Hospital Ships Destroyed by Submarines or Mines

List of Hospital Ships Destroyed by Submarines or Mines
(Some of the hospital ships were destroyed after they had been classed as ambulance transports)


H.S. "ANGLIA."- Mined off Dover on 17th November, 1915, in the afternoon; 14 officers and 374 men, sick and wounded on board; 9 officers and 244 men were saved by destroyers, patrol boats. etc.; 5 officers and 128 men were lost, also 1 sister and 9 men of the R.A.M.C. staff.

H.S. "GALEKA."- Mined off Havre on 28th October, 1916, at 6.10 am., in a strong gale and heavy sea; no patients on board; 19 R.A.M.C. orderlies were killed in the initial explosion, all the other staff and ship's crew were saved; the ship was beached, but became a total wreck.

H.S. " BRITANNIC."- Sunk by mine on 21st November, 1916, at 8.12 a.m., in the Aegean Sea; there were no patients on board, and the day was warm, with a calm sea; all the staff were saved with the exception of Lieut. J. Cropper, R.A.M.C., and 8 orderlies; the evacuation was carried out with difficulty, on account of the movement of the ship, which continued to travel for some distance before finally sinking.

H.S. " BRAEMAR CASTLE."- Mined in the Aegean Sea, on 23rd November, 1916.

H.S. " GLENART CASTLE."- Mined at 11.30 p.m. 1st March, 1917, on route from Havre to Southampton; 520 sick and wounded on board, including 300 cot cases; all patients and crew saved by destroyers tugs and trawlers; ship cleared of invalids by 12.50 a.m. ; the weather was unusually mild, and the sea practically a dead calm; the ship was towed into Portsmouth. It was mined a second time on 26th February, 1918, and sunk.

H.S. "ASTURIAS. "- Torpedoed on 21st March, 1917, at midnight, off Devonshire coast; no patients on board; Temporary Captain G. L. Atkinson, R.A.M.C., Staff Nurse J. J. Phillips, and 12 R.A.M.C. orderlies were drowned; the ship was beached at Salcombe.

H.S. "GLOUCESTER CASTLE."- Torpedoed at 7 p.m., on 30th March. 1917, on route from Havre to Southampton; 399 patients, including 300 cot cases, on board; all the patients were saved by destroyers and transports, but 3 unfortunately died during transfer; the ship was eventually brought into port.

H.S. "SALTA."- Mined on morning of the 10th April, 1917, just outside Havre ; no patients on board ; 5 officers (including the officer-in-charge), 9 nursing sisters, and 37 other ranks R.A.M.C., were lost with the ship.

H.S. "LANFRANC. "- Torpedoed without warning on 17th April, 1917, at 7.30 p.m., on route from Havre to Southampton ; 387 patients on board, including 27 German officers and 140 German other ranks; there were 326 cot cases, many of which were seriously wounded, including a number of fractured femurs and amputations; 22 British, including 2 officers, and 18 German other ranks were lost; the ship sank rapidly.

H.S. "DONEGAL."- Sunk by torpedo on 17th April, 1917.

H.S. "DOVER CASTLE "- Torpedoed without warning on 26th May, 1917, at 11 a.m. ; 632 patients on board, including 29 officers ; all the patients were saved. although three boats were destroyed by the first explosion. The ship was sunk by a second torpedo after being cleared.

H.S. "GOORKHA."- Mined on 10th October, 1917, off Malta, at 11.50 a.m.; 362 patients on board, including 20 officers and 17 sisters; the ship was cleared in thirty-five minutes; there were no casualties; the ship Was towed into Malta.

NAVAL HOSPITAL SHIP "REWA."-Torpedoed 4th January. 1918. 4 crew (naval) were lost.

H.S. "GUILDFORD CASTLE,"-Torpedoed, but reached port, 10th March, 1918.

H.S. "LLANDOVERY CASTLE."- Torpedoed 27th June, 1918; no patients on board; 88 R.A.M.C. staff and 146 crew were lost.

H.S. "WAR ILDA."-Torpedoed in the Channel, 3rd August, 1918; there were 471 invalids, including 439 cot cases on board; 2 officers an 113 other ranks were lost, together with 1 Q.M.A.A.C. and 1 R.A.M.C.; the rest were cleared from the ship within an hour; the Ship sank half an hour afterwards.

From the Official History of the Great War,
Medical Services General History, Appendix C, Volume 1

 

Interesting reading Annie.
To help illustrate your information here are just two of the hospital ships that you mentioned.

HMHS Asturias and HMHS Salta...

 

Thanks for the photos Cally !

Makes a difference to see the actual pictures I think ..... rounds out the story of the ships !

Of course they shouldn't have been destroyed in the first place !

Annie