Britannia (1840) |
Later names |
|
Barbarossa (1849) |
|
Barbarossa (1852) |
Builder: |
Robert Duncan & Company Greenock, Scotland |
Keel laid: |
N/A |
Launched: |
February 5, 1840 |
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Year built: |
1840 |
Completed: |
N/A |
Fate: |
Sunk as target July 28, 1880 by SMS Zieten, raised Nov. 10 and scrapped at Kiel, Germany. |
Owner |
British & North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (Cunard) Liverpool, England |
Mar. 1849: |
German Navy |
June 2, 1852: |
Prussian Navy |
Dimensions, machinery and performance as built |
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Length: |
206' 6" |
Hull: |
Wood |
Beam: |
33' 7" |
Engines: |
1 two cylinder side leaver by Robert Napier |
Across wheels: |
55' 7" |
Boilers: |
N/A |
Wheel diameter: |
27' 8" |
Speed: |
9 knots |
Draft: |
21' 9" (depth) |
HP: |
740 |
Gross tons: |
1,135 |
Funnels: |
1 |
Crew: |
82 |
Masts: |
3 (rigged for sail) |
Passengers: |
115 |
Captains
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From
|
To
|
Name
|
1840 |
? |
Captain Henry Woodruff RN |
History |
Christened by
Mrs. Isabella Napier, wife of Robert Napier the ship's designer. |
July 4, 1840: |
Maiden voyage Liverpool-Halifax-Boston,
carried 63 passengers including Samuel Cunard and his daughter. |
July 18, 1840: |
Arrived at Boston. |
Aug. 14, 1840: |
Won Blue Riband (Eastbound) 9 days, 21 hours, 44 minuets, 10.98 knots, taking it from the Great Western, held the record until May 11, 1842 losing to the Great Western. |
Jan. 1841: |
Stuck fast in the ice at Boston, the people of Boston raised the money necessary to cut a seven mile channel to free the ship. |
Sept. 14, 1847: |
Stranded at Cape Race, Newfoundland, repaired at New York. |
Mar. 1849: |
Commissioned into German Federation Navy and renamed Barbarossa, 9 guns fitted. |
June 6, 1852: |
Transferred to the Prussian Navy and used as barracks ship in Danzig, Germany. |
1865: |
Engines removed and laid up. |
May 5, 1880: |
Decommissioned from Prussian Navy. |
July 28, 1880: |
Sunk as target. |
Notes |
Britannia was Cunard's first steamship. |
Charles Dickens crossed the Atlantic on Britannia in January of 1842, he was seasick for most of voyage and returned on a sailing ship. |
Builder's Data |
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Page published May 10, 2005 |