SS Rohilla

The steamship Rohilla grounded off the coast of England, 1914
History
United Kingdom
Name:	Rohilla
Owner:	British India Steam Navigation Co Ltd, London
Port of registry:	Glasgow
Route:	1906 London to Calcutta 1908 as a troopship 1914 as a hospital ship
Builder:	Harland and Wolff, Belfast
Yard number:	381
Launched:	6 September 1906
Completed:	16 November 1906
Identification:	Official number: 124149
Fate:	On 30 October 1914, struck a reef at Saltwick, near Whitby, and sank.
Notes:
General characteristics
Type:	Passenger ship/troopship, later hospital ship
Tonnage:	7,114 GRT; 3,970 NT
Length:	460.1 ft (140.2 m)
Beam:	56.0 ft (17.1 m)
Draught:	28.3 ft (8.6 m)
Installed power:	8,000 IHP
Propulsion:	Twin Harland & Wolff quadruple expansion steam engines
Speed:	16.6 knots (30.7 km/h; 19.1 mph)
Capacity:	167 passengers; later c.1600 troops
Notes:	sister ship: SS Rewa

Rohilla was a passenger steamer of the British India Steam Navigation Company which was built for service between the UK and India, and as a troopship. After becoming a hospital ship in the First World War, Rohilla ran aground in October 1914 near Whitby with the loss of 83 lives.

Rohilla was ordered in 1905 by the British India Steam Navigation Company (BI) from Harland & Wolff Ltd of Belfast, at the same time as sister ship Rewa from William Denny & Bros at Dumbarton. They differed mainly in their engines: Rewa was triple-screw with steam turbines, while Rohilla had a pair of quadruple expansion steam engines, also made by Harland & Wolff, and twin screws. Rohilla's engines totalled IHP, producing 16.6 knots on sea trials. Although ordered for the London to Calcutta service, increased competition prompted BI to design the two sisters to be suitable also as troopships.

The steamship was named Rohilla in honour of the Rohillas, Pashtun highlanders who lived in Rohilkhand, east of Delhi, in the modern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.