In building SS Great Britain, the second of his three great ships, Brunel successfully combined and adapted the very best of cutting-edge technologies to create the world’s first transatlantic liner – a true wonder of the Victorian age.

She was the first ocean-going steamship with an iron hull, and the first driven by a propeller. This extraordinary ship, launched in 1843 as the largest and fastest afloat, transformed shipbuilding and sea travel for ever.

Intended as a transatlantic passenger transport, the SS Great Britain had an eventful working life and in 1884 she was berthed as a warehouse in the Falkland Islands. In 1970 she was refloated and returned to Bristol docks.  This talk covers her career and the engineering challenges of the recovery and restoration to become the centrepiece of the tourist attraction that is Bristol Docks.  

Although the Institution of Mechanical Enginners was formed 175 years ago to accelerate the development of steam power in the railway industry, this lecture is a reminder that effective steam power was also a major technological innovation for other industries...and that restoring historical artifacts can be a major engineering exercise.