13 June 1900

Bombay to Muskat. (Muscat). Wind WSW force 3 to 4 with overcast sky. Barometer 29.75 inches rising to 29.81 at noon and to 29.85 at 1600 before falling to 29.80 at 2000 and finishing at 29.82 inches at midnight. Temperature at noon 88F. Draught forward 14 feet 9 inches. Aft 15 feet 8 inches.

0300. Broken whilst hoisting whaler two crutches.
0400. Preparing for sea.
0700. Medical Office inspected Ship’s company for plague.
0825. Unshackled.
0830. 15 Boys joined from MAGDALA.

HMS Magdala was a Cerberus-class breastwork monitor of the Royal Navy, built specifically to serve as a coastal defence ship for the harbour of Bombay in the late 1860s. She was ordered by the India Office for the Bombay Marine. Launched 2 March 1870.

0850. Slipped and proceeded as requisite.
1035. Shaped to N71W at 74 revolutions. Streamed Patent log. Noon. Wind west force 2 to 3 with overcast sky. Position 18.52N 72.37E.. eased to 70 revolutions
1300. Eased to 68 revolutions.
1400. Training Class at instruction. Watch as requisite.
1600. Evening Quarters.
1630. Starboard watch Man and arm ship. Port watch -Stations for Battening down.1900. Scrub and wash clothes. Furled awnings.

Coal expended 12 tons 14 cwt. Number on sick list nil.

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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