On Friday 16 May the Manx Museum will play host to one of Britain’s foremost experts on naval warfare, strategy and security.
Professor Eric Grove, of Liverpool Hope University will give a lecture on the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessel Ben My Chree which was requisitioned by the Royal Navy during the First World War. As HMS Ben My Chree she carried seaplanes, and launched the first airborne strike against an enemy vessel in the history of warfare. The lecture entitled ‘Ben My Chree - Pioneer Aircraft Carrier’ will cover her conversion, her active and wide-ranging career and her sad loss to Turkish artillery in 1917. Notably the Ben My Chree was the only aviation vessel of either side to be sunk by enemy action during the war.
An extract from the book ‘How the Manx Fleet Helped in the Great War’ describes her conversion:
‘Very considerable structural alterations had to be made; the large hangar for housing the seaplanes occupied a considerable portion of the after deck along with the cranes for lifting these overboard. She was able to accommodate six seaplanes, two of them being of large size, fitted with wireless and carrying two men, and four of smaller size carrying one man only.
A well-equipped workshop, containing three lathes, two drilling machines, one shaping machine, and a circular saw, was fitted up on the deck below. The ship’s armament consisted of four twelve-pounder guns and four anti-aircraft guns.’
Professor Eric Grove is a naval history consultant, defence analyst and is the author of a number of books including: The Royal Navy since 1815, The Future of Sea Power, and Vanguard to Trident. He has made regular appearances on television programmes on naval history subjects, lectured to the Royal Navy's Commanding Officer's and Warfare courses as well as contributing to industrial conferences on naval technology.
The talk is part of the Manx National Heritage WWI lecture and event series and supports the current Manx Museum exhibition This Terrible Ordeal, which charts the experience of the people of the Isle of Man during the First World War.
Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start, and tickets are priced ?10 available from the Manx Museum Gallery Shop and online at www.manxnationalheritage.im. A 10% discount is available to members, ACE cardholders and students.
