RMS Scotia

''Scotia'' was a British passenger liner operated by the Cunard Line that won the Blue Riband in 1863 for the fastest westbound transatlantic voyage. She was the last oceangoing paddle steamer, and as late as 1874 she made Cunard's second fastest voyage. Laid up in 1876, ''Scotia'' was converted to a twin-screw cable layer in 1879. She served in her new role for twenty-five years until she was wrecked off of Guam in March 1904.

Development and design

As a result of competition from the Collins Line, Cunard ordered of 1856, the first iron Blue Riband winner. ''Scotia'' was originally planned as a sister for ''Persia''. However, the project was delayed after the loss of the Collins and left Cunard without effective competition on the express service. When ''Scotia'' was finally built, she was a larger edition of ''Persia'' with an extra deck. Safety improvements included seven watertight compartments, a reinforced forward bulkhead and buoyancy chambers.

There was considerable disagreement among Cunard's partners concerning the choice of paddle wheels for the new liner as screw propulsion was proving itself superior. While the firm already owned screw steamers for the secondary service, Samuel Cunard insisted that paddle wheels be retained for what was to be the line's premier unit. However, they agreed to order a second mail steamer, ''China'', to test screws in the express service.

As completed by Robert Napier and Sons of Glasgow, ''Scotia'' was the second largest ship in the world after ''Great Eastern''. She carried 273 first class passengers and 50 in second class. ''Scotia'' did not have quarters for steerage. Her two-cylinder side-lever engine produced , and consumed 164 tons of coal per day.

Service history

''Scotia'' and ''China'' relieved ''Asia'' and ''Africa'' on the New York express route, and the older steamers were transferred to the Boston trade. In July 1863, ''Scotia'' won the Blue Riband with a Queenstown – New York voyage of , beating ''Persia''s record by a full knot. ''Scotia'' is generally credited with retaining the Blue Riband until 1872 when she was surpassed by ''Adriatic'' of the White Star Line. While Gibbs credits the screw steamer of the Inman Line with a Blue Riband voyage in 1866, ''Scotia'' is universally considered as the equal of any pre-''Oceanic'' liner.

Although she offered only first-class accommodations used by passengers such as Theodore Roosevelt's family, ''Scotia'' was not consistently profitable and ''China'' proved to be the better investment. ''China''s coal consumption was half of ''Scotia''s while ''China'' carried more cargo and was only a knot slower. The firm quickly ordered two additional screw steamers to replace the last wooden paddlers on the New York express service. ''Scotia'' herself remained as Cunard's largest unit until ''Bothnia'' and ''Scythia'' were completed in 1874. The conversion of the French Line's ''Ville Du Havre'' to screws in 1873 left ''Scotia'' as the last paddler on the Atlantic. She was finally withdrawn in 1876 and offered for sale.

Three years later, ''Scotia'' was converted to twin screws and refitted as a cable layer. She was enlarged to and commissioned by the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company. In 1896, ''Scotia'' suffered an explosion off Plymouth that destroyed her fore-part. She was only saved by the stoutness of her construction. Repaired, ''Scotia'' was sold in 1902 to the Commercial Pacific Cable Company.

On 11 March 1904, ''Scotia'' approached Guam to deliver cable and spares when she went off course while entering Apra Harbor and ran hard aground on a nearby reef. Weather conditions deteriorated and the ship broke in two and sank. The wreck is now a popular diving location.

In fiction

''Scotia'' makes an appearance in the novel '' Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea'' by Jules Verne. On 13 April 1867 the ship is accidentally struck by the submarine : "Two and a half metres below the water-line appeared a neat hole in the form of an isosceles triangle."Verne, Jules (1869). ''20,000 Leagues under the Sea''. Thanks to its watertight compartments, ''Scotia'' makes it safely to Liverpool.

In the second Sherlock Holmes: The Legend Begins book, the SS ''Scotia'' is the ship Sherlock and his accomplices travel on.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scotia
1862 ships
Steamships of the United Kingdom
Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Victorian-era passenger ships of the United Kingdom
Ships of the Cunard Line
Jules Verne