HMS Slinger (1917)
{{other ships|HMS Slinger}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=HMS Slinger (1917).jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=United Kingdom |Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}} |Ship name=HMS Slinger |Ship namesake= |Ship ordered= |Ship builder= Lobnitz and Company, Limited |Ship laid down= |Ship launched=3 September 1917 |Ship acquired=1917 |Ship commissioned=1917 |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship honours= |Ship fate=Sold 16 October 1919 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship name=* Niki (1920–1937)
|Ship operator=* Boyazides L, Brother & Company (1920–1934)
|Ship acquired=1920 |Ship commissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship honours= |Ship fate=Sunk in collision 17 October 1941 |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship tonnage={{GRT|875}} |Ship displacement= |Ship length= |Ship beam= |Ship draught= |Ship draft= |Ship propulsion= |Ship speed= |Ship range= |Ship complement= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament= |Ship armour= |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship notes= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= |Ship tonnage={{GRT|1,002}} |Ship displacement= |Ship length={{cvt|195|ft|4|in|m}} |Ship beam={{cvt|35|ft|5|in|m}} |Ship draught={{cvt|14|ft|5|in|m}} |Ship draft= |Ship propulsion=* 1 × 3-cylinder triple expansion steam engine
|Ship speed={{convert|10|kn|lk=in}} |Ship range= |Ship complement= |Ship sensors= |Ship EW= |Ship armament= |Ship armour= |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship notes= }} |
HMS Slinger was an experimental catapult ship operated by the Royal Navy during the First World War. After Royal Navy service from 1917 to 1919, she operated as a commercial cargo ship under the names SS Niki and SS Lingfield from 1920 until she sank in 1941.
Royal Navy service
Constructed as a hopper barge, HMS Slinger was purchased from her builder, Lobnitz and Company, Limited of Renfrew, Scotland, 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 catapult. HMS Slinger operated Fairey F.127 and Short 310 seaplanes during 1918.
File:HMS Slinger seaplane.jpg seaplane aboard HMS Slinger.]]
Slinger was sold on 16 October 1919.
Later career
After her sale, the ship was converted into a merchant cargo ship. She entered commercial service under the Greek 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.{{cite web |url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?9862 |title=SS Lingfield (+1941) |publisher=Wrecksite |access-date=20 July 2016}} On 28 July 1920, Niki arrived leaking at Liverpool and was beached at Tranmere. Cheshire.{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Casualty reports |date=29 July 1920 |page=19 |issue=42475 |column=E }} 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 off the coast of Norfolk, England, and sank.
Notes
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References
- Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allan, London, 1972), {{ISBN|0-7110-0380-7}}
External links
- [http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/SLINGER/SLING-12.HTM royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk H.M.S. SLINGER: The First H.M.S. SLINGER]
{{1920 shipwrecks}}
{{October 1941 shipwrecks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slinger (1917)}}
Category:Aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy
Category:Ships built on the River Clyde
Category:World War I aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom
Category:Cargo ships of the United Kingdom
Category:Maritime incidents in 1920
Category:Maritime incidents in October 1941
Category:Ships sunk in collisions
Category:Shipwrecks in the North Sea
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