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    		•

    HMHS is an acronym for His/Her Majesty's Hospital Ship.

    Early modern era

    Seventeenth century

    The earliest record of British hospital ship was Goodwill, which briefly accompanied a Royal Navy squadron in the Mediterranean in 1608 or 1609.[1][2] From 1665 the Royal Navy formally maintained two hospital ships at any time, these being either hired merchant ship or elderly sixth rates, modified from their original design by the removal of internal bulkheads and addition of ports cut through the deck and hull for ventilation. The limit of two hospital ships at a time remained in place until the Nine Years' War at century's end. In 1691 there were four hospital ships in service, rising to five in 1693 and six in 1696.[1]

    In addition to their sailing crew, these seventeenth century hospital ships were staffed by a surgeon and four surgeon's mates. Standard medical supplies were bandages, soap, needles and bedpans, and patients were issued with a clean pair of sheets. Infectious patients were quarantined from the general population behind a sheet of canvas. The quality of food was very poor. In the 1690s the surgeon aboard Siam complained that the meat was in an advanced state of putrefaction, the biscuits were weevil-ridden and bitter, and the bread was so hard that it stripped the skin from patient's mouths.[1]

    Vessel name Tons burthen Guns Crew Hospital service
    Goodwill not recorded not recorded not recorded 1608 or 1609
    Joseph 101 4 30-40 1665
    Loyal Catherine[a] 298 36-40 35 1665-1666
    Maryland Merchant not recorded 41 40 1666
    John's Advice 330 16 40-54 1672-1674
    Unity 118 6-8 not recorded 1683
    Welcome 78 10 not recorded 1683
    Helderenberg 242 18-30 50 1688
    Concord 352 22-30 45 1690-1695
    Society 357 22-30 45 1690-1697
    Baltimore 300/324 20 45 1691
    Spencer 245 20 40-45 1691
    London Merchant 250 22-30 30-45 1692-1696
    Siam 333 22-30 45-58 1693-1697[b]
    Bristol 532 20 40-45 1692-1694, 1696-1697
    Josiah 664 30 30 1696
    Muscovy Merchant 250 24 45 1696
    London Merchant 250 22-30 30-45 1692-1696

    Eighteenth century

    Vessel name Tons burthen Guns Crew Hospital service
    Lewis 460 42 50 1701
    Suffolk (frigate) 477 8-30 50-70 1701, 1713
    Siam 333 2-30 45-58 1702-1703[b]
    Antelope 550 24-30 60-83 1702-1703, 1706-1708
    Princess Anne 484 24-30 70-83 1702-1706
    Jeffreys 513 20-26 60-73 1702-1708
    Sarah and Betty 370 24 45-58 1702-1703
    Smyrna Factor 355 24 45-50 1702-1703, 1705-1709
    Suffolk (hoy) not recorded 10-30 80 1703-1704
    Matthews not recorded not recorded 50-60 1705-1708
    Martha not recorded 22 70-80 1707-1710
    Leake not recorded 14 50-80 1708-1711
    Arundel not recorded not recorded not recorded 1709
    Pembroke not recorded 28 60-95 1709-1713
    Delicia not recorded 22 63-65 1710-1713
    Looe 553 12-42 60 1717-1718
    Portsmouth not recorded not recorded not recorded 1731
    Princess Royal 541 18 77 1740-1741
    Scarborough 501 18 60 1740-1744
    Jersey 1065 60 not recorded 1771-1779
    Nabob 637 26 72 1779-1783
    Lioness 711 26 72 1780-1783

    Boxer Rebellion

    Second Boer War

    World War I

    Russian Civil War

    Former Royal Naval Hospitals

    World War II

    Falklands War hospital ships

    RFA hospital ships

    Royal Fleet Auxiliary hospital ships:

    Citations

    Notes

    1. ^ Or Loyal Katherine[3]
    2. ^ a b Siam served as a hospital ship twice, from 1693 to 1697 and, after reconditioning, from 1702-1703.[1]

    References

    1. ^ a b c d Sutherland Shaw, J.J. (1936). "The Hospital Ship, 1608–1740". The Mariner's Mirror. 22 (4): 422–426. doi:10.1080/00253359.1936.10657206.
    2. ^ Oppenheim, M. (1896). A History of the Administration of the Royal Navy and of Merchant Shipping in Relation to the Navy. Vol. 1. The Bodley Head. p. 188. OCLC 506062953.
    3. ^ Winfield, Rif (2009). British Warships in the Age of Sail, 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and fates. Seaforth. p. 276. ISBN 9781848320406.
    4. ^ Henneberry, Allan (2008). Wreck Diving Tales: Diving Nova Scotia's Shipwrecks. Atlantis Marine. pp. 1–5. ISBN 9780595613564.
    5. ^ Johnson, Jonathan C. (2016). "Canadian Military Hospitals at Sea 1914-1919" (PDF). Royal Canadian Medical Service Association. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
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