HMS Vanguard (1909)
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| Image:HMS Vanguard (1909)a.gif | |
| Career | Image:RN-White-Ensign.svg |
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| Launched: | April 1909 |
| Commissioned: | October 1910 |
| Fate: | sunk by internal explosion |
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| Displacement: | 19250t |
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The eighth HMS Vanguard of the British Royal Navy was a St Vincent class battleship, an enhancement of the "Dreadnought" design built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness. She was launched in April 1909, commissioned into the Royal Navy at Devonport in October 1910, and spent her life in the British Home Fleet.
At the outbreak of World War I, she joined the First Battle Squadron at Scapa Flow, and fought in the Battle of Jutland as part of the Fourth Battle Squadron. She was a part of the action from beginning to end, but did not suffer any damage or casualties.
Just before midnight on Monday, July 9 1917, Vanguard suffered an explosion, probably caused by an unnoticed stokehold fire heating cordite stored against an adjacent bulkhead in one of the two magazines which served the amidships turrets P and Q. She sank almost instantly, killing an estimated 843 men; there were only two survivors. The site is now a designated site of military remains.
In terms of loss of life, the explosion on the Vanguard remains the most catastrophic in the history of the UK.
See HMS Vanguard for other ships of this name.
See also
External links
- Maritimequest HMS Vanguard Photo Gallery
- The Orcadian "Research puts Vanguard loss at 843"
| St. Vincent-class battleship |
| St. Vincent | Collingwood | Vanguard |
| List of battleships of the Royal Navy |