 French troops occupied the Greek island of Kastellorizo , off the southwest coast of Turkey , on 20 December 1916 to use it as an advance base against the Turks . Not pleased at the presence of the French , the Turks secretly deployed an artillery battery of four 155 @-@ millimeter ( 6 @.@ 1 in ) and twelve 77 @-@ millimeter ( 3 @.@ 0 in ) guns within range of the island . The French commander requested a seaplane carrier to conduct reconnaissance in the area and Ben @-@ my @-@ Chree was sent in response . She arrived on 11 January 1917 and anchored in the harbor which faced the mainland . The Turkish guns opened fire about two hours later , hitting the carrier with their third shot . Subsequent shells disabled her steering and started a fire in her hangar that spread across her upper deck . 
