Robert F Stockton

Post by **john sefton** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:32 pm

The ‘Robert F Stockton’ was the first iron screw steamship to cross the Atlantic, mostly under sail, in 1839.
She was the second ship designed by John Ericsson, to be given screw propulsion and was built by Laird of Birkenhead, England, for Captain Robert F. Stockton of the United States Navy.
Measuring 63 feet in length by 12 in the beam and a tonnage of 33 gross, it had two screws revolving in opposite directions on concentric shafts. After crossing the Atlantic, she became a tug on the Delaware River under the name ‘New Jersey’. Captain Robert F. Stockton had a very successful career in the US Navy as he was one of the first naval officers to act against the slave trade and was primarily responsible for the introduction of their first screw-propelled warship, the USS ‘Princeton’ in 1843

The Swedish engineer John Ericsson achieved a major breakthrough in screw development. He built three test ships in short succession in England. The last one was named 'Robert F. Stockton' and reached 13 knots during a test trip on the river Thames in the year 1838. In 1839 Ericsson sailed to America with the same ship within 40 days. It was the first journey across the Atlantic with a screw-driven ship. The ship continued to serve under the name 'New Jersey' for a long time afterwards on the Delaware-Raritan Channel. Later on Ericsson built two man-of-wars in America, the 'Princeton' and the 'Monitor'.

Maritime topics on stamps and other web sites.
Kiribati SG292ms Sweden SG898.

see also http://www.shipstamps.co.uk/forum/viewt ... +ace#p6893