As a vessel of war, the Ben-my-Chree saw combat action in World War 1. Throughout the conflict, she served as a mobile raiding platform, artillery spotter, rescue ship and a direct strike carrier. In February of 1916, the Ben-my-Chree was shortly out of action after it had collided with the SS Uganda, causing serious forward damage to the former. Once back in action, the vessel served her days through bombing raids, more artillery spotting and general reconnaissance of enemy movements. On January 11th, 1917, whilst at anchor in Kastelorgio harbor, the Ben-my-Chree was permanently knocked out of commission by Turkish shore batteries and capsized. Post-war, the hull was brought up and reassessed, eventually being sold for scrapping in 1921.
HMS Ben-my-Chree was laid down by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness in 1907 (conversion handled by Cammell Laird in Birkenhead) and launched the following year. She was officially commissioned in 1915. The unusual name of "Ben-my-Chree" stems from the Old Irish Manx language and is related to Manx Gaelic, a language spoken on the Isle of Man which was the passenger ferry route the original Ben-my-Chree liner was built for before her acquisition and military conversion by the Royal Navy in 1915.
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