German hospital ship Ophelia was a steam ship originally built by a German shipping company, but requisitioned for use as an Imperial German Navy

Kaiserliche Marine

The Imperial German Navy was the German Navy created at the time of the formation of the German Empire. It existed between 1871 and 1919, growing out of the small Prussian Navy and Norddeutsche Bundesmarine, which primarily had the mission of coastal defense. Kaiser Wilhelm II greatly expanded...

 hospital ship

Hospital ship

A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital; most are operated by the military forces of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones....

 during the First World War. After being viewed acting suspiciously, the Ophelia was boarded on 17 October 1914 and seized by the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 for violating the Hague Convention X of 1907 concerning hospital ships.

Seizure

On 17 October 1914 a number of German torpedo boats were destroyed during the Battle off Texel

Battle off Texel

The Battle off Texel, also known as the Action off Texel or the Action of 17 October 1914, was a naval battle off the coast of the Dutch island of Texel during the First World War where a British squadron consisting of one light cruiser and four destroyers on a routine patrol encountered the...

 by the British cruiser, HMS Undaunted

HMS Undaunted (1914)

HMS Undaunted was an Arethusa-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy launched on 28 April 1914 at Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company's shipyard at Govan.Undaunted participated in numerous naval operations during the First World War...

, while laying mines off Haak lightship. German command sent out a hospital ship to supposedly search for survivors. Suspicion were aroused when British intelligence learned that Ophelia was using a wireless radio set, at that time unusual for a hospital ship, to communicate with the German wireless base at Norddeich station

Norddeich station

Norddeich station was a wireless radio station in Norddeich, Germany.-Background:The station was originally going to set up on the Island of Borkum but in the end Norddeich was chosen....

. In addition to using wireless radio she was using coded wireless transmissions; secret codes or their use are forbidden on hospital ships.

While in the area British submarine, HMS D8

HMS D8

HMS D8 was a British D class submarine built by Chatham Dockyard. D8 was laid down on 14 February 1910, launched 23 September 1911 and was commissioned on 23 March 1912....

, shadowed the German ship. When the Ophelia noticed the sub she began to flee the area further raising suspicions as her supposed task of searching for German survivors was not completed. Under Article four of the Hague Convention X hospital ships cannot be seized but they can be inspected by enemy craft. Therefore the Ophelia had nothing to fear from the British sub and had no reason to run unless she had something to hide.

The HMS Meteor

HMS Meteor (1914)

HMS Meteor was a Thornycroft M class destroyer that served in the Royal Navy.Built by Thornycroft & Company, Southampton, she was launched on the 24 July 1914.HMS Meteor saw extensive service throughout the First World War...

 was sent to investigate the ship. As it approached for boarding and inspection it was observed that her commander, Dr. Pfeiffer, threw overboard a number of documents and secret codes.

Reasons for seizure

The British Admiralty

Admiralty

The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 seized the Ophelia as a prize of war and not a hospital ship covered by the Hague convention because of the following reasons:

• Dumping of documents by the crew, sending a coded message before the boarding and the destruction of the ships wireless set.

• The ship was not included in the list of hospital ships that were exchanged at the start of the war.

Another reason cited as to cast doubt on her status as a hospital ship was that it had an enormous number of Verey lights

Flare gun

A flare gun is a firearm that launches flares. It is typically used for signalling, as distress signalling, at sea or from the ground to aircraft...

 on board. Fired from special pistols Verey lights can be used as signal devices. The Ophelia had 600 green, 480 red and 140 white lights and all records of how much she had before the seizure were destroyed before boarding. As comparison a British hospital ship, which saw much more action, stocked about 12 lights of each color.

German response

Germany was able to use the seizure of the Ophelia to later justify its attacks on hospital ships:

Aftermath

The British renamed the ship SS Huntley transporting fuel from Portishead

Portishead, Somerset

Portishead is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset England. It has a population of 22,000, an increase of over 3,000 since the 2001 census, with a growth rate of 40 per cent, considerably in excess...

 to Boulogne

Boulogne-sur-Mer

-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....

. On 21 December 1915 she was torpedoed and sunk by German U-boat

U-boat

U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...

 UB-10

SM UB-10

SM UB-10 was a German Type UB I submarine or U-boat in the German Imperial Navy during World War I.UB-10 was ordered in October 1914 and was laid down at the AG Weser shipyard in Bremen in November. UB-10 was a little under in length and displaced between , depending on whether surfaced or...

0.75 miles (1.2 km) off the Boulogne LV.