HMS ''Slinger'' was an experimental

catapult A catapult is a ballistic device used to launch a projectile a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored p ...

ship operated by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After Royal Navy service from 1917 to 1919, she operated as a commercial

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

under the names SS ''Niki'' and SS ''Lingfield'' from 1920 until she sank in 1941.

Royal Navy service

Constructed as a

hopper barge A hopper barge is a kind of non-mechanical ship or vessel that cannot move around by itself, unlike some other types of barges, that is designed to carry materials, like rocks, sand, soil and rubbish, for dumping into the ocean, a river or lake ...

, HMS ''Slinger'' was purchased from her builder, Lobnitz and Company, Limited of

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, prior to completion. Intending to use her as a test bed for the shipborne launching of aircraft, the Royal Navy fitted her with a 60-foot (18.25-meter)

compressed air Compressed air is air kept under a pressure that is greater than atmospheric pressure. Compressed air is an important medium for transfer of energy in industrial processes, and is used for power tools such as air hammers, drills, wrenches, and o ...

. HMS ''Slinger'' operated Fairey F.127 and

Short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

310 __NOTOC__ Year 310 ( CCCX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Andronicus and Probus (or, less frequently, year 1063 '' ...

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

s during 1918. HMS Slinger seaplane

''Slinger'' was sold on 16 October 1919.

Later career

After her sale, the ship was converted into a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

. She entered commercial service under the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

flag with Boyazides L, Brother & Company in 1920 as SS ''Niki''. ''Niki'' was sold to Valsamakis & Company in 1934 and to Nomikos Petros in 1937, remaining under Greek ownership and registry throughout. On 28 July 1920, ''Niki'' arrived leaking at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and was beached at Tranmere.

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. She was refloated, repaired, and returned to service. ''Niki'' was sold to Valsamakis & Company in 1934 and to Nomikos Petros in 1937, remaining under Greek ownership and registry throughout. Later in 1937, ''Niki'' was sold to the Finchley Steamship Company and, under British registry, was renamed SS ''Lingfield''. ''Lingfield'' continued to operate as a commercial cargo ship until 17 October 1941, when she collided with another vessel in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

off the coast of

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and sank.

Notes

References

* Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allan, London, 1972),

External links

royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk H.M.S. SLINGER: The First H.M.S. SLINGER
Aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy Ships built on the River Clyde 1917 ships World War I aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom Experimental ships Cargo ships of the United Kingdom Maritime incidents in 1920 Maritime incidents in October 1941 Ships sunk in collisions Shipwrecks in the North Sea {{UK-mil-ship-stub