RMS Caledonia

Caledonia was the third of the four original sisters of the Cunard fleet. She was involved in the foundation of Cunard’s reliable and regular mail and passenger service. Built by Charles Wood at Port Glasgow, she followed the same technical design as her fleet mates, to ensure Cunard could offer a uniform service across the Atlantic.

Like her sister ships, the Caledonia was awooden-hulled paddle steamer with a tonnage of 1,150. She was 63 metres long [207 ft] and 10 metres wide [34 ft] excluding paddle wheels. She was powered by a two-cylinder side-lever steam engine, which like her fleet mates was designed by Robert Napier and Sons. It provided 550 kW [740 ihp] of thrust for a speed of 9 9 knots (17 km/h [10 mph]).

Caledonia was launched on 13 May 1840 and set sail on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Halifax on 19 September 1840. Along with Britannia, Acadia, and later Columbia, she provided the regular schedule required under Cunard’s mail contract.

After sailing with Cunard for forty round trips, the ship’s career with Cunard came to an end as the company transitioned to newer, larger vessels. However Caledonia’s service was not over.

In 1850, the Caledonia was sold to the Spanish Navy. She was renamed Conde de Regla in July 1852 for use in naval routes, and served the Spanish Navy for nearly a decade before being retired in 1861.