish shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the Second World War. It also built many transatlantic liners, including record-breaking ships for the Cunard Line and Canadian Pacific, such as the Blue Riband-winning sisters RMS Campania and RMS Lucania. At the other end of the scale, Fairfields built fast cross-channel mail steamers and ferries for locations around the world. These included ships for the Bosporus crossing in Istanbul and some of the early ships used by Thomas Cook for developing tourism on the River Nile.
El Mahrousa, officially renamed for a period of time as El Horreya, is a super yacht that currently serves as Egypt's presidential yacht, and before that as the country's royal yacht. It was built by the British ship building firm Samuda Brothers in 1863 at the order of Khedive Ismail Pasha and the ship was handed over to its Egyptian crew two years later. It is the oldest active super yacht in the world and the ninth largest one.
William Denny and Brothers Limited, often referred to simply as Denny, was a Scottish shipbuilding company.
The Racecourse-class minesweepers were 32 ships delivered to the Royal Navy during the First World War. They were built to two related designs as paddlewheel coastal minesweeping sloops under the Emergency War Programme. The vessels were reasonable sea-boats, but lost speed badly in a seaway when the paddle boxes tended to become choked with water. The class is also widely referred to as the Ascot class and Improved Ascot class.
Henry Robb, Limited, known colloquially as Robbs, was a Scottish shipbuilding company based at Leith Docks in Edinburgh. Robbs was notable for building small-to-medium sized vessels, particularly tugs and dredgers.
Fleming and Ferguson was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1877 and 1969.
TS King Edward was an excursion steamer built at Dumbarton for service down the River Clyde to the Firth of Clyde and associated sea lochs on the west coast of Scotland, as far as Campbeltown. The first commercial vessel to be driven by steam turbines, King Edward was remarkably successful for a prototype, serving as a Clyde steamer for half a century from 1901 until 1951, interrupted only by service in the two world wars. The success of the vessel quickly led to the adoption of turbine propulsion for all manner of merchant vessels, from channel ferries and coastal steamers to transatlantic liners.
The turbine yacht TS Vanadis was designed by Clinton Crane of Tams, Lemoine & Crane in New York, built at A. & J. Inglis, Pointhouse, Glasgow and launched in January 1908. She was built of steel, rigged as a triple screw schooner and, unusually, was powered by steam turbines. Capable of 16.4 knots at full speed, she was registered at 1,091 tons gross and measured 232 feet (71 m) in length with a 32.7 feet (10.0 m) beam.
PS Pioneer was a Clyde-built paddle steamer launched in 1905, built by A. & J. Inglis at their Pointhouse shipyard for David MacBrayne. She served as a passenger and mail ship between the Kintyre peninsula and the islands Islay, Jura and Gigha for over thirty years. In 1939 she was moved to the Mallaig and Portree, Isle of Skye route, having been replaced by MV Lochiel.
Bow, McLachlan and Company was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1872 and 1932.
Events from the year 1953 in Scotland.
PS Waverley was a Clyde-built paddle steamer that carried passengers on the Clyde between 1899 and 1939. She was requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as a minesweeper during World War I and again in World War II, and was sunk while participating in the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. The current PS Waverley, launched in 1946, was built as a replacement for this vessel.
PS Eagle III was a passenger-carrying paddle steamer that was built and sailed on the Clyde, and was twice requisitioned by the Admiralty to serve as a minesweeper during the world wars.
HMS Newbury was a Racecourse-class minesweeper of the British Royal Navy, built in 1916 by A. & J. Inglis. The Racecourse-class were paddle-steamers, intended for operations in shallow coastal waters.
Several vessels have been named Flinders after British explorer Matthew Flinders (1774–1814), including:
