RMS Persia

Cunard's Persia of 1856

History
United Kingdom
Name| Persia
Namesake| Persia
Owner| Cunard Line
Route| Atlantic crossing.
Builder| Robert Napier and Sons, Glasgow
Launched| 25 July 1855
Maiden voyage| 26 January 1856
Fate| Taken out of service 1868, scrapped 1872
General characteristics
Type| Steamship
Tonnage| 3,414 GRT [1]
Length| 398 ft (121 m)
Beam| 45 ft (14 m)
Installed power| 1 × 2-cylinder side-lever steam engine with 100 inch bore and 10 ft stroke
Sail plan| 2 masts
Capacity| Approximately 250 saloon and 50 second class passengers

Persia was a British passenger liner operated by the Cunard Line that won the Blue Riband in 1856 for the fastest westbound transatlantic voyage.[2] She was the first Atlantic record breaker constructed of iron and was the largest ship in the world at the time of her launch.[2][3][4] However, the inefficiencies of paddle wheel propulsion rendered Persia obsolete and she was taken out of service in 1868 after only twelve years. Attempts to convert Persia to sail were unsuccessful and the former pride of the British merchant marine was scrapped in 1872.[5]

## Development and design

[edit]

Side lever engine of Persia

As a result of competition from the Collins Line, Cunard ordered the Arabia in 1852 to retake the Atlantic records. Arabia crammed more powerful engines into a smaller ship than the Collins speedsters, and touched 15 knots on trials. However, she proved too powerful for her wooden construction and was unable to win the records. Cunard realized that in the future, new construction must include an iron hull.[5]

For Persia, Robert Napier and Sons of Glasgow designed an iron ship that was 16% larger than the wooden Collins liners and 50% larger than Cunard's Arabia.[5] Her two-cylinder side-lever engine produced 3,600 horsepower (2,700 kW) and consumed 145 long tons (147 t) of coal per day. Persia's launch in July 1855 was a national event and she touched 17 knots (31 km/h) on her trials, although her normal service speed was limited to 13 knots (24 km/h) because of her high fuel consumption. She carried 250 first class and 50 second class passengers.

## Service history

[edit]

On her maiden voyage in 1856, Persia struck an iceberg, but was saved by her clipper bow and the stoutness of her construction.[6] It was during this maiden voyage that the Collins Line steamer Pacific disappeared, possibly itself a victim of icebergs. In April, she took the Atlantic speed records in both directions with an eastbound voyage of 9 days, 10 hours, 22 minutes (13.46 knots (24.93 km/h)) and a westbound voyage of 9 days, 16 hours, 16 minutes (13.11 knots (24.28 km/h)). She held both records until 1863 when Cunard commissioned the Scotia, the last paddle wheel Atlantic record holder.[2] Scotia was originally intended to be Persia's sister, but was delayed when the Collins Line collapsed.[6] When Scotia was finally built, she was a larger edition of Persia with an extra deck and power.[5]

In 1861, during the Trent incident, Persia and several other liners were chartered to rush troops to Canada. She was the only ship to reach Quebec before ice closed the St. Lawrence River.[6] The next year, Cunard commissioned the SS China, its first mail liner with screw propulsion. She proved substantially more profitable than Cunard's mail paddle steamers and the firm quickly ordered two additional screw mail ships to retire the last wooden paddle steamers on the New York express route.[5]

Persia remained paired with Scotia on the New York route until 1867 when Cunard commissioned the Russia, the first screw Cunarder that could match Scotia's speed. Because of her fuel consumption, Persia was not a good fit for the other Cunard services and was laid up in 1868. Her engines were removed and she was sold to MacArthur and Wilson of Glasgow for conversion to sail. However, the conversion didn't take place and Persia was sold for scrap in 1872.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ [1], "Persia Spears an Iceberg". oceanlinersmagazine.com. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
2. ^ a b c Othfors, Daniel. "Persia 1856 - 1872". thegreatoceanliners.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009. "By 1855, the new liner was nearing completion. She was launched and christened Persia a few months before she set out on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on January 26, 1856. Three months later she had captured the Blue Riband of the Atlantic for Cunard. As Persia was the largest vessel in the world at the time, Cunard had now totally surpassed the Collins Line. ... As late as 1863, the Persia lost the Blue Riband in both directions to her sister – the last paddle steamer Scotia."
3. ^ "S/S Persia, Cunard Line". norwayheritage.com. Retrieved 17 October 2009. "This leviathan vessel, the largest steam-ship afloat in the world - far exceeding in length, strength, tonnage, and steam-power the Great Britain..."
4. ^ "Cunard History at a Glance" (PDF). Cunard Line & Redpoint Marketing PR. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2009. "1856 — The famous Persia is built, the company's first iron-hulled transatlantic vessel. The largest ship in the world at the time, she was 390 feet long and 3,330 gross registered tons."
5. ^ a b c d e Gibbs, C. R. Vernon (1957). Passenger Liners of the Western Ocean: A Record of Atlantic Steam and Motor Passenger Vessels from 1838 to the Present Day. John De Graff.
6. ^ a b c d Kludas, Arnold (1999). Record breakers of the North Atlantic, Blue Riband Liners 1838-1953. London: Chatham.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Persia (ship, 1856) at Wikimedia Commons
* Persia on Chris' Cunard Page

