Abstract
Laying the Keel of the Great Britain ON July 19, 1839, the keel of the Great Britain was laid in a dock at Bristol. This marked the beginning of the construction of by far the largest iron ship of the time. Like the Great Western, she was built for the Great Western Steamship Co., for work on the Atlantic. Her construction was due to the collaboration of Isambard Kingdom Brunei, Thomas Richard Guppy, William Patterson and Captain Christopher Claxton, R.N. At first it was intended to build the ship of wood, but the unusual size led to the adoption of iron. The largest iron vessels afloat were only of about 700 tons, but when completed the Great Britain had a displacement of 3,618 tons. She was 289 ft. long between perpendiculars, 50½ ft. wide and 32½ ft. deep. Her fiat keel was made of wrought iron plates in. thick and 20 in. wide, welded into lengths of 50–60 ft. Her stern and stem frame were both wrought iron forgings. The ship had five watertight bulkheads. Before the ship was commenced, Claxton and Patterson made a careful study of iron for shipbuilding. They found that iron afforded greater strength, buoyancy and capacity, and that iron beams 2½ in. thick would have the strength of wooden beams 2 ft. thick. The Great Britain was not only the largest iron ship, but the largest wrought iron structure for any purpose.
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Science News a Century Ago. Nature 144, 127 (1939). https://doi.org/10.1038/144127a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/144127a0