 Golconda entering the Suez Canal from the Red Sea | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name: |
|
| Owner: | British India Steam Navigation Company |
| Port of registry: | Glasgow |
| Builder: | William Doxford & Sons, Sunderland, England |
| Yard number: | 166 |
| Launched: | 8 February 1887 |
| Completed: | 13 October 1888 |
| Identification: | British Official Number 95098 |
| Fate: | Sunk by mine 3 June 1916 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage: | 5,874 GRT |
| Length: | 422 ft (129 m) |
| Beam: | 41.8 ft (12.7 m) |
| Installed power: | 4,360 BHP |
| Sail plan: | barquentine |
In the mid-1880s the Sunderland shipbuilders William Doxford & Sons expanded their yard at Pallion on the River Wear but then, suffering a dearth of orders, decided to commence building on speculation their largest vessel ever to demonstrate their capabilities. They chose a two-funnelled, four-masted steel passenger-cargo liner of about 5,600 GRT, which was laid down in 1886 with the provisional name Nulli Secunda ("Second to none"). [1] For about a year the builders tried to find a buyer until, believing that she would be bought by Canadian Pacific Steamships for their new route between Vancouver, British Columbia and the Far East, they named her Trans-Pacific; she was launched by the Mayoress of Sunderland with that name on 8 February 1887, even though by then negotiations with Canadian Pacific had not been concluded. [1] [2] Some time after the launch, British India Steam Navigation Company (B.I.) became interested, to upgrade their London-Calcutta service. They required considerable alterations to meet their service, which were not finished until October 1888. [3] Golconda was registered at Glasgow on 25 September 1888 and allocated British Official Number 95098 and signal letters K.V.C.G. [1] [4]
Completed as Golconda, she measured 6,037 GRT and 3,961 NRT, with registered length of 422.0 feet (128.6 m), a beam of 41.8 feet (12.7 m) and depth of 32.5 feet (9.9 m). [4] She was powered by a single 550nhp/4360ihp triple-expansion steam engine, also made by Doxfords, that drove a single screw propeller, giving her a trial speed of 13.9 knots (16.0 mph; 25.7 km/h). [1] [4] The ship had cabin capacity for 80 1st-class and 28 2nd-class passengers, and could carry about 6000 tons of cargo. [1] [4]
After prelinary loading in the Tyne and at Antwerp, Golconda sailed from London on 19 October 1888 on her maiden voyage to Calcutta. [5] [6] She had an inauspicious start, suffering engine damage after leaving London, putting in to Spithead to undertake repairs and not leaving there until 27 October. [7] Thereafter she traded successfully on the Calcutta route for 12 years; her low passenger capacity for her size was popular with travellers and the accommodation was more spacious than was usual. [1] She suffered only two minor casualties: a small fire in December 1890 and was rammed by the Liverpool iron barque Lathom two years later, both in the Hooghly River, but was only lightly damaged. [1]
In 1900 Golconda was chartered as a troopship during the Boer War, sailing from London to Malta on 3 January 1900 with nearly 1000 troops of the Royal West Kent Regiment. [8] Taken up again, in August 1902 she brought 500 Boer prisoners to Durban from Calcutta, and then carried 900 returning troops to Southampton. [9] [10] This was followed by 1000 Boer prisoners from St Helena to Simonstown and troops from Durban to Ceylon. [11] [12] Returning to her regular London-Calcutta service, Golconda was gradually outclassed by more modern vessels in the B.I. fleet and was transferred to the company's East African service. [1]
In October 1915 Golconda was again taken up as a transport, for the Indian Expeditionary Force. [1] In addition, six hundred German civilian internees from the camp in Ahmednagar were transported to London, from where they were repatriated via the Netherlands. [1] [13] A further group of five hundred Germans were repatriated in a similar way in March 1916. [14]
Golconda struck a mine laid by German submarine UC 3, and sank in the North Sea on 3 June 1916, 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) south east by east of Aldeburgh, Suffolk ( 52°08′30″N1°44′45″E / 52.14167°N 1.74583°E ) with the loss of nineteen lives. [15] She was lost while on a voyage from Tees and London to Calcutta with general cargo. [1]
Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts,, was a British Victorian era general who became one of the most successful British military commanders of his time. Born in India to an Anglo-Irish family, Roberts joined the East India Company Army and served as a young officer in the Indian Rebellion during which he won a Victoria Cross for gallantry. He was then transferred to the British Army and fought in the Expedition to Abyssinia and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, in which his exploits earned him widespread fame. Roberts would go on to serve as the Commander-in-Chief, India before leading British Forces to success in the Second Boer War. He also became the last Commander-in-Chief of the Forces before the post was abolished in 1904.
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