Everything about Hospital Ship totally explained
A
hospital ship is a
ship designated for primary function as a
medical treatment facility or
hospital; most are operated by the
military forces or
navies of various
countries around the
world, as they're intended to be used in or near war zones. Firing on a hospital ship is generally considered a
war crime.
History
On 8 December 1798, unfit for service as a warship,
HMS Victory was ordered to be converted to a hospital ship to hold wounded French and Spanish prisoners of war. Another early example of a hospital ship was
USS Red Rover in the
1860s, which aided the wounded soldiers of both sides during the
American Civil War. It was the sighting by the Japanese of the Russian hospital ship Orel, correctly illuminated in accordance with regulations, that led to the
Battle of Tsushima during the
Russo-Japanese War. Orel was retained as a prize of war by the Japanese after the battle. During
World War I and
World War II, some
passenger liners were converted for use as hospital ships.
RMS Aquitania and
HMHS Britannic were two such ships to serve in this capacity. The
SS Deutschland was a WWII German example, sunk by British air attack in 1945 with substantial loss of life, because in the chaos of the war's closing days, she hadn't been sufficiently marked as a hospital ship.
The last British Royal Yacht, the post WWII
HMY Britannia, was ostensibly constructed in a way as to be easily convertible to a hospital ship, but this was largely a ruse to ensure Parliamentary funding, and she never served in this role - reputedly her lifts were too small to take standard-sized stretchers.
USNS Mercy and
USNS Comfort are hospital ships now operated by the
United States Navy, and are the largest naval
ambulances extant. Both ships are converted oil tankers.
Legal status
Modern hospital ships display large
Red Crosses or Red Crescents to enjoy
Geneva convention protection under the
laws of war. However, such markings didn't stop the sinking of the
Australian Hospital Ship Centaur on
14 May 1943 off the coast of
Queensland, by a Japanese submarine. Some hospital ships, such as the
SS Hope, belong to civilian agencies, and as such are automatically not part of a navy force.
The
British Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship
RFA Argus would be a hospital ship were it not for its armaments. When performing its medical role it's designated a 'primary casualty receiving ship'.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hospital Ship'.
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