4 March 1907 and collided with the merchant steamer SS Ormuz off Portland on 23 March 1907, suffering only slight damage. Africa transferred to the Nore Division, Home Fleet, in June 1908, and in April 1909 joined the Second Division, Home Fleet. During this service she commissioned at Chatham as flagship of Vice Admiral Sir William Henry May, commander of the Third and Fourth Divisions, Home Fleet, on 25 April 1911; the battleship relieved her of this duty on 24 July 1911. In November 1911, she was placed in reserve at the Nore. In January 1912, Africa took part in aircraft experiments at Sheerness. She was fitted for flying off aircraft with a downward-sloping runway which was installed on her foredeck, running over her forward 12-inch (305-mm) turret from her forebridge to her bows and equipped with rails to guide the aircraft. Africas crew tested the strength and stability of the rails by jumping up and down on them, then held the Gnome-engined Short Improved S.27 pusher seaplane in place as Lieutenant Charles Samson entered its cockpit to attempt the first British shipboard aircraft take-off on 10 January 1912 while the ship was at anchor in the River Medway. The aircraft moved quickly down the runway, dipped slightly after leaving it, but then pulled up and climbed easily. Samson circled Africa several times to the cheers of the crew, although on one pass he came uncomfortably close to the ship. After a few minutes, Samson climbed to and concluded his historic flight by landing safely at an airfield ashore. Africa transferred her flight equipment to her sister ship in May. Based on the 1912 flight experiments on Africa, Hibernia, and battleship , the Royal Navy concluded that shipboard aircraft were desirable for spotting and other fleet duties, but also that a fixed runway on a battleship interfered too much with the firing of the guns and that recovering seaplanes that had landed in a seaway was too difficult to be practical as a routine operation. But shipborne aviation had begun in the Royal Navy aboard Africa, and by 1917 would become an important part of British fleet operations. Africa underwent a refit at Chatham in 1912. Under a fleet reorganization in May 1912, Africa returned to full commission and she and all seven of her sisters (, , , Hibernia, , King Edward VII, and Zealandia) were assigned to form