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HMS Slinger (1917)

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History
United Kingdom
NameHMS Slinger
Builder Lobnitz and Company, Limited
Launched3 September 1917
Acquired1917
Commissioned1917
FateSold 16 October 1919
History
Name
  • Niki (1920–1937)
  • Lingfield (1937–1941)
Operator
  • Boyazides L, Brother & Company (1920–1934)
  • Valsamakis & Company (1934–1937)
  • Nomikos Petros (1937)
  • Finchley Steamship Company (1937–1941)
Acquired1920
FateSunk in collision 17 October 1941
General characteristics
(as HMS Slinger)
Tonnage875 GRT
General characteristics
(As commercial cargo ship)[1]
Tonnage1,002 GRT
Length195 ft 4 in (59.54 m)
Beam35 ft 5 in (10.80 m)
Draught14 ft 5 in (4.39 m)
Propulsion
Speed10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph)

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

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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.

A Fairey F.127 seaplane aboard HMS Slinger.

Slinger was sold on 16 October 1919.

Later career

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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.[1] On 28 July 1920, Niki arrived leaking at Liverpool and was beached at Tranmere. Cheshire.[2] 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.[1] 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.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d "SS Lingfield (+1941)". Wrecksite. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Casualty reports". The Times. No. 42475. London. 29 July 1920. col E, p. 19.

References

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  • Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allan, London, 1972), ISBN 0-7110-0380-7
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