TSS Manxman (1904)

Manxman
History
United Kingdom
Name	1904: Manxman 1941: Caduceus 1945: Manxman
Owner	1904: Midland Railway 1920: IoMSPCo
Builder	Vickers, Sons & Maxim, Barrow
Yard number	315
Laid down	1903
Launched	15 June 1904
Acquired	1915
Commissioned	17 April 1916 (as HMS Manxman) October 1941 (as HMS Caduceus)
Decommissioned	24 December 1919
Identification	official number 118603 code letters HMRS (until 1933) call sign GFPS (by 1930)
Fate	Sold for scrap 9 August 1949
General characteristics
Type	ferry
Tonnage	2,174 GRT, 629 NRT
Length	341 ft (104 m) overall[citation needed] 334.0 ft (101.8 m) registered length
Beam	43.1 ft (13.1 m)
Draught	16 ft (4.9 m)
Depth	17.3 ft (5.3 m)
Installed power	6,300 shp,[citation needed] 1,300 rhp
Propulsion	3 × screws 3 × steam turbines
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h)
Complement	in Royal Navy service: 250
Crew	in civilian service: 80
Armament	2 × 4 in (100 mm) guns 1 × 6-pounder (57mm) AA guns
Aircraft carried	8 seaplanes

TSS Manxman was a turbine steamship launched in 1904 for the Midland Railway and operated between Heysham and Douglas, Isle of Man. In 1916, she was commissioned by the Royal Navy as HMS Manxman and saw action as a seaplane carrier during the First World War, after which she was acquired by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. On the outbreak of the Second World War she was again requisitioned as a troop ship, until she was commissioned and her name changed to HMS Caduceus. She never returned to Manx waters, and was scrapped in August 1949.