RMS Britannia
RMS Britannia at harbour.
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History | |
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United Kingdom | |
Name | RMS Britannia |
Namesake | Britannia |
Owner | British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company |
Builder | Robert Duncan & Company, Greenock, Scotland |
Launched | 5 February 1840 |
Maiden voyage | 4 July 1840 |
Out of service | Sold to the Reichsflotte in March 1849 |
German Confederation | |
Name | SMS Barbarossa |
Acquired | March 1849 |
Out of service | Transferred to the Prussian Navy in June 1852 |
Prussia | |
Name | SMS Barbarossa |
Acquired | June 1852 |
Fate | Sunk as a target ship in July 1880 |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Britannia-class steamship |
Tons burthen | 1,154 |
Length | 207 ft (63 m) |
Beam | 34 ft (10 m) |
Draught | 16.8 ft (5.1 m) |
Propulsion |
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Speed | 8.5 knots (15.7 km/h) |
Range | 640 tons coal |
Capacity | 115 passengers |
Crew | 82 |
RMS Britannia was an
Description and service
Britannia was a large ship for the period, 207 feet (63 m) long and 34 feet (10.3 m) across the beam, with three masts and a wooden hull.
On her maiden voyage, starting on 4 July 1840, she made
Her first homeward run from Halifax to Liverpool was made in just under 10 days at an average speed of about 11 knots (20 km/h), setting a new eastbound record which lasted until 1842.[5]
She was joined by her sister ship Acadia in August 1840, by Caledonia in October 1840 and by Columbia in January 1841, each constructed by a different shipbuilder.
In January 1842 Charles Dickens and his wife travelled to the United States on Britannia. The weather was bad, he was seasick for most of the voyage and returned home on a sailing ship.[8][9]
As Barbarossa in German service
In March 1849 she was sold by Cunard to the
Film depiction of RMS Britannia
The funding and first crossing of Britannia were key plot elements in a
References
- ^ https://www.chriscunard.com/history-fleet/cunard-fleet/1840-1900/britannia/ RMS Britannia on Chris' Cunard Page.
- ^ a b c d e Smith, Eugene Waldo (1947). Trans-Atlantic passenger ships, past and present. Boston: George H. Dean Company. p. 3. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
- ^ Lavery, Brian. "SHIP: The Epic Story of Maritime Adventure", p. 209. DK Publishing 2004.
- ^ "175 Anniversary Historical occasions in Halifax, Boston and New York". Cunard Line 175 Anniversary Crossing. Cunard Line. Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ^ The Blue Riband of the North Atlantic
- ^ "Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1270 to Present". Retrieved 22 August 2015.
- ISBN 0-85475-057-6
- ^ a b MaritimeQuest- SS Britannia/Barbarossa. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- ^ Dickens, Charles (1850). American Notes for General Circulation. Chapters 1, 2 and 16. Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
External links
- Media related to Britannia (ship, 1840) at Wikimedia Commons
- Britannia on thegreatoceanliners.com
- SMS Barbarossa http://www.janmaat.de/m_dfbarbarossa.htm Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Britannia on Chris' Cunard Page https://www.chriscunard.com/history-fleet/cunard-fleet/1840-1900/britannia/