Aaron Manby was a landmark vessel in the science of shipbuilding

Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...

 as the first iron steamship to go to sea. She was built by Aaron Manby (1776–1850) at the Horseley Ironworks. She made the voyage to Paris in June 1822 under Captain (later Admiral) Charles Napier, with Aaron's son Charles on board as engineer. Aaron Manby was then used by the "Compagnie des bateaux a vapeur en fer" to operate its service between Paris and Havre.

Vessel History

Launched in 1821, Aaron Manby was the first steamship to be built of iron. She was the brainchild

Idea

In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...

 of the eccentric but far-seeing naval officer Captain

Captain (Royal Navy)

Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...

 (later Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

) Charles Napier, who had conceived the idea of a fleet of steamships for service on the River Seine

Seine

The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...

. The ship was named after the master of the Horseley Ironworks

Horseley Ironworks

The Horseley Ironworks was a major ironworks in the Tipton area in the county of Staffordshire, now the West Midlands, England....

, Tipton

Tipton

Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....

, Staffordshire

Staffordshire

Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...

, where she was pre-fabricated to a design jointly formulated by Captain Napier, Aaron Manby and his son Charles Manby. She was then shipped in pieces to Rotherhithe

Rotherhithe

Rotherhithe is a residential district in inner southeast London, England and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is located on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping and the Isle of Dogs on the north bank, and is a part of the Docklands area...

 on the Thames and assembled there. Of 116 tons burthen, the ship was 120 feet (36.6 m) long. Her flat-bottomed hull was made of 1/4 in iron plate fastened to angle-iron ribs. There was one deck

Deck (ship)

A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull of a ship. On a boat or ship, the primary deck is the horizontal structure which forms the 'roof' for the hull, which both strengthens the hull and serves as the primary working surface...

, of wood, and a bowsprit

Bowsprit

The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a pole extending forward from the vessel's prow. It provides an anchor point for the forestay, allowing the fore-mast to be stepped farther forward on the hull.-Origin:...

. The ship's distinctive profile boasted a single 47 feet (14.3 m) funnel. The engine was of the oscillating type, designed and patented (British Patent No 4558 of 1821) by Aaron Manby. The paddlewheels: were 12 feet (3.7 m) in diameter but only 2.5 feet (76 cm) wide, because the vessel's maximum beam was limited to 23 feet (7.0 m) for service on the Seine. Defying the prevailing wisdom of the day, the iron-hulled vessel not only floated but made 9 knots (10 mph, 17 km/h) and drew one foot (30 cm) less water than any other steamboat then operating.(Dumpleton 2002:18f, Kemp 1979:1)

After trials in May 1822, Aaron Manby crossed the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

 to Le Havre

Le Havre

Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...

 under Napier’s command on June 10, at an average speed of 8 knots (9 mph, 14 km/h), carrying passengers and freighted with a cargo of linseed and iron castings. The ship proceeded up the Seine to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, where she caused a great stir and where she was based for the next decade. This has been claimed (incorrectly) as the first passage from Britain to France by steam ship. There had been shorter crossings by wooden steamers, but Napier's was the first direct steam crossing from London to Paris and the first seagoing voyage by an iron ship anywhere. After some further channel voyages the ship was used for pleasure trips up and down the Seine. On the failure of Napier’s enterprise through bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 in 1827 (after he had financed the building of five similar iron steamships) she was sold to a French consortium

Consortium

A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....

 ("Compagnie des bateaux a vapeur en fer") who operated her on the River Loire

Loire (river)

The Loire is the longest river in France. With a length of , it drains an area of , which represents more than a fifth of France's land area. It is the 170th longest river in the world...

 until she was broken up in 1855. The use of iron plates for the hull, in place of wood, was widely copied in shipbuilding during the following decades. Napier had conceived the ship as a first step towards an iron warship, and in this sense Aaron Manby could be considered a direct ancestor of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

's first iron frigate

Frigate

A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...

, , built the year of Napier's death.

Sources

• Peter Kemp (ed), The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea (Oxford University Press, 1976, corr. edition 1979) ISBN 0-19-211553-7
• Bernard Dumpleton, The Story of the Paddle Steamer (Antony Rowe Ltd, Eastbourne, 1973, 2002)
• Aaron Manby, Builder of the First Iron Steamship, Newcomen Transactions, Vol.29, 1953-5, page 77.

See also

• Vulcan
  Vulcan (barge)
  The Vulcan, launched in 1819, was the first all iron-hulled vessel to be built. It was designed as a horse-drawn passenger barge for use on the Scottish canals..-History:...
  
  , first iron vessel, a horse-drawn barge, maiden voyage May 1819.
• Charlotte Dundas
  Charlotte Dundas
  The Charlotte Dundas is regarded as the world's "first practical steamboat", the first towing steamboat and the boat that demonstrated the practicality of steam power for ships....
  
  , first commercial steam propelled vessel, maiden voyage 1802.