[2] On 17 April 1877 Denny wrote to Bargash's agents promising to build "a vessel in every way a handsome and substantial piece of work" and on 14 May 1877 the ship was laid down as "Hull 200".

[3] Glasgow was constructed with an iron frame covered with teak planks and a keel made from rock elm.

[2] Glasgow was well fitted out for its role as a royal yacht and contained two state rooms, a dining saloon, a bathroom and a water closet for use by the Sultan.

In all, she cost £32,735 and was fitted out with seven rifled, muzzle-loading nine-pounder cannon and a nine-barrelled Gatling gun, courtesy of Queen Victoria.

The discrepancy arose from confusion when the ship's specifications were agreed between the sultan's representatives and local mercantile firm Smith Mackenzie & Company in Zanzibar.

On 27 August the now obsolete Glasgow, the sole vessel of the Zanzibar Navy, fired upon a flotilla of five British ships, led by the cruiser HMS St George with its 9.2-inch (230 mm) guns.

[7] The ship eventually sank at 10:45 am that day, settling on the harbour bed with just its masts and funnel projecting from the water.