 SSGaleka | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  United Kingdom | |
| Owner | Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company (1899—1914)Royal Navy (1914—1916) |
| Builder | Harland and Wolff,Belfast |
| Yard number | 347 |
| Launched | 21 October 1899 |
| Completed | 23 December 1899 |
| Fate | Hit amine laid by GermanU-boatUC-26 and sank on 28 October 1916.[1] |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 6,767 tons |
| Length | 440 ft (130 m) |
| Beam | 53 ft (16 m) |
| Speed | 12.5knots (23.2 km/h) |
SSGaleka was a steam ship built in 1899 for theUnion-Castle Mail Steamship Company byHarland and Wolff. She was launched on 21 October 1899 and completed on 23 December 1899.[2] Later she was requisitioned for use as a Britishtroop transport and then ahospital ship during theFirst World War. On 28 October 1916 she struck amine laid by the GermanU-boatUC-26.
The ship was the last vessel to enter service before the merger between the Union and Castle shipping lines in 1900. She served on the South Africa route until the First World War when she was used by the UK as a troop transport, carrying troops of theAustralian and New Zealand Army Corps to theGallipoli Campaign.Galeka was then refitted as a hospital ship with accommodation for 366 wounded passengers.
On 28 October 1916, while enteringLe Havre, HMHSGaleka struck a mine. She was not carrying patients at the time, but 19Royal Army Medical Corps personnel died in the sinking. She was beached at Cap la Hogue, but was a total loss, Union-Castle's first war casualty.
49°34′N0°5′E / 49.567°N 0.083°E /49.567; 0.083
Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in October 1916 | |
|---|---|
| Shipwrecks |
|
| Other incidents |
|
