STEFAN CEL MARE paddle steamer 1870

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aukepalmhof
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STEFAN CEL MARE paddle steamer 1870

Post by aukepalmhof » Sun Nov 07, 2021 8:44 pm

This passenger paddle steamer was partly built in 1869 under yard 137 by William Denny & Bross, Dumbarton, Scotland for the Imperial & Royal Danube Steam Nav. Co, Vienna, Austria.
The ship was designed by engineer John Murray at the Denny Shipyard in Dumbarton, Scotland, and had two masts and two long, thin telescopic funnels.
The engine, boilers, etc. were made in Dumbarton, while the hull and fitting out was done in Obuda.
08 April 1869 parts were shipped by lighter from Dumbarton for assembly at the DDSG shipyard, Obuda, Budapest.

1870 Under the name ORIENTUL she came in service on the Danube River.(also given as ORIENT.)
Tonnage 520 tons, dim. 76.20 x 8.40 x over paddle boxes 16.10m., draught 2.57m.
Powered by a one-compound steam engine with oscillating cylinders, engine power 700 hp, speed 22km/h. Record speed for that time, being the fastest paddle ship in the world. Capacity in time of war, 1,000 people.
She was fitted out with three super¬-luxurious large rooms, one ballroom or banquet hall, the specialized staff had reputable French, Austrian, Hungarian and confectionery chefs.
In 1894 it was chartered by the Romanian Royal Family for half a year
In 1895 it was chartered again and participated in the inauguration of the Cernavoda bridge in Romania.
In 1898, the ship was bought (price: 350,000 lei) by the Romanian State, being used for passenger service on the line Brăila - Galaţi (two times/day).
Numerous personalities of that time traveled aboard the ship, including King Carol I of Romania, King Milan of Serbia, Kings Alexander, and Ferdinand of Bulgaria, Emperor Wilhelm of Germany, Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria-Hungary, and others.
In 1902 it was rebuilt into the Turnu Severin Shipyard and fitted out as a Royal Yacht, during the war she could be used as a hospital or a troop carrier. Renamed STEFAN CEL MARE becoming the most elegant ship on the Danube at the end of the 19th century.
She made her first trip to Rusciuc (Bulgaria), where King Carol I visited the monuments dedicated to the War of Independence and, in Grivita and Pleven, the graves of the fallen Romanian soldiers for the country.
World War I, the yacht was evacuated to Chilia, then to Odesa, where, during the Russian Revolution (1917), it was captured by Russian revolutionaries and taken to Kherson, where about 200 Russian men, women, and children lived on the ship, destroying some of the equipment.
On April 10, 1918, it was taken over by the German sailors from the German battle-cruiser GOEBEN.
On June 18, 1918, the yacht was taken over by Commander Pompiliu Georgescu and, under the command of Captain Iordănescu, was brought to Galati, Romania, where it underwent repairs, after which it resumed regular passenger service on the route Brăila - Galaţi - Tulcea.
Only in 1928 did she make another voyage on the Danube, with the Royal Family on board.
In 1937, the ship was taken over by NFR and introduced to the Turnu Severin Shipyard, where its boilers were replaced, its steam engine was repaired and balanced, its two chimneys were replaced and it was left with only one, and the living spaces were transformed from the "Royal" class to the "Tourist" class, becoming a passenger ship.
The ship resumed its activity in 1939, is chartered by a German Travel Agency, in order to carry out regular passenger service on the Vâlcov - Vienna line and return.
In 1945 it was taken over by the USSR, fate unknown.

(Clyde built ships gives that the hull was built in Dumbarton and the engine were supplied from Austria)

https://rezistenta.ro/yachtul-regal-ste ... -din-lume/ (Google translated)
https://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?y ... sel=ORIENT
Romania 1981 55b sg 4620, Scott
Attachments
Yachtul-regal-Orientul-cu-familia-regala-in-portul-galati (2).jpg
Yachtul-regal-Orientul-cu-familia-regala-in-portul-galati (2).jpg (67.07 KiB) Viewed 408 times
1981 Stefan-cel-Mare (4).jpg
1981 Stefan-cel-Mare (4).jpg (103.28 KiB) Viewed 408 times

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