HHS Glasgow
HHS Glasgow at Zanzibar in 1890
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History | |
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Zanzibar | |
Name | Glasgow |
Operator | Sultan of Zanzibar |
Builder | William Denny and Brothers |
Yard number | Hull 200 |
Laid down | 14 May 1877 |
Launched | 2 March 1878 |
Out of service | 27 August 1896 |
Fate | Sunk during Anglo-Zanzibar War, salvaged and broken up 1912 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Royal yacht |
Displacement | 1,416 tons |
Length | 210 ft (64 m) |
Beam | 29 ft (8.8 m) |
Draft | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
Installed power | 172 nhp |
Propulsion | Single compound steam engine with two bladed lifting propeller |
Speed | 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
Armament | 7 x RML 9-pounder 9-barrel Gatling gun |
His Highness' Ship Glasgow was a
Construction
Glasgow was built in 1878 as a replacement for
Glasgow was well fitted out for its role as a royal yacht and contained two state rooms, a dining saloon, a bathroom and a
Anglo-Zanzibar War
On 25 August 1896 a new Sultan, Khalid, ascended to the sultancy without first consulting the British authorities, as required by treaty.[5] This sparked the Anglo-Zanzibar War. On 27 August the now obsolete Glasgow, the sole vessel of the Zanzibar Navy, fired upon a flotilla of five British ships, led by the cruiser HMS St George with its 9.2-inch (230 mm) guns.[6] In return Glasgow was holed below her waterline and began sinking. Her crew hoisted the British flag as a token of surrender and all were rescued by British sailors in launches.[6] The ship eventually sank at 10:45 am that day, settling on the harbour bed with just its masts and funnel projecting from the water.[7]
Glasgow remained there until an unstable mast prompted the harbour master and the Zanzibar government to consider raising her.[8] Eventually, in 1912, a salvage company was awarded a £2,500 contract and she was broken up with explosive charges over a period of six months.[9] The debris was disposed of at sea, her boiler, propeller and several cannon being sold for scrap.[9] Several sections of iron frames remain intact on the harbour bed together with teak planks, sheets of Muntz metal, iron ballast blocks and the remains of the steam engine and propeller shaft.[9] The site is occasionally visited by sports divers.[9]
References
- ^ Patience 1995, p. 3.
- ^ a b c d e f Patience 1995, p. 5.
- ^ a b Patience 1995, pp. 4–5.
- ^ a b Patience 1995, p. 6.
- ^ Hernon 2003, p. 399.
- ^ a b Hernon 2003, p. 403.
- ^ Patience 1995, p. 15.
- ^ Patience 1995, pp. 14–15.
- ^ a b c d Patience 1995, p. 16.
Bibliography
- Hernon, Ian (2003), Britain's Forgotten Wars, ISBN 0-7509-3162-0.
- Patience, Kevin (1995), Zanzibar and the Shortest War in History, Bahrain: Kevin Patience.
External links
- Media related to HHS Glasgow (ship, 1878) at Wikimedia Commons