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Hospital ships in antiquity -

Hospital ships were likely active in the ancient world. The Athenian Navy had a vessel called Therapia, which was used during the Peloponnesian War fought between Athens and Sparta from 431–404 BCE.

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Operating in the ancient world -

The Roman Navy operated a ship called Aesculapius, a name associated with Asclepius, god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology.

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Early hospital ships -

It wasn't until the early 17th century that it became common practice for naval squadrons to be accompanied by large ships with facilities for carrying the wounded after each engagement. In 1608, Goodwill accompanied the Royal Navy fleet in the Mediterranean as the earliest British hospital ship.

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At sea and on land -

In addition to their regular crew, these 17th-century ships were staffed by a surgeon and four surgeon's mates. As well as being deployed to treat the wounded at sea, hospital ships were also used to tend to soldiers injured while fighting on land. In 1683, the Royal Navy evacuated maimed troops from British Tangier using the hospital ships Unity and Welcome.

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Medical anchorage -

From 1821 to 1870, the English charity Seamen's Hospital Society provided HMS Grampus, HMS Dreadnought, and HMS Caledonia (pictured) as successive hospital ships moored at Deptford in London.

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Emergence of modern hospital vessels -

More modern, better equipped hospital ships emerged during the Crimean War. During the Siege of Sevastopol from October 1854 until September 1855, almost 15,000 wounded troops were transported there from the port at Balaklava by a squadron of converted hospital ships.

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Steamship hospitals -

The steamships HMS Melbourne and HMS Mauritius that accompanied the British expedition to China in 1860, during the Second Opium War, were the first ships to be equipped with genuine medical facilities. Both these vessels provided relatively spacious accommodation for patients, and were endowed with an operating theater.

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US Navy's first converted hospital ship -

In the United States, the Confederate steamer USS Red Rover became the US Navy's first hospital ship after it was captured by Union forces and converted to serve in the Mississippi Squadron until the end of the American Civil War.

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Quarantine facilities -

To tackle a smallpox outbreak in London in 1883, the Admiralty supplied HMS Atlas to serve as a hospital ship to treat the sick. Moored in the Thames at Long Reach, the vessel was later joined by HMS Endymion and the paddle steamer PS Castalia.

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Battle of Tsushima -

Hospital ships were used extensively during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905. The decisive Battle of Tsushima began after sighting by the Japanese of the Russian hospital ship Orel, illuminated in accordance with regulations for hospital ships. Its lights revealed the position of the Russian fleet.

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HMHS Britannic -

The First World War saw designated hospital ships used widely throughout the conflict. Numerous passenger ships were converted for use as floating medical facilities, among them HMHS Britannic. She operated from 1915 until her sinking in the Aegean Sea in November 1916. At the time, Britannic was the largest hospital ship in the world.

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HMHS Aquitania -

Another famous hospital ship of the era was HMHS Aquitania. She was first used as a troop transport before taking part in the Dardanelles Campaign, receiving the sick and wounded at Gallipoli.

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HMHS Mauretania -

Similarly, HMHS Mauretania was converted for use as a troop carrier before being redeployed as a hospital ship when combined forces from the British empire and France began to suffer heavy casualties on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

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Sinking of HMHS Llandovery Castle -

One of the most infamous episodes involving a hospital ship during the Great War was the deliberate sinking of HMHS Llandovery Castle by a German U-boat off southern Ireland on June 27, 1918.

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War crime at sea -

One of five Canadian hospital ships serving in the conflict, Llandovery Castle was torpedoed, suffering the losses of 234 doctors, nurses, members of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, soldiers, and seamen. Those who survived the initial explosion were machine gunned in their lifeboats. In all, 26 hospital ships were sunk during the conflict.

