22 March 1894

Moored at number one Troop buoy Bombay. Wind NNW force 1 with broken cloud and mist. Barometer 30.30 inches rising to 30.18 at 0800 and to 30.10 at noon before falling to 29.94 at 1600 and then rising to 30.03 inches at 2000 where it finished at midnight.  Temperature at noon 82F. Received 120 lbs of beef and 60 lbs of vegetables plus 242 lbs of bread.  0200. Raised steam in three boilers. Draught forward 13 feet 6 inches. Aft 15 feet 7 inches. 0610. Slipped and proceeded for Trincomalee at 75 revolutions. 0800. Course 65W at 8.5 knots. Kaudair Light House ESE at 5 miles. 095. Dropped target. Exercised General Quarters firing shell at target. 1145. Picked up target. Noon. Wind N by W force 2 with broken cloud. Position 18.34N 72.32E. Proceeded at 85 revolutions. Course S13E. 1300. Course S18 E. Wind west force 3. Make and mend clothes. 1420. Rajpure Light abeam. 1700. Wind NW force 3. Quarters. 2030. Manned and armed ship. Firing Quick Fire guns and Nordenfelt guns. Lost overboard by accident one Nordenfelt chute. 2245. Picked up target and proceeded at 90 revolutions. Course S6E. Put patent Log over side.  Coal expended 16 tons 12 cwt. Number on sick list 10.

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1806-1816

This is the account of the first vessel named HMS Cossack, a title that would be passed on to five later ships and commemorated by the Royal Navy in the Cossack Building at HMS Raleigh.

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1854-1875

The second Cossack was originally ordered by Russia for the Black Sea Fleet in December 1852 at a cost of 290,000 silver roubles. However, when relations between Britain and Russia deteriorated, Russia sold the vessels to the Hamburg trading firm Henry Mersk & Co.

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1886-1905

This account covers the third vessel named HMS Cossack. Launched on 3 June 1886 and in service until 1905, she spent the majority of her career in the Far East, calling at India, Aden, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and other ports.

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1907-1919

The fourth HMS Cossack received the first Battle Honour for participating in operations along the Belgian coast from 17 October to 8 November 1914. This section contains copies of the original construction contract and detailed plans showing her launch, deck arrangements, and machinery.

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1938-1941

Credited with battle honours including Baltic 1855, Witu 1890, Dover Patrol 1914–1919, Narvik 1940, Norway 1940, Atlantic 1940–1941, the Bismarck Action 1941, and the Malta Convoys 1941, the HMS Cossack in service from 1938 to 1941 was a formidable presence.

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1944-1960

During Warship Week in February 1942, the town of Esher raised £1,192,211, contributing to the construction of the warship HMS Cossack. The funds were collected by the public depositing money into a rubber-type float in a pool. Remarkably, the surplus was enough to fund a submarine as well. The story continues.

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