RMS 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	4,241 GRT 2,722 NRT
Length	380 ft. 6 in.
Beam	48 ft 2 in (14.68 m)
Depth	31.4 ft.
Installed power	600 nhp
Propulsion	As built: Iron Screw Steamer C2cyl (50, 90 v 60in) 600nhp, 1-screw 1891 engine tripled by Fairfield Shipbuilding Co. T3 cyl 36", 60 1/2", 96"x60" 4500ihp
Speed	Cruising: 12 kn (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Capacity	As built: unk. first class passengers unk. second class passengers unk. third class passengers

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

References

• Hodson, Norman, The Race to the Cape: A Story of the Union-Castle Line, 1857-1977, Hampshire: Navigator, 1995
• Wrench, John Evelyn, Alfred Lord Milner: The Man of No Illusions, London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1958
• Marlowe, John, Milner: Apostle of Empire, London: Hamish Hamilton, 1976
• O'Brien, Terence, "Milner: Viscount Milner of St. James's and Cape Town", London: Constable, 1979

External links

• Nomenclature: Link
• History of the ship: Link