HMS Thames (1885)
 Thames at anchor with what is probably an A-class submarine berthed next to her
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Thames |
| Namesake | River Thames |
| Builder | Pembroke Dockyard |
| Laid down | 14 April 1884 |
| Launched | 3 December 1885 |
| Completed | July 1888 |
| Reclassified | Submarine depot ship, 1903 |
| Fate | Sold, 13 November 1920 |
| South Africa | |
| Name | SATS General Botha |
| Namesake | Louis Botha |
| Christened | 1 April 1922 |
| Acquired | 13 November 1920 |
| Commissioned | March 1922 |
| Decommissioned | 1942 |
| Renamed | Thames, 1942 |
| Reclassified |
|
| Homeport | Simon's Town |
| Fate | Scuttled, 13 May 1947 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type | Mersey-class second-class cruiser |
| Displacement | 4,050 long tons (4,110 t) |
| Length | 300 ft (91.4 m) (p/p) |
| Beam | 46 ft (14.0 m) |
| Draught | 20 ft 2 in (6.1 m) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 18 kn (33 km/h; 21 mph) |
| Range | 8,750 nmi (16,200 km; 10,070 mi) at 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Complement | 300–50 |
| Armament |
|
| Armour |
|
HMS Thames was a
accommodation ship under her original name. She was scuttled
by gunfire in 1947 and is now a diveable wreck.
Design and description
The Mersey-class cruisers were improved versions of the
forced draught. The Mersey class carried enough coal to give them a range of 8,750 nautical miles (16,200 km; 10,070 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).[3] The ships' complement was 300[4] to 350 officers and ratings.[2]
Their main armament consisted of two
Construction and career
Thames was the sixth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy.paid off in 1919 at Chatham Dockyard.[6]
South Africa
She was sold for £8,000 in November 1920 to the
Davis donated it to a trust on 9 May, with the stipulation that it be used exclusively for the nautical training of British and South African boys, so that they could subsequently serve in ships of the
messdecks, galleys and recreation spaces, returning to her moorings in August. In March 1935, Davis offered to sponsor a rowing competition between the cadets of General Botha and the British training ships, HMS Worcester, and HMS Conway in Britain and paid for their expenses to and from South Africa. King George V received the cadets in Buckingham Palace on 29 June shortly before the race during which they beat the cadets from Conway, but lost to Worcester. By the late 1930s, General Botha's guns and boilers had been removed and the former engine and boiler rooms converted into a gymnasium.[9]
The trust's
battery on 13 May 1947 in False Bay at coordinates 34°13′48″S 18°37′48″E / 34.23000°S 18.63000°E.[10]
There exists an alumni association for those who served aboard General Botha, which has the Duke of Edinburgh as her patron.[11] The South African Naval Museum in Simon's Town has an exhibit dedicated to the ship.[12]
See also
Notes
- ^ Gardiner, pp. 106–07
- ^ a b Friedman, p. 333
- ^ a b Winfield & Lyon, p. 271
- ^ a b Chesneau & Kolesnik, p. 75
- ^ Colledge, p. 348
- ^ a b c Phillips, p. 230
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36722. London. 22 March 1902. p. 14.
- ^ Grutter, pp. 7–9
- ^ Grutter, pp. 10–27, 31, 73–75, 77
- ^ Grutter, pp. 81, 86–87
- ^ "Charities and Patronages". The Royal Family. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ "South African Naval Museum". www.simonstown.com. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
References
- Chesneau, Roger & Kolesnik, Eugene M., eds. (1979). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-8317-0302-4.
- ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- Friedman, Norman (2012). British Cruisers of the Victorian Era. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Seaforth. ISBN 978-1-59114-068-9.
- Gardiner, Robert, ed. (1992). Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship 1815–1905. Conway's History of the Ship. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 1-55750-774-0.
- Grutter, Wilhelm (1973). A Name Among Seafaring Men: A history of the training ship General Botha. Cape Town: T. B. F. Davis Memorial Sailing Trust. ISBN 0-620-01151-3.
- Phillips, Lawrie; Lieutenant Commander (2014). Pembroke Dockyard and the Old Navy: A Bicentennial History. Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-5214-9.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - Winfield, R.; Lyon, D. (2004). The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889. London: Chatham Publishing. OCLC 52620555.
External links
SATS General Botha dive site travel guide from Wikivoyage- Photographs of HMS Thames
- General Botha (Old Boys Association)
- The South African Naval Museum
