HMS Ben-my-Chree (Manx: "Woman of My Heart") 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.
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. 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.
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. and two Vickers three-pounder AA guns. 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.
To the Dardanelles
thumb|Illustration of Ben-my-Chree off the Dardanelles in 1915
In May 1915, she sailed for the Dardanelles,
thumb|Commander Samson (front row, 2nd from right), and Lieutenant Malone standing behind him, with other officers of the R.F.C. in 1913
On 2 September, she helped to rescue Australian troops from the torpedoed troopship HMT Southland off Lemnos. The ship was transferred to Port Said, Egypt after the end of the Gallipoli Campaign.
In February 1916 she was sent from Port Said to the Libyan coast; on 11 February, her aircraft observed Sidi Barrani and Sollum, and on 15 February discovered the Senussi were encamped at Agagia. collided with her on 11 February and badly damaged the ship's bow. Ben-my-Chree was based at Aden later in 1916.
Loss
thumb|right|HMS Ben-my-Chree under fire
French troops occupied the Greek island of Kastellorizo, off the southwest coast of Turkey, on 20 December 1916 to use it as an advance base against the Ottomans. Not pleased at the presence of the French, the Ottomans secretly deployed an artillery battery of four and twelve guns within range of the island. The French commander requested a seaplane carrier to conduct reconnaissance in the area and Ben-my-Chree was sent in response. She arrived on 11 January 1917 and anchored in the harbour which faced the mainland. Ottoman guns opened fire about two hours later, hitting the carrier with their third shot. Subsequent shells disabled her steering and started a fire in her hangar that spread across her upper deck.
Ben-my-Chrees wreck remained in place until 15 August 1920 when it was refloated by the salvage ship Vallette. The wreck was immediately beached before the tow to the port of Piraeus began on 4 September. The ship proved to be a constructive total loss and was towed to Venice, Italy, in 1923 to be demolished.
During her short career she operated Sopwith Type 860, Schneider, and Baby aircraft, the Wight Pusher Seaplane, as well as Short Type 830 and Type 184 floatplanes.