Kilifi to Zanzibar. Position at noon 5.11S 39.34E. Course SW by S ½ S. wind SSE force 2 with broken cloud and lightning. Barometer 29.78 inches rising to 29.80 at noon before falling to 29.75 at 2000. Temperature at noon 88F. 0645. 85 revolutions – 6 knots. 0630. Altered course to SW by S ¼ S. 0700. Altered course to S by W ¾ W. at 9 knots. 0915. Mustered by divisions. Read prayers. Marines at rifle drill. Employed as requisite. 1200. Altered course to SW ¾ S. 1315. Exchanged number with HMS Griffin. Issued soap and tobacco to Ship’s Company. Make and mend clothes. 1530 Mustered at Quarters. 1800. Made number to HMS Agamemnon 1830 working engines as requisite. 1915 Came to in Zanzibar Harbour with sandy bottom in 13 fathoms and veered to 3 shackles. 2000. Let fires die out in two boilers. Distilling with 3rd boiler. Found here HMS Agamemnon, German corvette SOPHIC, and cruiser PFEIL, French sloop BOURET, Portuguese TANNGA? Anchorage bearings Clock tower N75E Kinunduni Island S12E. Coal expended 20 tons 3 cwt. Number on sick list 6.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
