SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1853. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York City. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.
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 incorrectly 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.
Alan-A-Dale was a cargo motor ship that was built in Denmark in 1938 as Nordvest. In the Second World War the United States requisitioned her in 1941 and renamed her Alan-A-Dale. In 1944 she was sunk by enemy action off the coast of the Netherlands.
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lake Erie, and was erected because the Niagara River—the only natural waterway connecting the lakes—was unnavigable due to Niagara Falls. The Welland Canal enables ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment, and has followed four different routes since it opened.
The Wigham Richardson shipbuilding company was named after its founder, John Wigham Richardson (1837-1908), the son of Edward Richardson, a tanner from Newcastle upon Tyne, and Jane Wigham from Edinburgh.
USS Freedom (ID-3024) was a cargo and transport ship in the United States Navy in World War I. Originally Wittekind for the North German Lloyd line, the ship also served as USAT Iroquois and USAT Freedom after being seized by the United States in 1917.
Bristol City Line was a British shipping line based in Bristol, England that traded from 1704 until 1974. From 1760 Bristol City Line also built ships.
The Baltimore Steam Packet Company, nicknamed the Old Bay Line, was an American steamship line from 1840 to 1962 that provided overnight steamboat service on Chesapeake Bay, primarily between Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia. Called a "packet" for the mail packets carried on government mail contracts, the term in the 19th century came to mean a steamer line operating on a regular, fixed daily schedule between two or more cities. When it closed in 1962 after 122 years of existence, it was the last surviving overnight steamship passenger service in the United States.
USS Zuiderdijk was a cargo ship that was built in England in 1912 as Sharistan, but was renamed Zuiderdijk later that year when she changed owners. She was USS Zuiderdijk with the Naval Registry Identification Number ID-2724, from 1918 until 1919. She was renamed Misty Law in 1923, Edera in 1931, Frin in 1956 and Mahfuz later in 1956.
Providence was a large sidewheel steamer launched in 1866 by William H. Webb of New York for the Merchants Steamship Company. The first of Narragansett Bay's so-called "floating palaces", the luxuriously outfitted Providence and her sister ship Bristol, each of which could carry up to 1,200 passengers, were installed with the largest engines then built in the United States, and were considered to be amongst the finest American-built vessels of their era.
Yelkenci was a 7,052 GRT refrigerated cargo ship which was built in 1943 for the Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) as Empire Camp. She was sold in 1946 and renamed Valacia. In 1951, she was sold and renamed New York City. A further sale in 1955 saw her renamed Loch Morar. A final sale to Turkish owners saw her renamed Yelkenci. She served with them until scrapped in 1971.
SS Polar Chief was a merchant steamship that was built in England in 1897 and scrapped in Scotland in 1952. In her 55-year career she had previously been called Montcalm, RFA Crenella, Crenella, Rey Alfonso, Anglo-Norse and Empire Chief. Early in the First World War she spent eight months pretending to be the battleship HMS Audacious.
SS Hertford was a refrigerated cargo steamship that was launched in Germany in 1917, seized by the United Kingdom in 1920 as World War I reparations, and sunk by a U-boat in 1942 with the loss of four members of her crew.
HMS Agamemnon was originally the Blue Funnel Line refrigerated cargo ship Agamemnon. She was built in 1929, traded between the UK and the Far East, and was scrapped in 1963. During the Second World War she was converted into an auxiliary minelayer in 1940, and then into an amenities ship in 1943.
HMS Menestheus was originally the Blue Funnel Line refrigerated cargo ship Menestheus. She was built in 1929, and traded between the UK and the Far East. She was an auxiliary minelayer from 1940 to 1943. In 1945, during the Second World War, she was converted into an amenities ship. She was scrapped in 1953 after being gutted by fire.
The SS Georgic was a steam ship built by Harland and Wolff for the White Star Line to replace the SS Naronic which was lost at sea. Georgic was a cargo ship designed principally to carry livestock, at the time of entering service in 1895 she was the largest cargo ship in the world with a deadweight tonnage of 12,000 tons.
Bristol City was a British cargo steamship that was launched in 1919 and sunk in the Battle of the Atlantic in 1943. She was the third of five ships of that name owned by Bristol City Line.
The Green Star Line was an American steamship shipping line created in 1919 and operated until 1923. Established by Irish businessmen as a response to the Shipping Board's campaign urging Americans to buy ships for wealth and patriotism during and after World War I.
SS Lombardia was one of a pair of transatlantic steam ocean liners that were launched in 1914 in Germany for the Hamburg America Line (HAPAG), sold to a Dutch shipping line in 1916, and seized by the United States as World War I reparations in 1922. United American Lines (UAL) operated her until 1926, when HAPAG bought her back.
Empire Mariner was a cargo steamship. She was built in Germany in 1922 for Hamburg America Line (HAPAG), who named her Schwarzwald. In 1935 H. Vogemann bought her and renamed her Rheingold. In October 1939 a Royal Navy cruiser captured her, and the United Kingdom government renamed her as the Empire ship Empire Mariner. She survived numerous transatlantic convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic. In 1946 South American Saint Line bought her and renamed her Saint Ina. In 1948 Bristol City Line bought her and renamed her Wells City. In 1951 the Pakistani-owned East & West Steamship Company bought her and renamed her Fausta. She was scrapped in Pakistan in 1964.
United Kingdom
Bristol, UK 