# List of hospital ships sunk in World War I

During the First World War, many hospital ships were attacked, sometimes deliberately and sometimes as a result of mistaken identity. They were sunk by either torpedo, mine or surface attack. They were easy targets, since they carried hundreds of wounded soldiers from the front lines.

## Background

A hospital ship (HS) is 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 are intended to be used in or near war zones. Hospital ships were covered under the Hague Convention X of 1907. Article four of the Hague Convention X outlined the restrictions for a hospital ship:
* The ship should give medical assistance to wounded personnel of all nationalities
* The ship must not be used for any military purpose
* Ships must not interfere or hamper enemy combatant vessels
* Belligerents as designated by the Hague Convention can search any hospital ship to investigate violations of the above restrictions.
If any of the restrictions were violated, the ship could be determined as an enemy combatant and be sunk. Investigators from neutral countries like Spain were allowed to inspect hospital ships to confirm that Article Four wasn't being violated.
The high command of Imperial German viewed Allied hospital ships as violating the Hague Convention and ordered its submarine forces to target them as part of their Unrestricted submarine warfare on Allied shipping. Even with the inspections from neutral countries the German High command alleged that hospital ships were violating Article Four by transporting able-bodied soldiers to the battleground. The biggest hospital ship sunk by either mine or torpedo in the First World War was Britannic, the sister of Olympic and the ill-fated Titanic. Britannic hit a mine on November 21, 1916; 30 people were killed, but the rest of the crew and passengers were able to escape. The largest loss of life caused by the sinking of a hospital ship would be Llandovery Castle. The ship was hit by a torpedo from the German U-boat U-86 on June 27, 1918. Shortly thereafter, the submarine surfaced and gunned down most of the survivors; only 24 were rescued. After the war, the captain of U-86, Lieutenant Helmut Patzig, and two of his lieutenants were charged with war crimes and arraigned at the Leipzig war crimes trials, but Patzig disappeared, and the two lieutenants both escaped after being convicted and sentenced to prison. The Allies weren't the only ones who had their ships attacked at the beginning of the war, the German hospital ship Ophelia was seized by British naval forces as a spy ship and near the close of the war the Austrian hospital ship Baron Call was unsuccessfully attacked by torpedo on October 29, 1918.

