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SS Abyssinia
SS ''Abyssinia'' was a British mail liner built in 1870, and originally operated by the Cunard Line on the Liverpool–New York route. She later served the Guion Line on the same route and the Canadian Pacific Line in the Pacific. In December 1891, ''Abyssinia'' was destroyed mid-Atlantic without loss of life by a fire that started in her cargo of cotton, further highlighting the danger in carrying both cotton and passengers on the same ship. Development and design With the success of , Cunard ordered a new fleet of iron express liners for the New York mail route. ''Abyssinia'' was the fourth of the five liners required for a weekly service. ''Abyssinia'' and her sister, ''Algeria'' were the first Cunard express steamers built to carry steerage passengers, a concept that was proved profitable four years earlier by the Inman Line. As completed in 1870, ''Abyssinia'' carried 200 first class passengers and 1050 steerage. She had a service speed of 12.5 knots and was a full ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Abyssinia (1870)
HMS ''Abyssinia'' was a breastwork monitor ordered, designed and built by J & W Dudgeon specifically for the Bombay Marine for the defence of the harbour at Bombay. She was designed by Edward James Reed, Sir Edward Reed, and was a smaller version of, and hence a half-sister to, the s and . It was intended that ''Abyssinia'' and ''Magdala'' would serve in mutual support on the same station. Given that the stipulated naval requirement was for two ships for the coastal defence of the Bombay area, the India Office were pressed by the Board of Admiralty and the Director of Naval Construction, Chief Constructor to order two ships of the ''Cerberus'' class. After the placing of the order for ''Magdala'', budgetary limitations meant that a smaller, cheaper vessel had to be acquired. ''Abyssinia'', while being similar in layout to ''Magdala'', was smaller and cost £20,000 less. She had slightly less freeboard, a shorter breastwork, could carry less coal and had about one knot less sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
