Great Eastern at Heart's Content after laying the first transatlantic cable, July 1866
History
United Kingdom
Name
Great Eastern
Operator
Eastern Steam Navigation Co. (1858-1864)
Port of registry
Liverpool, United Kingdom
Ordered
1853
Builder
J. Scott Russell & Co., Millwall, England
Laid down
1 May 1854
Launched
31 January 1858
Completed
August 1859
Maiden voyage
30 August 1859
In service
1859
Out of service
1889
Stricken
1889
Homeport
Liverpool
Nickname(s)
The Great Ship,
Leviathan (Original name),
Great Babe (As Brunel called her)
Fate
Scrapped 1889–90
Notes
Struck rocks on 27 August 1862. No larger ship in all respects until 1901 by the RMS Celtic.
General characteristics
Type
Passenger ship
Tonnage
18,915 GRT, 13,344 NRT [2]
Displacement
32,160 tons
Length
692 ft (211 m)
Beam
82 ft (25 m)
Decks
4 decks
Propulsion
Four steam engines for the paddles and an additional engine for the propeller. Total power estimated at 8,000 hp (6,000 kW). Rectangular boilers[1]
Speed
14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph)[3]
Boats & landing craft carried
18 lifeboats; after 1860 20 lifeboats
Capacity
4,000 passengers
Complement
418
SS Great Eastern was an iron sail-powered, paddle wheel and screw-propelled steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by John Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London, England. She was by far the largest ship ever built at the time of her 1858 launch, and had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia without refuelling. Her length of 692 feet (211 m) was surpassed only in 1899 by the 705-foot (215 m) 17,274-gross-ton RMS Oceanic, her gross tonnage of 18,915 was only surpassed in 1901 by the 701-foot (214 m) 20,904-gross-ton RMS Celtic and her 4,000-passenger capacity was surpassed in 1913 by the 4,234-passenger SS Imperator. The ship having five funnels (which were later reduced to four) was unusual for the time. The vessel also had the largest set of paddle wheels.
Brunel knew her affectionately as the "Great Babe". He died in 1859 shortly after her maiden voyage, during which she was damaged by an explosion.[4] After repairs, she plied for several years as a passenger liner between Britain and North America before being converted to a cable-laying ship and laying the first lasting transatlantic telegraph cable in 1866.[5] Finishing her life as a floating music hall and advertising hoarding (for the department store Lewis's) in Liverpool, she was broken up on Merseyside in 1889.
^Image:Oscillating engine, and boilers, of Great Eastern - gteast.gif224kB.png
^Dawson, Philip S. (2005). The Liner. Chrysalis Books. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-85177-938-6.
^"Ocean Record Breaking". New York Times. 7 July 1895.
^Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Wilson, Arthur (1994). The Living Rock: The Story of Metals Since Earliest Times and Their Impact on Civilization. Woodhead Publishing. p. 203. ISBN 978-1-85573-301-5.
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British engineer, during the troubled first attempt to launch the SSGreatEastern, by far the largest ship constructed to that date. Brunel stands before...
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closed in 1997. It is now an apartment complex. Pullen's model of SSGreatEastern may be seen, being part of the James Henry Pullen Collection including...
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Russell bought the works and was instrumental in building here The SSGreatEastern, where it was launched. This was a steam and sail ship designed by...
wrecking ball. An early documented use was in the breaking up of the SSGreatEastern in 1888–1889, by Henry Bath and Co, at Rock Ferry on the River Mersey...
some entire football grounds. In the same year the topmast of the SSGreatEastern, one of the first iron ships, was rescued from the ship breaking yard...
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revolutionised naval engineering: the SSGreat Western (1838), the SSGreat Britain (1843), and the SSGreatEastern (1859). In 2002, Brunel was placed second...
of Brunel (father and son) and the SSGreat Britain The Brunel Institute – Collaborative venture between the SSGreat Britain Trust and the University of...
SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler or SS Division Leibstandarte, abbreviated as LSSAH (German: 1. SS-Panzerdivision "Leibstandarte SS Adolf...
America before misuse resulted in failure of the line. In 1866 the SSGreatEastern successfully laid two transatlantic cables, securing future communication...
press concept were applied to the successful launching of Brunel's SSGreatEastern, after two failed attempts by other means. The maximum mechanical advantage...
main constituent groups were the Allgemeine SS (General SS) and Waffen-SS (Armed SS). The Allgemeine SS was responsible for enforcing the racial policy...
Shed, Pyronaut and Mayflower adjoining Prince Street Bridge Dry docks: SSGreat Britain, the Matthew St Augustine's Reach, Pero's Bridge Bathurst Basin...
Global Information
United Kingdom