North Atlantic Liners (1899-1913)

These prints were illustrated by Laurence Dunn, the greatest expert on the liner era. He worked at the Admiralty in WW II enhancing ship recognition capability. The prints show the evolution of shape and form in the first half of the 20^th century. “Liner” comes from “packet-line”, a mail boat service, and the “line” of vessels it comprised. In the mid nineteenth century propeller propulsion took over from paddle steamers that were not suited to open seas operation, leading to a hundred years of North Atlantic liners. In 1958 the Boeing 707 signalled the end for the transatlantic liner.
The first liners plied the New York UK and German routes. Some passengers preferred the stability of intermediate vessels carrying cargo and passengers providing secondary services to ports along the East Coast. The end of the 19^th century saw emancipation from sail with new forms of construction, improved hull shapes and better propulsion machinery transforming the industry.  In 1899 the White Star Line’s Oceanic, the world’s largest ship at over 17,000 tons, was launched. Oceanic was followed by liners of over 50,000 tons. Slim-hulled ships got beamier and topped by great superstructures. Until 1906 British ships were forbidden the carriage of passengers on more than two decks. Elsewhere they were carried above the upper deck. Sailing ships left a legacy of masts.  Early boilers were inefficient, so a ship needed several – which meant several funnels. Improved efficiency led to funnel reduction, but they had marketing appeal, so some liners carried dummy stacks. Masts were an accepted part of a ship’s profile; some were for aesthetic reasons only. Cargo was better handled by paired derricks. But these were unpopular, so made inconspicuous.

Before 1890 lifeboats were governed by 1855 regulations requiring capacity for 25 percent of those aboard; increased in 1890 by 50 per cent, in 1912 the Titanic disaster forced the establishment of an international approach to safety at sea. By 1914 lifeboats or rafts were required for all and the 1929 Convention mandated that lifebets were required for a further 25 per cent of those on board. Before the WW I, lifeboat davits were radial. Titanic accelerated the introduction of gravity systems which carried lifeboats high above deck. Measuring varied through the ages: while length overall (o.a.) is self-explanatory, a more traditional form of measurement is that between perpendiculars (b.p.). This is the distance from the fore side of the stem (at waterline) to the after side of the sternpost, ignoring all overhang. Depth is measured at a mid-length point and represents the distance (at sides) between the upper deck and the keel (baseline). Both this and breadth are overall measurements, but the use of the qualifying word ‘moulded’ signifies that these measurements have been made over the frames and thus do not include the thickness of the hull plating. Horsepower is generally quoted as indicated horsepower (i.h.p.) or shaft horsepower (s.h.p.).