Great Ocean Liners – Savannah
In the age before the jet airliner, the ocean liner was the only way to cross the oceans of the world, The development of efficient steam engines was the key to this development, ships used a combination of sail and steam at first but with the replacement of paddle-wheels by propellers, the ocean liner became a safe and luxurious way to cross from one continent to another. The most popular being the one from Europe to America and vica-versa, across the Atlantic. The first steamship to cross the North Atlantic was the paddle steamer Savannah, in 1819. She made the trip from Savannah, Georgia, USA to Liverpool, England in 27 days. The problem at that time was fuel capacity, ships could not carry enough fuel to make the full crossing by steam. Savannah’s steam engine was used for only 85 hours during the whole voyage, sails were used for the rest of the voyage. However, this epic journey marked the beginning of a new era.
SS. Great Britain
The SS great Britain was famously designed by the British engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. A monumental figure within Victorian Britain. This ship was originally designed as a paddle steamer, Brunel quickly recognised the advantages of screw propulsion and converted the ship and her engines to power a 16 foot iron propeller. At the time of her launch in 1843 she was the largest ship in the world, over 100 feet longer than her rivals, and the first screw-propelled, ocean-going, wrought iron ship. While her first few voyages successfully demonstrated her potential, they were not great financial successes, with far fewer passengers than anticipated. Her career as a passenger liner was cut short when she ran aground on the sands of Dundrum Bay in Northern Ireland in 1846. Although her hull was not badly damaged, her engines were ruined, and the expense of re-floating her drained the financial resources of her owners. She is now on permanent exhibition in Bristol, England. She is berthed in the original dry dock where she was built.
The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse
Up until 1895, the largest, fastest and most popular ocean liners were British. The largest ship ever built was the Great Eastern, while the fastest ships were the Cunard Line’s Campania and Lucania. These two ships were also the largest ships in existence. With Britain stealing all the glory, the newly formed German state wanted to create a fleet of merchant ships to rival the dominating British. Germany’s first step to gain popularity on the North Atlantic came when they built the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in 1897. The success was immediate. The new liner not only eclipsed the Campania and Lucania’s size, but she also beat their best average crossing over the Atlantic, thereby receiving the Blue Riband. It was the first time a German ship ever received this honour. The Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was also the most luxurious vessel on the oceans, quickly making her into one of the most popular ocean liners on the North Atlantic. Her four funnels had set the pattern for many future ships to come.
The RMS Titanic
RMS Titanicwas an Olympic-class passenger liner that became infamous for its collision with an iceberg and its dramatic sinking on April 14, 1912. The Titanic was unsurpassed in luxury and opulence. The liner had an onboard swimming pool, a gymnasium, a Turkish bath, a library and a squash court. First-class common rooms were adorned with elaborate wood panelling, expensive furniture and other elegant decorations. The Titanic was built in Belfast and was the largest passenger steamship in the world at the time of her sinking.
The liner was 269 metres long and 28 metres across her beam. Her height above the waterline the boat deck was 18 metres. Only three of the four 19 metre high funnels were functional; the fourth, which served only as a vent, was added to make the ship look more impressive.
The 1997 film Titanic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet was a commercial hit, winning eleven Academy Awards and holding the record for the highest box office returns of all time.
The RMS Queen Mary
In 1930, Cunard announced that a new liner was to be built – the RMS Queen Mary. Building began on 31 January 1931 and progressed well 11 December 1931, when the world economic depression hit the shipbuilding industry. It wasn’t until December 1933 that the building of the ship commenced again. The work was completed by August 1934 and the ship was launched on 26 September by Queen Mary. It made its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on 27 May 1934. Despite expectations that the ship would try to break speed records on its first voyage a thick fog destroyed any hope of this. The Queen Mary spent a short time in drydock during July whilst adjustments were made to the propellers and turbines. When the ship returned to service, in August, it made a record voyage across the Atlantic and took the Blue Riband from the Normandie. In August 1938 it set new records for both the eastbound and westbound crossings. It made its last commercial voyage from Southampton on 30 August 1939 and then remained berthed at New York until the end of the year whilst it was decided what role the ship would play in the war. On 21 March the Queen Mary left New York under orders to sail for Cape Town and Sydney. On arrival work began converting the ship into a troopship.
The Pack Contents
The Ocean Liner kit consists of four sheets of high quality card with die-cut sections and a base-card. The ship has three main pop-up parts, the Upper Deck and Funnel, Middle-Deck, and the ship’s Bow. Each pop-up part is glued onto the base-card in a ‘V’ shape that levers up into a pop-up position when the card is opened. A fourth card contains a selection of fold-up pieces including a lighthouse, iceberg, gulls, shark, flying fish and an octopus. The kit includes full instructions and a detailed history of pop-up cards. The size of the pop-up card when folded together is 110mm x 150mm and fits inside the Ocean-blue C6 envelope which is supplied with the kit.
