MBT Screw steamship ss "Great Britain" (1843) - Construction Drawing Scale 1 : 96 (10.10.133)

The SS Great Britain, launched in 1843, was a revolutionary screw steamship designed by the famous engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was one of the most important technological milestones in maritime history and marked the beginning of a new era in transatlantic shipping.

Technical Specifications

Type: Iron screw steamship (passenger and cargo ship)

Shipyard: Great Western Dockyard, Bristol, England

Designer: Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Launched: 19 July 1843

Length: 98 metres

Width: 15.2 metres

Tonnage: 3,400 gross tons

Propulsion:

1 steam engine, 1000 hp

1 propeller (one of the first ocean-going ships with screw propulsion)

Six masts with sail rigging

Speed: approx. 12 knots

Capacity: approx. 360 passengers and 120 crew members

Key milestones

First ocean-going ship with:

an iron hullscrew propulsion

At its launch, it was the largest ship in the world.

It made its first transatlantic crossing in 1845, from Liverpool to New York in 14 days.

Career & later history

1845–1852: Passenger service to the USA

1852–1882: Transport of emigrants and cargo to Australia

1882: Converted into a coal hulk in the Falkland Islands

1937: Decommissioned and scuttled in an inlet near Port Stanley

Restoration & museum

In 1970, the wreck was salvaged and brought back to Bristol on a special pontoon.

Since then, it has been fully restored and is now located in the SS Great Britain Museum in Bristol, in the original dry dock where it was built.

Visitors can view the ship inside and out.

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