The SS Great Eastern Under Construction in Millwall, England

Created by Cooper Slack on Tue, 02/04/2020 - 22:15

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Description: 

The SS Great Eastern was the first double hulled ship ever built. This image is during its construction, which gives a view of both the inner and outer hull at the same time. It was also the largest ship ever built at the time, and would remain so until 1899. It was originally designed to take passengers from London to Sydney and back without refueling; however, it only ever made transatlantic voyages. At one point, the ship hit a rock while trying to find a place to dock, tearing a 9ft wide 83ft long hole in its outer hull. The inner hull remained intact. If not for the double hull design, the ship would have likely been lost. Although a double hull would not appear on another ship for decades, it is now mandatory in passenger ships for safety.

Sources:

“THE GREAT EASTERN.; How the Mammoth Ship Was Repaired--Visit of the Board of Underwriters--Their Certificate of Her Seaworthiness.” The New York Times, 17 Dec. 1862, pp. 2–2.

“Great Eastern.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 9 Sept. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/Great-Eastern.

Copyright: 

©National Maritime Museum

Associated Place(s)

Layers

Timeline of Events Associated with The SS Great Eastern Under Construction in Millwall, England

Launch of the SS Great Eastern

3 Nov 1857 to 31 Jan 1858

The SS Great eastern was the first double hulled ship ever built and the largest ship in the world during its entire life span. During its construction, the ship could be seen across the entire peninsula of the Isle of Dog. Such a noticeable object drew a crowd of over 3000 people on the day of its first floating attempt, despite the efforts of it's chief engineer to downplay the event. A ship of its size had never been launched before, so merely getting it into the water presented an engineering challenge in and of itself. It took many attempts and nearly three months to finally get the ship into the water.

Sources:

“Site of the Launch Ways of the SS Great Eastern, Non Civil Parish - 1423608: Historic England.” Site of the Launch Ways of the SS Great Eastern, Historic England, historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1423608.

Launch of the SS Great Eastern

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TimelineJS

Part of Group:

da Vinci and the Renaissance 2020

Featured in Exhibit: 

da Vinci and the Renaissance 2020 Gallery

Artist: 

  • Joseph Cundall

Image Date: 

18 Aug 1855