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HMS Hermes, Highflyer-class protected cruiser
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HMS Hermes, Highflyer-class protected cruiser
Royal Navy - HMS Hermes, a Highflyer-class protected cruiser, before conversion to an experimental seaplane carrier / tender. HMS Hermes was a Highflyer-class protected cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the 1890s. She spent much of her early career as flagship for various foreign stations before returning home in 1913 to be assigned to the reserve Third Fleet. The ship was modified later that year as the first experimental seaplane carrier in the Royal Navy. In that years annual fleet manoeuvres, she was used to evaluate how aircraft could cooperate with the fleet and if aircraft could be operated successfully at sea for an extended time. The trials were a success and Hermes was paid off in December at their conclusion. She was recommissioned at the beginning of World War I in August 1914 for service as an aircraft ferry and depot ship for the Royal Naval Air Service. She was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in the Straits of Dover that October, with the loss of 21 lives. Date: circa 1907
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Media ID 23455836
© The Peter Butt Aviation Collection / Mary Evans A The Peter Butt Aviation Collection / Mary Evans
Annual Assigned Beginning Career Carrier Conclusion Conversion Cruiser Depot Dover Experimental Extended Ferry Flagship Foreign Hermes Lives Loss Manoeuvres Modified Operated Paid Protected Reserve Returning Seaplane Spent Stations Straits Submarine Success Successfully Sunk Tender Third Torpedoed Trials Years 1907 Cooperate December Fleet Year
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HMS Hermes: The Pioneering Seaplane Carrier of the Royal Navy This evocative photograph captures HMS Hermes, a Highflyer-class protected cruiser of the Royal Navy, before her transformation into an experimental seaplane carrier. Built in the late 1890s, HMS Hermes served as flagship for various foreign stations, demonstrating her versatility and endurance. In 1913, she underwent significant modifications to become the first seaplane carrier in the Royal Navy. The trials during the annual fleet manoeuvres were a resounding success, showcasing the potential of aircraft to cooperate with the fleet and operate at sea for extended periods. HMS Hermes was decommissioned at the end of the trials in December 1913. When World War I broke out in August 1914, HMS Hermes was recommissioned as an aircraft ferry and depot ship for the Royal Naval Air Service. Tragically, on 16 October 1914, she was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine in the Straits of Dover, resulting in the loss of 21 lives. This photograph, taken circa 1907, captures a moment in history before the groundbreaking innovations that would change the face of naval warfare.
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