Editing SS Great Britain (section)

{{Short description|1840s British steamship, museum ship}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2023}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image= SS Great Britain bow view.jpg
|Ship caption=SS ''Great Britain'' in [[dry dock]] at [[Bristol]] in 2005, preserved for exhibition as a museum ship
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
|Ship name=''Great Britain''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship owner=[[Great Western Steamship Company]]
|Ship operator=
|Ship registry= Bristol 
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship awarded=
|Ship designer= [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]]
|Ship builder= [[William Patterson Shipbuilders|William Patterson]]
|Ship original cost=*Projected: £70,000
*Actual: £117,000
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down= July 1839
|Ship launched= 19 July 1843
|Ship sponsor=
|Ship christened=
|Ship completed= 1845
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=
|Ship recommissioned=
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship maiden voyage= 26 July 1845
|Ship in service= 1845–1886
|Ship refit=
|Ship homeport=[[Bristol]], England

{{Coord|51.4492|-2.6084|format=dms|type:landmark_region:GB-BST|display=title,inline}}
|Ship identification=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship status=[[Museum ship]]
|Ship badge=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=
|Ship type= [[Passenger ship|Passenger steamship]]
|Ship displacement=3,674&nbsp;tons load draught
|Ship tons burthen= 3,443 [[Builder's old measurement|bm]]
|Ship length={{convert|322|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|50|ft|6|in|2|abbr=on}} 
|Ship height=
|Ship draught= {{convert|16|ft|m|2|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Claxton|1845|p=3}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth= {{convert|32.5|ft|m|abbr=on}} 
|Ship power= 2 × twin {{convert|88|in|cm|adj=on}} [[cylinder (engine)|cylinder]], [[Bore (engine)|bore]], {{convert|6|ft|2|abbr=on}} [[stroke (engine)|stroke]], {{convert|500|hp|abbr=on}}, 18&nbsp;[[Revolutions per minute|rpm]] [[marine steam engine#Direct acting|inclined direct-acting]] [[steam engine]]s
|Ship propulsion= Single [[propeller (marine)|screw propeller]]
|Ship sail plan=*Original: Five [[schooner]]-rigged and one [[square-rig]]ged mast
*After 1853: Three square-rigged masts
|Ship speed= {{convert|10|to|11|kn}}
|Ship range=
|Ship boats=
|Ship capacity=*360 passengers, later increased to 730
*{{convert|1,200|LT|ST t}} of cargo
|Ship complement=130 officers and crew (as completed)
|Ship notes=
}}
|}

'''SS ''Great Britain''''' is a [[museum ship]] and former [[Steamship|passenger steamship]] that was advanced for her time. The largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1853, she was designed by [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]] (1806–1859), for the [[Great Western Steamship Company]]'s [[transatlantic crossing|transatlantic]] service between [[Bristol]] and New York City. While other ships had previously been built of iron or equipped with a [[Propeller (marine)|screw propeller]], ''Great Britain'' was the first to combine these features in a large [[ocean liner|ocean-going ship]], making her one of the most technologically advanced ships of her time. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.

The ship is {{convert|322|ft|m|abbr=on}} in length and has a 3,400-ton displacement. She was powered by two inclined two-cylinder engines of the [[marine steam engine#Direct acting|direct-acting]] type, with twin cylinders {{convert|88|in|cm|abbr=on}} [[bore (engine)|bore]], of {{convert|72|in|cm|abbr=on}} [[stroke (engine)|stroke]]. She was also provided with secondary masts for sail power. The four decks provided accommodation for a crew of 120, plus 360 passengers who were provided with cabins, and dining and promenade saloons.

When launched in 1843, ''Great Britain'' was by far the largest vessel ever built.<ref>{{cite web | author = Farr, Grahame | date = 1965 | title = The Steamship Great Britain | series = BHA pamphlets, no. 11 | editor1 = McGrath, Patrick | editor2 = Harris, Peter | pages =  1, 6f, and passim | url = https://archive.org/details/bha011 | location = Bristol, England | publisher = Bristol Branch of the Historical Association, University of Bristol}}</ref> However, her protracted construction time of six years (1839–1845) and high cost had left her owners in a difficult financial position, and they were forced out of business in 1846, having spent all their remaining funds refloating the ship after she ran aground at [[Dundrum, County Down#History|Dundrum Bay]] in [[County Down, Northern Ireland|County Down]] near [[Newcastle, Northern Ireland|Newcastle]] in what is now [[Northern Ireland]], after a [[navigation]] error. In 1852 she was sold for [[marine salvage|salvage]] and repaired. ''Great Britain'' later carried thousands of [[Immigration to Australia|emigrants to Australia]] from 1852 until being converted to all-sail in 1881. Three years later, she was retired to the [[Falkland Islands]], where she was used as a warehouse, quarantine ship and [[hulk (ship type)|coal hulk]] until she was [[scuttling|scuttled]] in 1937, 98 years after being [[keel laying|laid down]].{{sfn|Gibbs |1957|pp=41–54}}

In 1970, after ''Great Britain'' had been abandoned for 33 years, Sir [[Jack Hayward|Jack Arnold Hayward]], [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]] (1923–2015) paid for the vessel to be raised and repaired enough to be towed north through the Atlantic back to the United Kingdom, and returned to the Bristol [[dry dock]] where she had been built 127 years earlier. Hayward was a prominent businessman, developer, philanthropist and owner of the English football club [[Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.|Wolverhampton Wanderers]]. Now listed as part of the [[National Historic Fleet]], ''Great Britain'' is a visitor attraction and museum ship in [[Bristol Harbour]], with between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors annually.