SS Great Britain is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1853. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great Western Steamship Company's transatlantic service between Bristol and New York City. While other ships had been built of iron or equipped with a screw propeller, Great Britain was the first to combine these features in a large ocean-going ship. She was the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic Ocean, which she did in 1845, in 14 days.
SS Great Britain in dry dock at Bristol in 2005, preserved for exhibition as a museum ship
The SS Great Western on her maiden voyage
Artist's impression of SS Archimedes
Replica of Great Britain's original six-bladed propeller on the museum ship. This propeller proved totally unsatisfactory in service and was quickly replaced with a four-bladed model.
A museum ship, also called a memorial ship, is a ship that has been preserved and converted into a museum open to the public for educational or memorial purposes. Some are also used for training and recruitment purposes, mostly for the small number of museum ships that are still operational and thus capable of regular movement.
The Russian Aurora, one of the few protected cruisers to be preserved, is one of the world's most visited vessels
Former crew members of USS Missouri pose for photos after the Anniversary of the End of World War II ceremony in 2003.
The 17th-century warship Vasa on display in the Vasa Museum
HMS Victory: the only ship of the line that is preserved.