Records

Preceded by

Baltic

|  Holder of the Blue Riband (Westbound record)
1856–1863  | Succeeded by

Scotia

Preceded by

Arctic

|  Blue Riband (Eastbound record)
1856–1863

* v
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* e

Ships of the Cunard Line

Current fleet|

* 2004 RMS Queen Mary 2
* 2007 MS Queen Victoria
* 2010 MS Queen Elizabeth
* 2024 MS Queen Anne

Former ships
1840-1994|

* 1840 RMS Unicorn
* 1840 RMS Britannia
* 1848 SS Satellite
* 1853 SS Arabia
* 1856 RMS Persia
* 1862 RMS Scotia
* 1863 RMS Hecla
* 1865 SS Java
* 1867 SS Russia
* 1870 SS Abyssinia
* 1870 SS Parthia
* 1874 SS Bothnia
* 1878 SS Aleppo
* 1879 SS Gallia
* 1881 SS Servia
* 1881 SS Catalonia
* 1882 RMS Aurania
* 1884 SS Oregon
* 1884 RMS Umbria
* 1885 RMS Etruria
* 1892 RMS Campania
* 1893 RMS Lucania
* 1898 SS Ultonia
* 1899 SS Ivernia
* 1899 RMS Saxonia
* 1903 RMS Carpathia
* 1903 RMS Pannonia
* 1904 RMS Slavonia
* 1905 RMS Carmania
* 1905 RMS Caronia
* 1907 RMS Lusitania
* 1907 RMS Mauretania
* 1909 SS Thracia
* 1910 RMS Franconia
* 1911 RMS Albania
* 1911 SS Ausonia
* 1912 RMS Laconia
* 1913 RMS Andania
* 1913 RMS Alaunia
* 1914 RMS Aquitania
* 1914 SS Orduña
* 1916 SS Royal George
* 1917 RMS Aurania
* 1920 SS Albania
* 1921 RMS Berengaria
* 1921 RMS Scythia
* 1922 RMS Samaria
* 1922 RMS Laconia
* 1922 RMS Andania
* 1922 RMS Antonia
* 1922 RMS Lancastria
* 1921 RMS Ausonia
* 1922 RMS Franconia
* 1924 RMS Aurania
* 1925 SS Letitia
* 1925 RMS Ascania
* 1925 RMS Alaunia
* 1925 RMS Carinthia
* 1934 RMS Majestic
* 1934 RMS Olympic
* 1934 MV Georgic
* 1934 MV Britannic
* 1934 SS Laurentic
* 1936 RMS Queen Mary
* 1939 RMS Mauretania
* 1940 RMS Queen Elizabeth
* 1946 SS Valacia (Empire Camp)
* 1947 SS Vardulia
* 1947 RMS Media
* 1948 RMS Parthia
* 1949 RMS Caronia
* 1954 RMS Saxonia
* 1955 RMS Ivernia
* 1956 RMS Carinthia
* 1957 RMS Sylvania
* 1969 MS Queen Elizabeth 2
* 1970 SS Atlantic Causeway
* 1970 SS Atlantic Conveyor
* 1971 MV Cunard Adventurer
* 1972 MV Cunard Ambassador
* 1975 MS Cunard Countess
* 1976 MS Cunard Princess
* 1983 MS Sagafjord
* 1983 MS Caronia
* 1986 MS Sea Goddess I
* 1986 MS Sea Goddess II
* 1993 MS Cunard Crown Jewel
* 1993 MS Cunard Crown Dynasty
* 1994 MS Royal Viking Sun

For MoWT|

* 1940 SS Pasteur
* 1941 SS Empire Barracuda
* 1940 MV Empire Audacity
* 1943 SS Empire Battleaxe
* 1943 SS Empire Broadsword
* 1945 MV Empire Ettrick

Classes|

* Britannia
* America

Years indicate year of entry into Cunard service.

* v
* t
* e

Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1856

Shipwrecks|

* 7 Jan: Tejuca
* 30 Jan: Cazador
* 31 Jan: Pallada
* January (unknown date): Pacific
* 10 Jan: E. K. Collins
* 28 Aug: Isaac Allerton
* 5 Sep: Arabia
* 24 Sep: Niagara
* 28 Sep: Coromandel
* 24 Oct: Toledo
* 7 Nov: Eleanor Lancaster
* Unknown date: Sea Witch

Other incidents|

* 5 Jan: USCS Benjamin Peirce
* January (unknown date): HMS Hecate
* 10 Jun: HMS Belleisle
* 2 Sep: Ellan Vannin
* Unknown date: RMS Persia

1855 1857
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