RMS Mooltan
From Our Contribution
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| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | RMS Mooltan |
| Owner | The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company |
| Builder | Caird & Company of Greenock |
| Yard number | 306 |
| Launched | 3 Aug 1905 |
| Completed | 4 Oct 1905 |
| In service | 3 Nov 1905 |
| Out of service | 26 Jul 1917 |
| Fate | torpedoed and sunk |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | passenger & mail |
| Tonnage | 9,621 tons |
| Length | 520.4 ft (158.56m) |
| Beam | 58.3 ft (17.76m) |
| Depth | 24.7 ft (7.53m) draught 27.45 ft (8.34m) |
| Propulsion | twin screw |
| Speed | 18 knots (33.34 km/h) |
| Capacity | 348 x 1st and 166 x 2nd class. |
Remarks
On 4th October 1905, she began her maiden voyage to Bombay. In 1906 she was transferred to the London - Colombo - Melbourne - Sydney service and in 1911 took part in the Coronation Naval review at Spithead.
RMS Mooltan made a number of voyages from Australia to Egypt carrying nursing staff. Her original trip was with members of the 3rd Australian General Hospital, from Sydney on 15 May 1915.
She also carried other contingents of nurses. One trip departed Sydney on 22 Aug 1916, taking on more nurses at Adelaide on 24 Aug 1916, and Fremantle, on 28 Aug 1916. Her next trip departed Melbourne on 26 Dec 1916; her final trip departed Sydney on 12 Jun 1917, calling at Melbourne on 12 Jun 1917, Adelaide on 14 Jun 1917, and Fremantle on 18 Jun 1917 to take on other medical personnel.
On 25 Jul 1917 the Moolton sailed from Malta in company with SS Lotus, escorted by two Japanese Destroyers Kusunoki and Ume, for Marseilles. At 7:15pm on the following day she was torpedoed forward on the starboard side by the German submarine UC-27, endangering Lotus (which had in fact been UC27’s first target). All but two of the 554 aboard had been taken off by 8:15pm, when Mooltan was abandoned about 160km (100 miles) south of Sardinia, to be sunk two hours later by a second torpedo.
Soldiers carried
Sydney to Plymouth 15 May - 27 Jun 1915
Medical Staff Boarded in Fremantle on 24 May
Medical personnel were then returned to Mudross where the 3rd Australian General Hospital remained until 14 Jan 1916.