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Siege of Kut -

Another notorious incident that occurred during the 1914–18 war was the Siege of Kut. The Ottoman Army had surrounded an 8,000-strong British Army garrison in eastern Iraq. Following the surrender of the garrison on April 29, 1916, the survivors of the siege were marched to imprisonment at Aleppo, during which many died. Hospital ships lined the banks of the Tigris to treat those who managed to escape.

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Clean, comfortable, but basic -

Facilities on hospital ships during the First World War were basic, but clean and comfortable. As medical science evolved, so, too, did the ability of surgeons and nursing assistants to treat the sick and injured.

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First X-ray machines -

In the final months of the war, some hospital vessels were being equipped with medical imaging equipment that was difficult to use and had to be operated in challenging environments. The most common use of X‐rays was the imaging of metallic foreign bodies such as bullets and shrapnel lodged within a soldier's body.

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Spanish Civil War -

In the interwar period, the use of hospital ships dwindled, the exception being their use during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939.

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USS Relief -

The first purpose-built hospital ship in the US Navy was USS Relief. With a bed capacity of 550 patients, Relief was one of the world's most modern and best equipped hospital ships.

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General medical consultation center -

Launched in 1919, Relief served in both world wars. In the Second World War, she was the general medical consultation center for the Pacific fleet.

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Increasing casualty rates -

Three more US Navy hospital ships, USS Comfort, USS Hope (pictured), and USS Mercy, were deployed to cope with the increasing casualty rate.

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US Army hospital ships -

US Army hospital ships operated with a different purpose. Many were converted LST (Landing Ship - Tank) vessels. They were essentially hospital transports intended and equipped to evacuate patients from the frontline to the rearguard. They were not equipped or staffed to handle large numbers of direct battle casualties.

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Sinking of AHS Centaur -

Mirroring the Llandovery Castle atrocity of 1918, the sinking of the Australian hospital ship AHS Centaur by a Japanese submarine on May 14, 1943, claimed 268 lives, including 63 of the 65 army personnel on board.

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Hope on the high seas -

In 1958, Project HOPE, a global health and humanitarian organization, was founded. The first peacetime hospital ship, SS Hope had originally been in service as the US Navy hospital ship USS Consolation, between 1945 and 1955. In March 1960, she was chartered to the People to People Health Foundation and renamed SS Hope, an acronym for "Health Opportunity for People Everywhere". She sailed later in 1960 on her first cruise to bring modern medical treatment and training to underdeveloped areas of the world, serving in this capacity for 14 years until 1974.

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USNS Mercy -

The Mercy class of hospital ships are converted San Clemente-class supertankers used by the United States Navy. The Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy is the lead ship of her class.

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Military and civilian use -

While her primary mission is to provide medical and surgical services to support US armed forces, Mercy also provides mobile surgical hospital service for use by appropriate US government agencies in disaster and humanitarian relief.

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USNS Comfort -

Likewise, Mercy's sister ship USNS Comfort's duties include providing emergency, on-site care for US combatant forces deployed in war or other operations, as well as conducting humanitarian and disaster relief activities.

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Wartime and peacetime duties -

Mercy-class hospital ships have assisted in recovery efforts in the wake of natural disasters, for example earthquakes and hurricanes, and served as processing centers for migrants and refugees, among other peacetime duties.

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World's largest civilian hospital ship -

Founded in Switzerland in 1978, Mercy Ships is a global faith-based charity that uses hospital ships and volunteer professionals to deliver free specialized surgical care and surgical education in Africa. The flagship MV Global Mercy is the world's largest civilian hospital ship.

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State-of-the-art floating medical center -

The huge vessel has 12 decks. The hospital, located on decks 3 and 4, contains supply services, six operating theaters, 102 acute care beds, seven ICU beds, and 90 self-care beds. Facilities also include dedicated classroom spaces and simulator labs with state-of-the-art technology for enhanced training of local medical professionals. 

Sources: (Naval Encyclopedia) (Journal of Marine Medical Society) (U.S. Naval Institute) (Mercy Ships) 

See also: The transformation of ships into floating prisons

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