## Hospital ships sunk

| Name | Nationality | Date | Location of wreck | Cause | Lives lost | Note |
| HMHS Anglia | UK | 17 November 1915 | One mile east of Folkestone Gate | Struck mine that had been laid by German U-boat UC-5 | 134 | |
| HMHS Asturias | UK | 20 March 1917 | 6 miles off Start Point | Torpedoed by German U-boat UC-66 | 35 | [11] [12] [13] [14] |
| HMHS Huntley | UK | 21 December 1915 | .75 miles (1.21 km) off the Boulogne LV. | Torpedoed by German U-boat UB-10 | 2 | |
| HMHS Britannic | UK | 21 November 1916 | Aegean sea 37°42′05″N 24°17′02″E﻿ / ﻿37.70139°N 24.28389°E﻿ / 37.70139; 24.28389 | Struck a mine laid by a German U-boat U-73 | 30 | |
| HMHS Dover Castle | UK | 26 May 1917 | Mediterranean Sea 37°45′00″N 007°45′00″E﻿ / ﻿37.75000°N 7.75000°E﻿ / 37.75000; 7.75000 | Torpedoed by German U-boat UC-67 | 7 | |
| HMHS Donegal | UK | 17 April 1917 | 19 miles south of the Dean lightship on passage Le Havre for Southampton 50°26′00″N 01°00′00″W﻿ / ﻿50.43333°N 1.00000°W﻿ / 50.43333; -1.00000 | Torpedoed by German U-boat UC-21 | 40 | [18] [19] [20] [21] |
| HS Elektra | Austria-Hungary | 18 March 1916 | Off Cape Planka | Torpedoed by French submarine Ampère. Out of service until early Sep 1916; returned to her owner 04 Dec 1916 | 2 | |
| HMHS Galeka | UK | 28 October 1916 | French coast, near Le Havre 49°34′01″N 000°05′05″E﻿ / ﻿49.56694°N 0.08472°E﻿ / 49.56694; 0.08472 | Struck a mine laid by UC-26 | 19 | |
| HMHS Glenart Castle | UK | 26 February 1918 | Bristol Channel 51°07′00″N 005°03′00″W﻿ / ﻿51.11667°N 5.05000°W﻿ / 51.11667; -5.05000 | Torpedoed by German U-boat UC-56 | 162 | |
| HMHS Gloucester Castle | UK | 30 March 1917 | en route from Le Havre to Southampton | Torpedoed by German U-boat U-32 | 3 | |
| HS Koningin Regentes | Netherlands | 06 June 1918 | 21 miles East of Leman lightship | Torpedoed by German U-boat UB-107 | 7 | [27] [28][29] |
| HMHS Lanfranc | UK | 17 April 1917 | English Channel 50°09′00″N 000°10′04″W﻿ / ﻿50.15000°N 0.16778°W﻿ / 50.15000; -0.16778 | Torpedoed by German U-boat UB-40 | 40 | |
| HMHS Letitia | Canada | 1 August 1917 | Portuguese Cove, Halifax Harbour | Grounded out due to a pilot error in heavy fog | 1 | [31] [32] |
| HMHS Llandovery Castle | Canada | 27 June 1918 | off southern Ireland 51°18′00″N 009°54′00″W﻿ / ﻿51.30000°N 9.90000°W﻿ / 51.30000; -9.90000 | Torpedoed by German U-boat U-86 | 234 | |
| HS Marechiaro | Italy | 21 February 1916 | Off Cape Laghi, Durazzo, Albania | Struck a mine laid by German U-boat UC-12 | 33 | |
| HS Oceania | Austria-Hungary | 04 October 1918 | Between Cape Rodoni and Durazzo | Mined and beached near Cape Rondoni, and on October 15, 1918 was blown up by the Austrians to avoid falling into Italian hands. | ? | |
| HS Portugal (Португаль) | Russia (French crew, Russian medical staff) | March 30 [O.S. March 17] 1916 | Near Rize Province off the Turkish coast in the Black Sea | Torpedoed by German U-boat U-33 | 90 | |
| HMHS Rewa | UK | 4 January 1918 | 13 miles off Hartland Point, UK50°55′00″N 004°49′00″W﻿ / ﻿50.91667°N 4.81667°W﻿ / 50.91667; -4.81667 | Torpedoed by German U-boat U-55 | 4 | |
| HMHS Rohilla | UK | 30 October 1914 | Saltwick Nab, one mile south of Whitby | Struck Whitby Rock | 84 | [37] [38] [39] |
| HMHS Salta | UK | 10 April 1917 | near Le Havre, France 49°32′08″N 00°02′18″W﻿ / ﻿49.53556°N 0.03833°W﻿ / 49.53556; -0.03833 | Struck a mine laid by German U-boat UC-26 | 130 | |
| HS Tabora | German Empire | 26 March 1916 | Dar es Salaam harbour, East Africa | Sunk by gunfire from the British warships HMS Vengeance and HMS Challenger | ? | [41][42] [43] |
| HS Tirol | Austria-Hungary | 16 April 1916 | Off Durazzo | Mined. Returned to service 07 Oct 1916 | 40 | |
| HS Vpered (Вперёд) | Imperial Russia | 8 July 1916 | In the Black Sea, between Batoum and the Rize Province off the Turkish coast | Torpedoed by German U-boat U-38 | 7 | |
| HMAT Warilda | Australia | 3 August 1918 | English Channel 50°12′08″N 000°16′4″W﻿ / ﻿50.20222°N 0.26778°W﻿ / 50.20222; -0.26778 | Torpedoed by German U-boat UC-49 | 123 | |