SS Arizona
Guion Liner Arizona when she held Atlantic Record.
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| History | |
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| Name: | SS Arizona |
| Operator: | Guion Line |
| Builder: | John Elder & Company, in Govan, Scotland |
| Yard number: | 222 |
| Laid down: | 1879 |
| Launched: | Monday, 10 March 1879 |
| Fate: | Broken up May 1926 |
| Notes: | Renamed Hancock in 1898 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Steam passenger ship |
| Tonnage: | 5,147 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length: | 450 ft (140 m) |
| Beam: | 45.4 ft (13.8 m) |
| Propulsion: |
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The Arizona was a record breaking British passenger liner that was the first of the Guion Line's Atlantic Greyhounds on the Liverpool-Queenstown-New York route. One nautical historian called Arizona "a souped up transatlantic hot rod." Entering service in 1879, she was the prototype for Atlantic express liners until the Inman Line introduced its twin screw City of New York in 1889. The Arizona type liner is generally considered as unsuccessful because too much was sacrificed for speed. Laid up in 1894 when Guion stopped sailings, Arizona was sold four years later and briefly employed in the Pacific until she was acquired by the US Government for service in the Spanish–American War. As the U.S. Navy's Hancock she continued trooping through W.W.I. and was finally scrapped in 1926.
Starting in 1866, the Guion Line was successful in the Liverpool-Queenstown-New York steerage trade. In 1875, Guion began commissioning express liners to compete for first class business, but its first two ships were total failures. William Pearce, the controlling partner of the John Elder shipyard, was convinced that a crack steamer that carried only passengers and light freight could be profitable because she would attract more passengers and spend less time in port. When Cunard rejected his proposal, Pearce offered his idea to the Guion line at a bargain price of £140,000 at a time when express liners typically cost £200,000. He also agreed to share the initial costs. Stephen Guion, managing director of the line, personally owned the new vessel.
As completed, Arizona appeared similar to White Star's Germanic, the current holder of the Blue Riband, but with greater power. Her engines produced 6,400 indicated horsepower, 1,400 more than Germanic.Arizona's six double-ended boilers and 39 furnaces consumed 135 tons of coal per day, considerably more than her White Star rival. She also had less room for cargo and steerage passengers.
Because of her high power, Arizona was an uncomfortable ship. However, publicity at the time tried to hide this by describing the luxury of her interior. Her saloon "contained six long tables, with revolving chairs. A large dome-like aperture, with a skylight at the top, rose from the centre of the saloon, and was crossed by beams, supported by small pillars of polished wood, upon which were placed plants and flowers. The saloon extended the entire width of the vessel, and contained a fine piano at the forward end, and a library at the after end. The state-rooms were elegantly upholstered, and contained every facility for comfort. Pneumatic bells connected all the state-rooms with the steward's pantry, which was situated just aft the main saloon. A richly-furnished ladies' boudoir was on the promenade deck, just aft of the forward wheel-house."
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