HMS ''Vindex'' was a

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 Fr ...

seaplane carrier A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, converted from the fast

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

. The ship spent the bulk of her career operating 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 ...

, where she twice unsuccessfully attacked the German

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

base at Tondern and conducted anti-Zeppelin patrols. One of her

Bristol Scout The Bristol Scout was a single-seat rotary-engined biplane originally designed as a racing aircraft. Like similar fast, light aircraft of the period it was used by the RNAS and the RFC as a " scout", or fast reconnaissance type. It was one o ...

aircraft made the first take-off from an aircraft carrier in late 1915. Another made the first interception of an

airship An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early ...

by a carrier-based aircraft on 2 August 1916, when it unsuccessfully attacked the Zeppelin LZ 53 (L 17). ''Vindex'' was transferred to the Mediterranean in 1918 and was sold back to her original owners in 1920. She was requisitioned again in 1939 and served through the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

as a

troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...

under a different name. After the end of the war, the ship was returned to her owners and was sold for scrapping in 1954.

Description and conversion

The ship had an overall length of , a beam of , and a draught of at

deep load The displacement or displacement tonnage of a ship is its weight. As the term indicates, it is measured indirectly, using Archimedes' principle, by first calculating the volume of water displaced by the ship, then converting that value into we ...

. She displaced . Her three direct-drive

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam tu ...

s, each driving one

propeller shaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...

, using steam provided by four

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...

s. The turbines produced a total of which gave the ship a speed of . The ship carried of coal which meant that she could steam for at a speed of . Her crew numbered 218, including 76 aviation personnel.Layman, p. 50 ''Vindex''s main armament consisted of four 50- calibre, 12-pounder 18 cwt"cwt" is the abbreviation for

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and US customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the US and British imperial systems. The two values are disti ...

, 18 cwt referring to the weight of the gun. guns, with 130 rounds stored for each gun.Friedman, p. 34 They fired projectiles at a muzzle velocity of ; this gave a maximum range of . Their rate of fire was 15 rounds per minute. The ship also carried a single

QF 6 pounder Hotchkiss The Ordnance QF Hotchkiss 6 pounder gun Mk I and Mk II or QF 6 pounder 8 cwt were a family of long-lived light naval guns introduced in 1885 to defend against new, small and fast vessels such as torpedo boats and later submarines. There were ma ...

anti-aircraft gun Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

for which she carried 55 rounds. This had a maximum depression of 8° and a maximum elevation of 60°. It fired a shell at a muzzle velocity of at a rate of fire of 20 rounds per minute. It had a maximum ceiling of , but an effective range of only . The 12-pounder guns were later replaced by two anti-aircraft guns.Gardiner, p. 69 ''Vindex'' was fitted with a flying-off deck forward, intended for aircraft with wheeled undercarriages, and a prominent

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

aft. Two electric

cranes Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname ...

were fitted aft and two

derrick A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and ...

s forward to handle her aircraft. Initially she carried two dismantled single-seat aircraft in her small forward hangar and five

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, m ...

s in the hangar aft. Both aircraft in the forward hangar could be reassembled and flown off in about ten minutes. She was capable of operating up to seven aircraft, and during her career, operated a range of aircraft including the

Sopwith Schneider The Sopwith Tabloid and Sopwith Schneider (floatplane) were British biplanes, originally designed as sports aircraft and later adapted for military use. They were among the first successful types to be built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. The ...

, the

Sopwith Pup The Sopwith Pup is a British single-seater biplane fighter aircraft built by the Sopwith Aviation Company. It entered service with the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps in the autumn of 1916. With pleasant flying characte ...

and the

Sopwith 1½ Strutter The Sopwith Strutter was a British single- or two-seat multi-role biplane aircraft of the First World War.Lake 2002, p. 40. It was the first British two-seat tractor fighter and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronise ...

in addition to the aircraft mentioned.

Service

Flt Lt Towler makes the first take-off from a carrier ship the HMS Vindex 1915

The ship was built in 1905 by

Armstrong Whitworth Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and ...

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

as the ''Viking'', a fast passenger

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water ta ...

for the

Isle of Man Steam Packet An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

. ''Viking'' was requisitioned by the Royal Navy on 26 March 1915 for conversion to a seaplane carrier, and was purchased outright on 11 November 1915. She was renamed HMS ''Vindex'' to avoid confusion with the

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

. ''Vindex'' was assigned to the

Harwich Force The Harwich Force originally called Harwich Striking Force was a squadron of the Royal Navy, formed during the First World War and based in Harwich. It played a significant role in the war. History After the outbreak of the First World War, a ...

in November 1915 and operated in the North Sea through 1917. A

C flown by

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers, commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) RAF officer ranks, system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. I ...

Harold Towler made the first take-off from the ship on 3 November 1915 with the ship steaming at ; the aircraft only used of the flight deck and it was the first take-off by a landplane from a Royal Navy ship. On 25 March 1916 ''Vindex'' attempted to attack the Zeppelin base at Tondern with three Short Type 184 and two

Sopwith Baby The Sopwith Baby is a British single-seat floatplane that was operated by the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) from 1915. Development and design The Baby (also known as the Admiralty 8200 Type) was a development of the two-seat Sopwith Schneider. ...

floatplanes, but the attack was ineffective. It did, however, draw out elements of the German Navy so it was repeated on 4 May with the addition of . The two ships carried eleven Babies between them, each armed with bombs, but eight failed to take-off; one hit the mast of an escorting destroyer and one had to return due to engine trouble. No damage was inflicted, but one Zeppelin was shot down by a cruiser when it

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining supp ...

d to find the British ships. On 2 August one of her Bristol Scouts unsuccessfully attacked the Zeppelin LZ 53 (L 17) with explosive

Ranken dart The Ranken Dart was an anti-Zeppelin weapon developed during the First World War. It was an air-dropped explosive flechette-type of missile-shaped bomb which was long and wide while being of a steel and wood construcation. It was developed for ...

s, the first interception of an

by a carrier-based aircraft in history. ''Vindex'' was to provide aerial reconnaissance with two of her seaplanes for a Coastal Motor Boat raid on 22 October 1916, but the operation was aborted because of fog. The ship was transferred to the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

at Malta in 1918, where she served until she was paid off in late 1919. ''Vindex'' was originally intended to be retained for service with the fleet after the end of the war, but this proved to be too expensive and she was sold back to her original owners on 12 February 1920 and reverted to her original name. She was requisitioned again in 1939 and served through the Second World War as a troopship, but not under her earlier name. The ship was returned to her owners in 1945 and was finally sold for scrap in 1954.Layman, pp. 50–51

Notes

Footnotes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vindex Seaplane carriers of the Royal Navy Ships built by Armstrong Whitworth 1905 ships World War I aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom Ferries of the Isle of Man Troop ships of the United Kingdom