HMRC Vulcan (ship, 1835) in 1839 by Huggins (cropped), William John Huggins, May 1839

Hmrc vulcan in may 1839, pictured during the sea trials of archimedes (1839) the world's first steamship to be driven by a screw propeller. Archimedes (ship, 1839) commenced sea trials on 15th may 1839, her first sea voyage, from gravesend to portsmouth, which was completed at the unexpectedly high speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). At portsmouth, archimedes was successfully trialed against one of the swiftest vessels then in admiralty service, hmrc vulcan, in the presence of some senior navy officials, who were impressed by archimedes' performance. Vulcan was pictured with archimedes off the north foreland, on the trip from gravesend to portsmouth. 1839. A coloured aquatint clipped from a larger image: the screw steamer ss archimedes at sea. Date: May 1839. Medium: engraving.