The Plassy underway
History
United Kingdom
NamePlassy
OperatorThe Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company
BuilderCaird & Company, Greenock
Yard number296
Launched23 November 1900[1]
Maiden voyage29 January 1901
FateScrapped 4 September 1924 at Genoa
General characteristics
Tonnage7,404 GRT
Length450 feet (140 m)
Propulsion2 x T3 cyl (28.5, 46, 76 x 48in), 1,055 nhp, 2 × screw[2]

HMHS Plassy (His Majesty's Hospital ship) was a steamship originally built for the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P&O), which spent most of its career in government service, particularly as a troop transport for the Second Boer War and as a hospital ship in World War I, including service at the Battle of Jutland.[3]

Building

The ship was built by Caird & Company as a twin-screw steamer, capable of mail and passenger service, but also to comply with government regulations for troop ships. The specifications included a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph), and accommodation for 114 first class and 57 second class passengers.[4]

Career

In 1911, the ship (then a troop transport) was fitted with wireless telegraphy.[5]

At the Battle of Jutland, Plassy served as a hospital ship,[6] and took on board 192 wounded from the battlecruisers HMS Lion and HMS Princess Royal,[7] including a number with severe burns.[8]

In June 1917, King George V visited the ship at Scapa Flow.[9][10][11][12]

References

  1. ↑ "The world of politics". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 24 November 1900.
  2. ↑ "Plassy". Scottish Built Ships.
  3. ↑ "HMHS Plassy". Wartime Memories Project.
  4. ↑ "Plassy". Lloyd's List. 24 November 1900.
  5. ↑ "Five army transport ships". Exeter and Plymouth Gazette. 11 January 1911.
  6. ↑ Bonney, George (2006). The Battle of Jutland 1916. Stroud: Sutton. pp. 197–200. ISBN 9780750941785.
  7. ↑ "Hospital Ships Plassy at Jutland". Our Ware at Sea. P&O History.
  8. ↑ "The aftermath of the great battle". Navy News. May 2016. p. 34.
  9. ↑ "King George V visits the British hospital ship HMHS Plassy during World War I". Critical Past.
  10. ↑ "The King's Sunday with the Fleet". Evening Mail. 29 June 1917.
  11. ↑ "New Official War Pictures". The Bioscope. 19 July 1917.
  12. ↑ "King and the Fleet". Sussex Daily News. 28 June 1917.
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