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Royal Mail Ship From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The RMS Norham Castle was a Royal Mail Ship and passenger liner of the Union-Castle Line in service between London, England and Cape Town, South Africa between 1883 and 1903, named after Norham Castle.
RMS Norham Castle | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Norham Castle |
| Owner |  Union-Castle Line |
| Operator | D Currie & Co, London |
| Port of registry | London |
| Builder | John Elder & Co., Glasgow |
| Yard number | 270 |
| Launched | 26 February 1883 |
| Completed | 16 May 1883 |
| Identification | 87101 |
| Fate | Broken up in Italy in 1932 |
| Notes | Sold to France in 1903 and renamed Martinique |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 380 ft. 6 in. |
| Beam | 48 ft 2 in (14.68 m) |
| Depth | 31.4 ft. |
| Installed power | 600 nhp |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | Cruising: 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
In her first year the ship was in the Java Sea in the western Pacific Ocean when the island of Krakatoa exploded in August 1883. A series of eruptions emitted vast quantities of smoke and ash and plunged the area into darkness, and waves destroyed a lighthouse and other structures. Shortly after 10:00 in the morning of 27 August the final explosion destroyed the island with a blast that was heard and felt thousands of miles away. The pressure wave from that blast ruptured the eardrums of over half of the crew of Norham Castle.[1]
In 1897 the ship was reviewed by Queen Victoria at Spithead during her Diamond Jubilee celebration, and was later used by the Prince of Wales when he started a grand yacht race from her deck.[2] Also, in April 1897, Sir Alfred Milner traveled aboard the Norham Castle from Southampton to Cape Town, to take up the reins as the new High Commissioner of South Africa.[3][4][5]
The ship was sold to the French line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (General Transatlantic Company) in 1903, and renamed the Martinique. She served the Bordeaux, France – West Indies route until 1931.
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