Maritime record MWX1910 - Himalaya (C60)

Remains of British coal hulk C60, formerly a passenger liner and troop ship. Remains of 1941 wreck of British coal hulk which foundered in Portland Harbour after being bombed, to be dispersed in 1943 or 1947 according to different sources. Constructed of iron in 1853 as a 3-masted passenger steamship for P & O, she was purchased as a troopship for the Crimean War in 1854. In 1894 she became a coal hulk at Devonport before being sold out of Admiralty service in 1920 where she became a hulk at Portland. When originally built she was the world's largest vessel. It appears that her loss in 1940 was a propaganda coup for the Luftwaffe, which identified her as a warship.

The HIMALAYA was a Panda O 3-masted steamship, built in 1853. Used in the Crimean War as troopship she was converted to a coal hulk and used originally in the Medway in 1894. She was the worlds largest vessel when originally built. Sunk 12-JUN-1940. (Dorset Shipwrecks) Bombed and sunk by German JU88 aircraft. Of four bombs dropped only three exploded. One unexploded bomb reported on seabed. Above water for the duration of the war before being blown flat by salvage company.

07-AUG-1967 Small disposal carried out by Portland and Weymouth Coaling Co. Ltd. in Sept 1943 (the owners of the vessel). Only superstructure removed.

11-MAR-1975 Position reported as 50 34 40.5N 02 26 29.0W. 13-JUN-1984 Wreckage consists of ship plates, beams, teak planking and coal. Mostly this lies fairly flat but some parts stand up to 5 feet high. Whole area foul for anchoring.

14-OCT-1990 Least echosounder depth 9 in general depth 11m. Scour 0.4m deep. Side scan sonar height 2m, length 100m, width 20m. Lies 100/280 deg, in 6 main pieces with outlying scattered wreckage, least depth 9m, in 50 34 41.70N, 02 26 31.44W. A piece of coal, a piece of teak decking, a steel plate and riveted iron frame, and an iron double sheaf block recovered

The Himalaya was an old ship when she was sunk, a veteran of the Crimean War which sank in the Second World War.
She had been intended for the P&O shipping company when she was laid down in 1852 as a three masted, ocean going, paddle steamer. However, whilst she was being built, the Great Britain, the first ocean going iron screw ship, proved that the future lay with screw propulsion. So the Himalaya’s design was altered to take a screw, and she became the second great iron screw ship, indeed when she was built she was the largest ship in the world.

Shortly after completion she was hired by the admiralty for use as a troopship, carrying men, horses and supplies out to the Crimean War, where she was very popular with the soldiers because of the quality of the accommodation she provided. As a result she was bought by the government and continued to be used as a troopship until 1895. Then she was converted to a coal hulk and moved to Portland Harbour.

On the 12th June 1940 a JU88 dropped four bombs on her, one exploded and sank her. The Germans were so impressed by her size they claimed to have sunk a battleship!

gross tonnage

Position 50 34.70N 2 26.50W taken from (2)

02-NOV-2009: Examined 25-MAR-2008 in 50 34.725N 002 26.574W using DGPS. Least multibeam depth 8.77m in general depth 10.93m. Length 3.13m x width 1.62m x height 3.16m, lying 120/330 degrees. Appears to have broken into numerous pieces, the quoted position being for the least depth. Debris covers 100m along 100/280 degrees. Appears to lie in minor scour, length 91m, along 110 degrees. <7>

50 34.70N 002 26.50W. Infrequently dived; substantial wreckage distributed over a wide area, mostly wrought iron pltes and beams, teak decking and coal scattered everywhere. Pulley blocks, wires and parts of the derricks are also present. Nowhere more than 2m proud.

In 1947 the remains were blown up and largely removed. Lying in 12m the wreck lies 0.5 mile out in the harbour, directly in line with the longer sides of the Mulberry Units at Castletown. <3>

A piece of coal, a piece of teak decking, a steel plate and riveted iron frame, and an iron double sheaf block recovered from this wreck, named as HULK C60, ex. HIMALAYA, Portland Harbour. (Droit A/3186). <4>

Archaeological Diving Unit Report 1994:

Despite the wreck clearance there is still a large area of the seabed littered with debris from the salvage operation. The area of the site inspected during the ADU visit in SEP-1994 was not the same as that explored by an expedition a decade before, but this is unsurprising given the vessel's length before dispersal, over 370 feet.

Identifiable fragments of the ship structure were noted partially buried in the sediments of the harbour, mostly of riveted construction but including some welded items and fittings such as blocks and wire rope, probably part of the equipment installed when the ship was used as a coaling hulk. There was a scatter of coal debris over much of the area and timber remains were also noted.

The site environment is flat and featureless, silty sand. The exposed wreckage provides a localised artificial environment supporting static and mobile marine life and the sediment in the surrounding vicinity is populated with burrowing bivalves and worms.

Some trawling equipment had fouled the wreckage and there was evidence of sport fishing activity, but these are unlikely to have had much impact on the wreck in its present state. There is little threat from diving since the wreck is unattractive and lies in poor diving conditions.

It seems likely that the true position is not widely known since recent sport diving guides list erroneous positions for the wreck although the position has been accurately charted since at least the 1980s.

