SS Great Britain

The SS Great Britain was the first ocean-going ship to have an iron hull[?], the first ocean-going ship to have a screw propeller, and when launched in 1843 was the largest vessel afloat.

She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, Thomas Guppy[?], Christopher Claxton[?] and William Patterson[?] for the Great Western Steamship Company[?] and built in a specially adapted dry dock at Bristol. Originally intended as an Atlantic steamer, she made most of her working voyages from Britain to Australia. She was also used as a troop ship during the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny. In 1882 she was turned into a sailing ship to transport bulk coal, but after a fire on board in 1886 she was found to be damaged beyond repair. She was sold to the Falkland Islands Company[?] and used as a storage hulk[?] until the 1930s, when she was scuttled and abandoned. In 1970 she was refloated on a pontoon[?] and towed back to Bristol, where she was returned to the (then-disused) dry dock in which she was built, for conservation as a museum ship.

As of 2003, reconstruction is underway and there are guided tours for visitors wearing hard hats[?].

Dimensions

• Length: 322ft (98.15m)
• Beam (width): 50ft 6in (15.39m)
• Height (main deck to keel): 32ft 6in (9.91m)
• Weight unladen: 1930 long tons (2161 short tons, 1961 tonnes)
• Displacement: 3018 long tons (3380 short tons, 3066 tonnes)

Links

• Official website: http://www.ss-great-britain.com/
• Unofficial site: http://www.radisol.com/ssgb/