.jpg) HMS Ben-my-Chree
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | Ben-my-Chree |
| Namesake | Manx ben ma chree, "woman of my heart" |
| Operator | Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. |
| Port of registry |  Douglas, Isle of Man |
| Route | England–Isle of Man |
| Builder | Vickers, Barrow-in-Furness |
| Laid down | 1907 |
| Launched | 23 March 1908 |
| Completed | 8 August 1908 |
| Fate | Chartered by the Royal Navy, 1 January 1915 |
 United Kingdom | |
| Name | HMS Ben-my-Chree |
| Acquired | 1 January 1915 |
| Commissioned | 23 March 1915 |
| Fate | |
| General characteristics (as passenger ship) | |
| Type | Packet |
| Tonnage | 2,651 GRT |
| Length | 390 ft (118.9 m) (o/a) |
| Beam | 46 ft (14.0 m) |
| Depth | 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m) |
| Decks | 5 |
| Installed power | 4 × cylindrical boilers |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 24.2 kn (44.8 km/h; 27.8 mph) |
| Capacity | 2,549 |
| Crew | 119 |
| General characteristics (in RN service) | |
| Type | Seaplane carrier |
| Displacement | 3,888 long tons (3,950 t) |
| Length | 387 ft (118.0 m) (o/a) |
| Draught | 16 ft (4.9 m) |
| Installed power | 14,500 shp (10,800 kW) |
| Speed | 24.5 kn (45.4 km/h; 28.2 mph) |
| Crew | 250 |
| Armament | |
| Aircraft carried | 4–6 × seaplanes |
HMS Ben-my-Chree (Manx: "Woman of My Heart"[1]) was a British packet steamer which served as a seaplane carrier in the Royal Navy during World War I. She was originally built in 1907 by Vickers for the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and was intended for use on the England–Isle of Man route. Ben-my-Chree was the third vessel to bear her name. To this day, she holds the crossing speed record from Liverpool to Douglas, Isle of Man for a steamship at under three hours.[2]
She was chartered by the Royal Navy at the beginning of 1915 and participated in several abortive attacks on Germany in May. The ship was transferred to the Dardanelles in June to support the Gallipoli campaign, and one of her aircraft made the first ship-launched aerial torpedo attack on a ship in August.[3] After Gallipoli was evacuated at the end of the year, Ben-my-Chree became the flagship of the East Indies and Egypt Seaplane Squadron which operated in the Eastern Mediterranean, performing reconnaissance missions and attacking Ottoman facilities and troops.
She was sunk by Ottoman artillery fire while anchored at the recently occupied island of Kastellorizo in early 1917, with five members of her crew being injured. The ship was salvaged in 1920 and broken up in 1923. Ben-my-Chree was the only aviation vessel of either side sunk by enemy action during the war.[4]