Conclusions: The HIMALAYA was a great technical achievement for her time but was rapidly superseded and had an an obscure but lengthy career of almost 90 years afloat, first as a liner, then a troopship, then a coal hulk. Limited documentary evidence of her construction or machinery has survived and it is unfortunate that the hull was so comprehensively destroyed in 1947, otherwise this site might have been a reasonable candidate for designation. <8>

Wreck Event and Documentary Evidence:

The HIMALAYA was a P&O 3-masted steamship, built in 1853. Used in the Crimean War as troopship she was converted to a coal hulk and used originally in the Medway in 1894. She was the world's largest vessel when originally built. (1)

Sunk 12-JUN-1940 [sic]. (Dorset Shipwrecks) (1)

Bombed and sunk by German Ju88 aircraft. Of four bombs dropped only three exploded. One unexploded bomb reported on seabed. Above water for the duration of the war before being blown flat by salvage company. (1)

Thought to have been the largest ship at the time of building at 372ft 2in, a beam of 44ft 4in and a gross tonnage of 3,438. Chartered as a troopship for the Crimean War, when her 200 berths were converted to 1850, and later purchased outright. Eventually converted to a coal hulk and rechristened HM HULK C60. Air raid on Portland on 05-JUN-1940, which caused her to founder at her moorings; her size led to a German propaganda broadcast that the Luftwaffe had sunk the ARK ROYAL. (2)

Ex. Passenger liner P & O HIMALAYA, purchased 1854, as HIMALAYA, for £130,000. Became coal hulk at Devonport 1894, renamed C60 1895, sold to E W Payne 1920 and became coal hulk at Portland. Sunk there by German dive-bombers in June 1940.

Dimensions: 340ft 5in x 367ft 0.25in x 46ft 1.75in x 24ft, 3,452 69/94 tons BM, 4,490 tons displacement. <9>

Built as HIMALAYA, 3438 tons, 1854, 113.7m x 14.1m, became C60 when hulked 1895, bombed by aircraft Portland harbour 04-JUL-1940. <10>

HIMALAYA, steam iron troopship, 3553 BM, 4,590 tons, 340 x 46ft. Purchased JUL-1854. Renamed C60 coal hulk DEC-1895; sold 28-FEB-1920 to E W Payne. Sunk 1940 by air attack at Portland. <11>

Built as a three-masted paddler but was converted to screw propulsion prior to completion. Bombed by Ju88; three bombs exploded. Sat with mast showing during remainder of WWII. Later dispersed. (Dorset Shipwrecks; Sea Breezes; Lloyd's War Risks; BOT Historical Section; Shipwreck Index of the British Isles). <7>

Following brief service with P&O she was sold to the Admiralty and served as a troopship until 1895 when she was gutted to give further service as coaling hulk C60. Sold to a private concern in 1920 and moored in Portland harobur she fell victim to a daylight Luftwaffe raid on 05-JUN-1940. Salvage attempts in 1943 failed and the wreck was left until November 1947, when it was dispersed by explosives. <8>

05-JUN-1941: HIMALAYA, British coal hulk, 3540 tons, sunk by aircraft at Portland; vessel became a total loss. <12>

Not in British Vessels Lost at Sea under either name HIMALAYA/C60 or under either June 1940 or June 1941 date; similarly not in Britain's Sea War (Young, 1989). Does not appear in Lloyd's List for 1853/1854 under P & O ownership. (11) NRHE Oral information, correspondence (not archived) or staff comments 22-Jul-40

Built: 1853 (2)(5); 1854 (6)
Keel Laid: NOV-1851 (6)
Launched: 24-MAY-1853 (6)(7)
Completed: 09-JAN-1854 (6)
Purchased: JUL-1854 (7)
Builder: C J Mare & Co. (2); C J Mare (5); Mare (6)(7)
Where Built: Blackwall (2)(5)(6)(7)
Propulsion: single screw steam engine with auxiliary sails (2); 2-cylinder horizontal single expansion engine, 78" diameter 42" stroke, re-engined to similar specifications in 1863 (5)
Machinery: 1853, John Penn & Son; 1863 Keyham Factory (5)
Construction: 6 bulkheads (2)
Owner: 1853 P&O; chartered as a troop ship 1854, and later purchased outright by Admiralty (2); 1853 P & O; 1854 Admiralty; 1920 E W Payne (5); 1854 Admiralty, 1920 E W Payne (7); Portland and Weymouth Coaling Co. Ltd. In 1943 (1)(8)

Date of Loss Qualifier: Actual date of loss

National Record of the Historic Environment, 904647 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<1> United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, 1992, Hydrographic Office wreck index (Index). SWX4837.

<2> Hinchcliffe, J and V, 1984, Dive Dorset: a diver guide (1st Edition), p83-84 (Monograph). SWX1714.

<3> Larn, R, and Larn, B, 1995, Shipwreck index of the British Isles, volume 1 : Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset Section 6, Dorset (AJ) Vol 1 (Monograph). SWX4541.

<4> 2001, Maritime and Coastguard Agency: Receiver of Wreck Amnesty (Index). SWX4542.

<5> Le Pard, G, 1995-2003, Dorset Coast Forum Maritime Archaeological Database, Shipwreck 63 (Digital archive). SWX8707.

<6> Le Pard, G F, 2005, Shipwrecks of the Dorset Coast (Monograph). SDO9637.

<7> United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, Wreck report, Accessed 22-JUL-2010 (Monograph). SDO20514.

<8> Archaeological Diving Unit, 1994, Assessment of the HIMALAYA, Portland Harbour, Dorset, England (Unpublished document). SDO20564.

<9> Lyon, David and Winfield, Rif, 2004, The Sail and Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815-1889, 243-244 (Monograph). SDO20563.

<10> Miramar Ship Index www.miramarshipindex.org.nz, accessed on 22-JUL-2010 (Digital archive). SDO20161.

<11> Colledge, J J, 1969, Ships of the Royal Navy. Volume 1: major ships, 267 (Monograph). SWX4826.

<12> 1989, Lloyds war losses: the Second World War 3 September-14 August 1945, 263 (Index). SWX4997.

Record last edited

Mar 9 2024 7:44AM