Читать книгу A Merchant Fleet at War онлайн

10 страница из 14

“Aquitania” escorted by Destroyers

Such was the beginning of the Cunard Company in the shape of four wooden paddle-wheel steam vessels, built on the Clyde, the Britannia, Acadia, Caledonia, and Columbia; and its history from then until 1914 was one of steady and enterprising, cautious and daring, development. This is not the place to linger in detail over the technical strides made since 1840 by the Cunard Company’s directors, but one or two of the more important milestones should perhaps be noted. In the year 1804, John Stevens in America had successfully experimented with the screw-propeller, and in 1820, at the Horsley Iron Works, at Tipton in Staffordshire, Mr. Aaron Manby had designed and built the first iron steamer. It had always been the policy of the Cunard Company to keep in touch with every new marine experiment, but at the same time it had been their wise habit, both from the commercial point of view and that of the safety of their passengers and crews, to move circumspectly in the adoption of new devices. It was not, therefore, until 1852 that the first four iron screw steamships were added to their fleet, namely the Australian, Sydney, Andes, and Alps, four vessels that were also the first belonging to the Company to be fitted with accommodation for emigrants. For the next ten years, however, it was found that passengers still preferred the old paddle-wheel system, and side by side with their iron screw steamers, the Company continued to build these until, in 1862, the Scotia proved to be the last of a dying type. Meanwhile, in 1854, the Government was to realise another side of the value to the nation of the Cunard Company. During the Crimean War, in response to a strong Government appeal, the Company immediately placed at the Admiralty’s disposal, six of their best steamers, the Cambria, Niagara, Europa, Arabia, Andes, and Alps; later adding to these their two most recent acquisitions, the Jura and Etna. Throughout the campaign these eight vessels were continuously employed upon various important missions, supplying the needs of the military forces.