Prototype of sternwheeler "Zulu" found

[Hankwilliams]

In the net I found this interesting sternwheeler. The similarity with the sternwheeler "Zulu" is striking, so I suppose that this would be the Prototype of "Zulu" Plan by Ray Vine, drawn in the 19- eightys. Unfortunately, no further Information are availiable.

Thomas

[DamienG]

   

[Bierjunge]

Where have you been for the last 10 years? 
Topic: Very comprehensive french steamboat blogspot, and a turkish "Zulu"

Hi PDs,

While doing a little research on french steamboats following the discussion at http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3386.msg15647;topicseen#msg15647, I found a really cool french steamboat blogspot: http://balades-pascal.blogspot.com/
You could virtually spend hours over hours just looking at these hundreds of pictures of both contemporary steam launches and vintage pictures of all sorts of steamboats, among them many paddlers.

One interesting, arbitrarily chosen example: There's a picture labeled as turkish steamer, showing what appears to be an identical twin of the well known, due to the excellent model plans, Burmese "Zulu".

Regards, Moritz

Btw, the source linked above, as well as this source and this source, quote this vessel as being turkish (not indian), used in Mesopotamia on the Tigris river ("Ministry of Information First World War Official Collection River stern wheeler S. 30 steaming up the River Tigris at Qurna."), but it looks like typical european (british?) "completely knocked down" production to me.

Edit: Maybe not even a turkish boat, since in the Osman empire of the time, arab letters and numbers would have been used. So maybe a britisch boat used during WW I in Mesopotamia?

Moritz

[Bierjunge]

Getting closer...
Stern Paddle Wheel S.30 built by Alley & MacLellan in 1916 for War Office - Inland Transport Department

Moritz

[Hankwilliams]

My "Zulu" - later I named her "Zambezi"- was built 1992 -1993. I remerber, that still in this years I have tried to get some substancial informations about the real boat, but without success. I knew about some other builders of the paddler, but no one of them had more informations than about the article in "Model Boats" in 1982. In this article the boat is describet in coherence to Irrawaddy flotilla, Chindwin river service and so on.
The new informations about the historical background of the "Zulu" model are nothing less than a marine historical clearing up, a long time wish got fulfilled.
Thomas

[Hankwilliams]

Moritz,
S 30 was no turkish boat, it was British together with many further British new built ships and partly transformed river steamers from Irrawaddy flotilla and Nile to Mesopotamia, which was part of Osmanic Empire. The British Empire created 1915 a new front against O.E., which was associated with the German- and Austro Hungarian Empire, in Basra. This was an attempt of the British troops to overcome the failed battle at Gallipolli. But the attempt to conquer Bagdad failed again completely in 1917, the British surrendered with high losses some miles south of the city.
The S 30 and S 31 with many other boats obviously were built to support the military thrust.
Thomas