- SS British Queen
The steamship SS "British Queen" was a side-paddle steamship owned by the British and American Steam Navigation Company, and purposely built for the Atlantic crossing. The ship was built as a competitor to
Isambard Kingdom Brunel 's "Great Western", which was owned by the rival Great Western Steamship Company."British Queen" was built in the yard of Curling & Young, London and was supplied with engines by
Robert Napier ofGlasgow . She was built in 1838 and made her maiden voyage on July 12, 1839. She became the largest ship of the time, replacing the "Great Western". "British Queen" was 1,863 GRT, 275 feet long and 64 feet across the paddle boxes. She had a wooden hull and two 30 feet diameter paddle-wheels which gave her a maximum speed of 10 knots. She was designed to carry 207 passengers.Her maiden voyage from
Portsmouth toNew York took fifteen days. On board wasSamuel Cunard . 1841 she was sold to theBelgian Government and in 1844 she was broken up. "British Queen" had a sister ship, the 2,350 ton SS " President", which completed only four transatlantic crossings before being lost at sea on March 11, 1841, traveling from New York toLiverpool . All 136 passengers and crew were lost.Bernard Dumpleton, “The Story of the Paddle Steamer”, 1973, The Uffington Press, ISBN 0854750576]References
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