View source for RMS City of Chester

{{For|the US steamship built in 1875 and sunk in 1888|SS City of Chester{{!}}SS ''City of Chester''}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2017}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image=City of chester.jpg
| Ship caption=
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{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship country= United Kingdom
| Ship flag= {{Shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| Ship name=RMS ''City of Chester''
| Ship namesake=
| Ship owner=[[File:Inman Line house flag.svg|border|20px]] [[Inman Line]]
| Ship operator=
| Ship registry=
| Ship route=Liverpool–New York
| Ship ordered=
| Ship awarded=
| Ship builder=[[Caird & Company]], [[Greenock]], Scotland
| Ship original cost=
| Ship yard number=171<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=15227 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040906023035/http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=15227 |url-status= usurped |archive-date= 6 September 2004 |title=SS City of Chester |work=[[Clyde-built Ship Database]] |year=2012 |accessdate=25 October 2012}}</ref>
| Ship way number=
| Ship laid down=
| Ship launched=29 March 1873
| Ship sponsor=
| Ship christened=
| Ship completed=
| Ship acquired=
| Ship maiden voyage=
| Ship in service=10 July 1873
| Ship out of service=February 1893
| Ship renamed=
| Ship reclassified=
| Ship refit=
| Ship struck=
| Ship reinstated=
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| Ship identification=
| Ship motto= 
| Ship fate=*Transferred to [[American Line]], 1893
*Scrapped, 1907
| Ship notes=
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}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header=
| Header caption=<ref name="norwayheritage">{{cite web |url= http://www.norwayheritage.com/p_ship.asp?sh=ciche |title=City of Chester, Inman Line |work=norwayheritage.com |year=2012 |accessdate=25 October 2012}}</ref>
| Ship type=
| Ship tonnage={{GRT|4,566}}
| Ship displacement= 
| Ship length= {{Convert|444|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam= {{Convert|44|ft|2|in|abbr=on}}
| Ship height=
| Ship draught= 
| Ship depth= {{Convert|34|ft|7|in|abbr=on}}
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| Ship decks=
| Ship deck clearance=
| Ship power=
| Ship propulsion=*1 × 850 [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|nhp]] 2-cylinder [[compound steam engine]]
*1 screw
| Ship sail plan= [[Full-rigged ship]]
| Ship speed= {{Convert|15|kn|lk=in}}
| Ship range= 
| Ship endurance=
| Ship boats=
| Ship capacity=1,515 passengers
| Ship crew=
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| Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''RMS ''City of Chester''''' was a British passenger [[steamboat|steamship]] that sailed on the transatlantic route from 1873 to 1898.

The ship was built by [[Caird & Company]] of [[Greenock]] for the [[Inman Line]]. At 4,566 tons she became the largest passenger ship afloat when launched on 29 March 1873 – a title she held until the 5,000-ton {{SS|Britannic|1874|2}} was launched in February 1874. Propulsion was by a 2-cylinder [[compound steam engine]] with [[Horsepower#Nominal horsepower|nominal]] 850 horsepower, which drove a single {{Convert|21|ft|adj=on}} diameter [[Propeller (marine)|screw]], and she was also [[Full-rigged ship|ship-rigged]] with three masts. On [[sea trial]]s, sailing from the [[River Clyde|Clyde]] to the [[River Mersey|Mersey]], she made over {{Convert|15|kn}}.<ref name="norwayheritage"/>

The ship was 444 feet long and 44 feet in the beam, and could accommodate over 1,500 passengers; 125 in 1st class, 80 in second class, and 1,310 in [[steerage]]. The first-class passengers enjoyed luxurious facilities; a walnut-[[Panelling|panelled]] saloon with piano and library, a [[smoking room]], and [[barber]]-shop. There was also a "Ladies [[Boudoir]]", and separate Ladies and Gentlemen's bath-rooms with marble sea-water baths. Forward, the steerage passengers slept in [[Bunk bed|bunks]].<ref name="norwayheritage"/>

The ship was employed on the [[Liverpool]]–[[Cobh|Queenstown]]–[[New York City|New York]] route, making her maiden voyage on 10 July 1873. In February 1893 the Inman Line was taken over by the [[American Line]] and the ship was renamed '''''Chester''''', making her first voyage under her new owners from New York to [[Southampton]] on 4 March 1893.<ref name="norwayheritage"/>

In 1898 she was sold to the United States Government, and renamed '''''Sedgwick''''', serving as a U.S. Army transport ship during the [[Spanish–American War]].<ref name="norwayheritage"/> In early March 1900, the [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]] [[Elihu Root]] sailed aboard the ''Sedgwick'' to [[Havana]] for discussions with the Military Governor of Cuba, General [[Leonard Wood]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://genealogytrails.com/main/spanishamericansummary.html |title=Timeline of Spanish–American War |first=N. A. |last=Strait |work=genealogytrails.com |year=1903 |accessdate=25 October 2012}}</ref>

In 1903 she was sold to an Italian shipping company and first renamed '''''Arizona''''', then in 1906 '''''Napoletano''''', before finally being scrapped in Italy in 1907.<ref name="norwayheritage"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Largest passenger ships}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:City of Chester, RMS}}
[[Category:Ship names]]
[[Category:1873 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:Victorian-era passenger ships of the United Kingdom]]