One of the corner stones in the Cunard Line’s fleet was the line’s famous conservatism. Even though Isambard Brunel’s spectacular Great Britain had entered service in 1845 with a screw propeller, Cunard gave their Persia of 1856 paddle wheels. This ship became a success and she was followed in 1862 by a near-sister, named Scotia, also relying on the paddle wheels. The same year, the propeller driven steamer China entered service, and as she resembled the Scotia, she was perfect to compare with. After both ships had been in service for some time, it was discovered that the China was the superior ship, as all the comparisons favoured her.

In an attempt to convince the public and some conservative shipping companies that the propeller actually was more efficient than paddle wheels, a test had been carried out in 1845 between the two almost identical frigates Rattler and Alecto, both of 880 tons. The propeller driven Rattler was chained stern-to-stern with the paddle wheel driven Alecto as the battle begun. Both vessels steamed on at full power in opposite directions, and the Rattler with her propeller towed the Alecto stern first with ease at a speed of 2.7 knots. Cunard had to face it.

If they were supposed to continue being one of the most prestigious shipping companies in the world, they had to rely on new technique. As a result of some new thinking, Cunard was considering their first major propeller driven unit during the mid-1860s. The new vessel would be named Russia, and would be almost 3,000 gross tons large, making her somewhat smaller than the Persia and Scotia. The Russia was constructed at J. & G. Thomson Limited in Glasgow. She was fitted with three masts and a single funnel. Without the characteristic look of the paddle wheels, her sides looked quite bare and naked. Just like her many predecessors, the Russia