One of five identical sisters built for P.& O., Egypt measured 500ft with a beam of 54ft and could carry 320 First and 160 Second Class passengers at 18.3 knots. Serving as a hospital ship in both the Boer and Great Wars, she led an uneventful career until May 1922 when she was rammed and sunk in fog by the S.S. Seine. In the twenty minutes she took to founder, six lifeboats managed to clear with a total of 252; however fifteen passengers and sevety-one crew perished. Also on board was a cargo of gold bullion worth in excess of £1,000,000. It took until 1930 to locate the wreck lying in 426ft of water. A diver, working at record-breaking depths, was sent to lay explosives on the bullion room roof, through which mechanical grabs operated. It was still not until 1933 the first gold was recovered, the final load, some £80,000, brought the total recovered to £1,183,000.