Aaron Manby
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Aaron Manby |
| Builder: | Horseley Iron Works, Staffordshire, UK |
| Completed: | April 1822 |
| In service: | 1822–1855 |
| Fate: | Scrapped, 1855 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 120 bm |
| Length: | 106 ft (32 m) |
| Beam: |
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| Installed power: | Oscillating cylinder steam engine, 30 hp (22 kW) |
| Propulsion: | Two side wheels, 12 ft (3.7 m) diameter, 2 ft 6 in (0.76 m) wide |
| Speed: | 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) |
Aaron Manby was a landmark vessel in the science of shipbuilding as the first iron steamship to go to sea. She was built by Aaron Manby (1776–1850) at the Horseley Ironworks. She made the voyage to Paris in June 1822 under Captain (later Admiral) Charles Napier, with Aaron's son Charles on board as engineer. Aaron Manby was then used by the Compagnie des bateaux a vapeur en fer to operate its service between Paris and Le Havre.
Launched in 1821, Aaron Manby was the first steamship to be built of iron. She was the brainchild of the eccentric but far-seeing naval officer Captain (later Admiral) Charles Napier, who had conceived the idea of a fleet of steamships for service on the River Seine. The ship was named after the master of the Horseley Ironworks, Tipton, Staffordshire, where she was pre-fabricated to a design jointly formulated by Captain Napier, Aaron Manby and his son Charles. She was then shipped in pieces to Rotherhithe on the Thames and assembled there. Of 116 tons burthen, the ship was 120 feet (36.6 m) long. Her flat-bottomed hull was made of 1⁄4-inch-thick (6.4 mm) iron plate fastened to angle-iron ribs. There was one deck, of wood, and a bowsprit. The ship's distinctive profile boasted a single 47-foot-high (14 m) funnel. The engine was of the oscillating type, designed and patented (British Patent No 4558 of 1821) by Aaron Manby. The paddlewheels: were 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter but only 2.5 feet (76 cm) wide, because the vessel's maximum beam was limited to 23 feet (7.0 m) for service on the Seine. Defying the prevailing wisdom of the day, the iron-hulled vessel not only floated but made 9 knots (10 mph, 17 km/h) and drew one foot (30 cm) less water than any other steamboat then operating.
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