CS Mackay-Bennett

The CS "Mackay-Bennett" was a cable repair ship registered in London, England, owned by the Commercial Cable Company. The men who served aboard her pronounced the name "Macky-Bennett." She had a long career fixing undersea cables in the North Atlantic. Although mainly based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, she was also often used for operations on the European side of the Atlantic. Her European home port was Plymouth, England.

She became famous when, in April of 1912, she was contracted by the White Star Line to carry out the difficult task of recovering the bodies left floating in the North Atlantic after the "Titanic" disaster. "Mackay-Bennett" found 306 of the 1517 "Titanic" victims - more than any other ship (328 would eventually be recovered in total).

The Canadian author Thomas Raddall worked as wireless operator aboard "Mackay-Bennett" and based some short stories on his experiences aboard.

The "Mackay-Bennett" was retired in May of 1922 to the waters of Plymouth Harbour to be used as a storage hulk. During The Blitz on England, she was sunk during a German attack, but later refloated. She was finally scrapped in 1963.

External links

* [http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/ship/174/ Mackay-Bennett at Encyclopedia Titanica]
* [http://atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/CCC-Teleg/index.htm#mackay Mackay-Bennett at the Atlantic Cable website]