Transport & space · 1843

Iron screw steamship

Brunel's SS Great Britain unites an iron hull and a propeller for ocean crossings.

Launched in 1843, Isambard Kingdom Brunel's SS Great Britain was the first iron-hulled, screw-driven ship to cross the Atlantic, in 1845. At 98 m she was the longest ship in the world. Iron and later steel hulls allowed ships far bigger than wood could support.

See it in the living tree Wikipedia

Arcs above join it to what it stood on, arcs below to what it led to. The bar places this stretch on the tree's whole timeline.

What it built on 2

What it led to 2

Related measurements

The dashed line marks when it first worked.

Transatlantic crossing time Latest: 3.5 hours (1976) Source: Wikipedia: Transatlantic crossing, duration list; Geography of Transport Systems: liner transatlantic crossing times

Blue Riband: fastest westbound Atlantic liner Latest: 34.5 knots (1952) Source: Wikipedia: Blue Riband, westbound record breakers; USNI Proceedings, October 1933: A New Queen of the Seas

Merchandise exports as a share of world GDP Latest: 24.2 % of GDP (2014) Source: Our World in Data