SS British Queen
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | British Queen |
| Owner: | British and American Steam Navigation Company |
| Route: | Atlantic crossing. |
| Builder: | London, Curling & Young |
| Maiden voyage: | 12 July 1839 |
| Fate: | 1841: Sold to Belgian Government and scrapped in 1844 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Steamship |
| Tonnage: | 1850 grt |
| Length: | 245 ft (75 m) |
| Beam: | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Sail plan: | 3 masts |
British Queen was a British passenger liner that was the second steamship completed for the transatlantic route when she was commissioned in 1839. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1839 to 1840. She was named in honor of Queen Victoria and owned by the British and American Steam Navigation Company. British Queen would have been the first transatlantic steamship had she not been delayed by 18 months because of the liquidation of the firm originally contracted to build her engine.
As the largest ship in the world, British Queen was roomier and more comfortable than her contemporaries. She never won the Blue Riband but matched Great Western's westbound speeds from 1838 through 1840 and was less than a half of a knot slower eastbound.
After completing nine round trip voyages, British Queen was laid up in 1841 when British and American collapsed due to the loss of the President with all on board. She was sold to the Belgian Government for an Antwerp-Cowes-New York service that began in 1842. However, this proved unsuccessful and she was laid up again after three round trip voyages. British Queen was lightly built and was scrapped in 1844 when no further use was found for the pioneer liner.
The plan outlined in British and American's prospectus called for placing four 1,200 GRT ships on the London-New York route with fortnightly departures in each direction. However, the size of the company's first unit was increased to 1,850 GRT after it became known that Great Western ordered a 1,350 GRT ship for its first liner. As designed by Macgregor Laird, British Queen was fitted for 207 passengers as compared to Great Western's 148 passengers. At 30 feet wide, her saloon was 9 feet wider than Great Western's.
Laird contracted with Curling and Young of London to build the hull, and intended to retain the Scottish engineer, Robert Napier to build the engine. However, Napier's bid of £20,000 was deemed too high, and another Scottish engine builder, Claud Girdwood tendered a lower price. Unfortunately, Girdwood's firm failed before completing the work and Napier's firm was then retained to build the engine. The delay cost British and American a critical 18 months while work on the Great Western continued.
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Wikipedia