View source for HMS Slinger (1917)

{{other ships|HMS Slinger}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2017}}
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|Ship image=HMS Slinger (1917).jpg
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|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
|Ship name=HMS ''Slinger''
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|Ship builder=[[Lobnitz| Lobnitz and Company, Limited]]
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|Ship launched=3 September 1917
|Ship acquired=1917
|Ship commissioned=1917
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|Ship fate=Sold 16 October 1919
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{{Infobox ship career
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|Ship name=* ''Niki'' (1920–1937)
* ''Lingfield'' (1937–1941)
|Ship operator=* Boyazides L, Brother & Company (1920–1934)
* Valsamakis & Company (1934–1937)
* Nomikos Petros (1937)
* Finchley Steamship Company (1937–1941)
|Ship acquired=1920
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|Ship fate=Sunk in collision 17 October 1941
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|Header caption=<br>(as HMS ''Slinger'')
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|Ship tonnage={{GRT|875}}
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|Header caption=<br>(As commercial cargo ship)<ref name=Lingfield/>
|Ship class=
|Ship tonnage={{GRT|1,002}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{cvt|195|ft|4|in|m}}
|Ship beam={{cvt|35|ft|5|in|m}}
|Ship draught={{cvt|14|ft|5|in|m}}
|Ship draft=
|Ship propulsion=* 1 × 3-cylinder [[triple expansion]] [[steam engine]]
* 1 shaft, {{cvt|1,030|ihp|lk=on}}
|Ship speed={{convert|10|kn|lk=in}}
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'''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==
Constructed as a [[hopper barge]], HMS ''Slinger'' was purchased from her builder, [[Lobnitz|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 Aviation|Fairey]] [[Fairey F.127|F.127]] and [[Short Brothers|Short]] [[Short 310|310]] [[seaplane]]s during 1918.

[[File:HMS Slinger seaplane.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Fairey N.9|Fairey F.127]] [[seaplane]] aboard HMS ''Slinger''.]]

''Slinger'' was sold on 16 October 1919.

==Later career==

After her sale, the ship was converted into a [[merchant ship|merchant]] [[cargo ship]]. She entered commercial service under the [[Greece|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.<ref name=Lingfield>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?9862 |title=SS Lingfield (+1941) |publisher=Wrecksite |access-date=20 July 2016}}</ref> On 28 July 1920, ''Niki'' arrived leaking at [[Liverpool]] and was beached at [[Tranmere, Cheshire|Tranmere]]. [[Cheshire]].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Casualty reports |date=29 July 1920 |page=19 |issue=42475 |column=E }}</ref> 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.<ref name=Lingfield/> 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.<ref name=Lingfield/>

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* Dittmar, F. J. & Colledge, J. J., "British Warships 1914-1919", (Ian Allan, London, 1972), {{ISBN|0-7110-0380-7}}

==External links==
* [http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/SLINGER/SLING-12.HTM royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk H.M.S. SLINGER: The First H.M.S. SLINGER]

{{1920 shipwrecks}}
{{October 1941 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slinger (1917)}}
[[Category:Aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Ships built on the River Clyde]]
[[Category:1917 ships]]
[[Category:World War I aircraft carriers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Experimental ships]]
[[Category:Cargo ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1920]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1941]]
[[Category:Ships sunk in collisions]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks in the North Sea]]


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