Rainbow (1837 ship)

The Rainbow was an iron paddle-wheel steamer for passengers and cargo, built in 1837 by John Laird in Birkenhead, England for the General Steam Navigation Company. The engines were produced by George Forrester and Company from Liverpool. It was said to be the largest iron steamer of its day,^[1] and the fastest.^[2] It covered 190 nautical miles in 14 hours during a passage to Antwerp.^[3] The ship has been described as "a landmark in naval architecture" and had "influence on Brunel", who traveled to Antwerp on the Rainbow.^[4] It is seen as a "precursor of the ocean-going iron steamer".^[5]

Rainbow, 1840 watercolour by Van Treslong Prins from the collections of the Royal Museums Greenwich
History
Name	Rainbow
Owner	General Steam Navigation Company
Builder	John Laird
Completed	1837
Out of service	1869
Fate	Scrapped 1869
General characteristics
Type	iron paddle steamer
Tonnage	582
Length	190 ft (57.91 m)
Beam	25 ft (7.62 m)
Depth	12.8 ft (3.90 m) depth of hold
Installed power	2 90 HP engines built by George Forrester and Company
Propulsion	2 paddle wheels (diameter 21.6 ft (6.58 m)

The ship was intended to travel between London and Ramsgate, but also made voyages between London and Antwerp. Later she was used for the cargo trade between London and Le Havre. She was scrapped in 1869.^[2]

Sir George Biddell Airy, the Astronomer Royal, conducted experiments on board the ship about the influence of an iron hull on the workings of the compass.^[3]

Forrester steeple type engine used in Rainbow