SS Great Britain Launched: First Iron-Hulled Ocean Liner
The propeller wasn't supposed to work—every naval expert said so. But Isambard Kingdom Brunel bolted a six-bladed screw to his iron monster anyway, and on July 19, 1843, the SS Great Britain slid into Bristol's harbor: 322 feet long, 3,400 tons, dwarfing every wooden ship afloat. Iron hulls rusted. Screws couldn't push enough water. Brunel proved both wrong in a single launch. Within twenty years, every ocean liner copied his design. The ship that shouldn't float became the template for a century of sea travel.
July 19, 1843
183 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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