| Show I I OCEAN SPEED HISTORY I New Ne York Sun The Te day of ot crudity in construction and sluggishness of ot movement In steamships it I might be said sid is past wit with the building of the Cunard tur It I seems a far cry cr to the time when the first steamships largely of ot experimental build felt their way across acrs the western wester ocean In the first fr days the furnaces ate atc up wood as aswell aswell wel well as coal cl in the great gret eagerness of or orthe the marine architects to evolve a yes ves vessel sel that would win speed records Sails were generally set too aboard the old passenger ship when the wind favored fa ored So it was In the year er when the ancient Savannah Savanah crossed crosse the Atlantic the first frt steamship to negotiate the trip and did not complete the journey under steam stem alone but went along un under under under der sail sn for seven days dars while the winds were fair The Savannah marked perhaps the beginning of the era er of ot steam navigation navigation navigation tion on the tho Atlantic but it I was many man years year before another steam ste vessel at attempted attempted attempted tempted the voyage After the Savannah Savanah which was wa an a American ship prodigiously loub ugly as they say came the Sirius and Great Gret Western two British steamships of tons each ech These Tese vessels c e me out in and the Great Grat West Western Westeri era ern succeeded in establishing a trans transatlantic transatlantic atlantic record of fourteen days days This was looked upon in more or less amaze amae Nothing had approached these thee the best time hung up by many of the packet ships being about twenty days Peo People People pIe began to put faith in steam after all al and perhaps this growing gowing conti confidence conf dence resulted in the founding of the Cunard company compan This concern concer was wa wa or organized organized in 1840 and at its It Inception Inc took the field feld with wih a squadron of wood wooden en ships shIp The first were the nia nm Acadia Columbia and Caledonia all al wooden ships something over feet long and which acquired under high pressure a speed of about eight knots These Thes vessels performed so sowell sowell well wel however that the Cunard line lne de decided decided that the trade could be made profitable and thereafter went into the thing on a larger scale Gradually the time in making the At Atlantic lantic passage pase was shortened by b the Cu from fifteen to about eleven days Then came the ships of ot the Col Collins lins Hns line lne an American organization whose performances caused cause untold wonderment These Th se vessels including the Arctic and Pacific low lowered lowered lowered ered the time from Europe to Ameri Amen America ca to something over nine days das This was wa in the early and the Arctic made a record of nine days seventeen hours nouns mae and twelve minutes With Wih the loss Joss of two of its I best ships the Collins line lne lost Its Is grip as a a competitive fac tac factor tor br while the Cunard line Une continued to develop In 1856 came the Persia which lowered the great geat record to nine days one hour and minutes This was getting near the mark and the Persia Peria made a lot of ot talk The eight da boat made Us its Is ap appearance appearance ten years ears later when In 1866 the Scotia came out and steamed from Queenstown to New York in eight days two hours and minutes minute Fa Famous Famous Inous White Star vessels began to ap appear appear appear pear at Wie this time and in the tile old Baltic negotiated the ocean journey joure In seven neven days and twenty hours hour For the time the Baltic of ot course was the te queen of ot the seas but in a few years year phe she surrendered the speed title tte to the City of Berlin which clipped chipped the figures down to seven days das seven seen hours and twentythree thre minutes Then there was a cry cr for the six 51 day lY boat boat and an as m a If in answer came the Alaska laska of the Guion Gulon line lne which crossed In six days eighteen hours ho r and thirty seven minutes A veritable furore was made by tIlls this performance and the ves yes vessel vessel sel was hailed with wih acclaim as the ocean ocen champion This TIllS was in 1882 and three years ears later Inter came the tho he famous amou Etruria which hammered the record clown to six days da s four hours and nd forty three minutes a considerable advance over ocr the th Alaska record The Et ria na is a 2 very serviceable vessel vesel yet yet yeta a Great speculation wap wa under way to toward ward vard art the end of the eighties as to how marne marre marre engineers s would bo he evolving the boat bot The vessel to gain gin the tn day record was the City Ity of Paris of th the American line It I was in that she gave a great demonstration of speed qualities and fled across the theseas seas reaM in five days dars nineteen hours and eighteen minutes Since that time there hns h s been a constant lowering o of ocean time with the great geat lines ines iEA each struggling struggling gling to produce the fastest ship The T e were soon oon hi n ilie le he race again agin with wih the te swift Lucania which in 1894 established the great figures s of ot five days seven hours hour and aad twentythree minutes minute from Qu to Sandy Hook The German ran ships were being heard rm rom however There was the Furst Furet Furt of the JIne Une She first attention to the development of oC speed in Teutonic yes ves vest yes yest l 1 t t I sels by steaming over the Southampton course curse in six days fourteen hours and fifteen minutes The Germans Gerans worked with a a will vill m after this for tor the attain attainment ment meat of speed and in 1900 the great Deutschlan of ot the line lne appeared and usurped the supremacy supremacy acy ac of the seas peas She traveled from New York to Plymouth 2962 miles mies in five days seven hours and minutes thus excelling the swift swit time The fleet feet also established a R record for the highest days run made by any an steamship This was knots made mae in July Jul 1901 The distance is equivalent to statute miles mies Thus the Germans Gerans wrested the speed championship of or the Atlantic from their most roost powerful rivals Eagerly all al ship sh p builders figured and devised trying in every ever way to lower the record Great speeders came forth In the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and the Kaiser II I Each of those these thes ships made superb trips the Kaiser Wilhelm Wihelm U I rushing across on one trip at an average speed of knots the best average ever shown by b a trans transatlantic transatlantic atlantic flyer tyer Since the great perform performance ance thirteen years rear ago the boat has been a point of ot discussion Engineers of or all al beliefs and Ideas have struggled led with wih the speed problem em but it has remained for the Lusitania to re regain regain gain British supremacy and to place r the English ensign above aboe the German tricolor In the matter mater of speedy speed navi navigation gation gatton gaton With lh the task accomplished every eer mart mati mat aboard the huge hinge from the tIle captain to the grimiest reek ing big stoker in the fire room will wi feel feela a thrill of triumph |
