HMS Ben-my-Chree (Manx: "Woman of My Heart") was a packet steamer and a Royal Navy (RN) seaplane carrier of the First World War. 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. She was the third vessel to bear her name. To this day Ben-my-Chree holds the crossing speed record from Liverpool to Douglas for a steamship at under three hours.
She was chartered by the RN 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. One of her aircraft made the first ship-launched aerial torpedo attack on a ship in August. After Gallipoli was evacuated at the end of the year, Ben-my-Chree became flagship of the East Indies and Egypt Seaplane Squadron that operated in the Eastern Mediterranean, performing reconnaissance missions and attacking Turkish facilities and troops. She was sunk by Turkish artillery while anchored at the recently occupied island of Kastellorizo in early 1917, 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.
Description and construction
SS Ben-my-Chree had a tonnage of . The ship was long overall and long between perpendiculars. She had a beam of and a depth of from her main deck to the top of her keel. Ben-my-Chree had five decks and a capacity of 2,549 passengers with a crew of 119.
The ship was powered by three license-built Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, each driving one propeller shaft. They were powered by steam provided by four cylindrical boilers at a working pressure of that gave her a speed of . Her engines burnt up to of coal a day, which made her an expensive ship to run.
She was ordered in 1907 by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company and was built at the Vickers shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness at a cost of 112,000. The ship was launched on 23 March 1908 and completed on 8 August. Ben-my-Chree was normally laid up, because of her expense, except for the three busiest months of the year when she had a full complement of passengers.
Royal Navy modifications and service
SS Ben-my-Chree was chartered by the Royal Navy on 1 January 1915 and she began her conversion into a seaplane carrier at the Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead the following day. Part of her aft superstructure was removed and replaced by a hangar, aft of her rear funnel, that housed four to six seaplanes. The aircraft were lifted in and out of the water by derricks fore and aft. A dismountable flying-off platform was installed forward of her superstructure; it was equipped with a trolley and rails to allow a seaplane to take off.
In RN service the ship displaced , was long overall, and had a draught of . Ben-my-Chrees turbines generated and she was credited with a speed of although that speed was exceeded in service. The ship could carry of coal. Her crew consisted of approximately 250 officers and ratings.
Her armament consisted of four quick-firing (QF) 12-pounder 18 cwt guns, and two Vickers three-pounder AA guns. Ben-my-Chree carried 130 rounds per 12-pounder and 64 rounds for each three-pounder. In May 1916, one 12-pounder AA gun, a three-pounder, and a 2-pounder pom-pom, each on army carriages, were added.
She was initially assigned to the Harwich Force, under the command of Commander Cecil L'Estrange Malone, where on 3 May she took part in an abortive air raid on Norddeich that had to be abandoned because of thick fog. On 6 May, while on another unsuccessful mission to attack Norddeich, she was accidentally rammed by the destroyer in thick fog, although damage was slight. Another attempt was made on 11 May, but was again abandoned because of heavy fog. During this raid, Ben-my-Chree attempted to launch her Sopwith Schneider from a trolley off the fore deck, but the engine backfired, wrecking its starter, and breaking the pilot's wrist as the starter handle was in the cockpit.