HMS Vanguard (1909)

HMS Vanguard

HMS Vanguard was one of three St Vincent-class dreadnought battleships built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. She spent her career assigned to the Home and Grand Fleets. Aside from participating in the Battle of Jutland in May 1916 and the inconclusive Action of 19 August several months later, her service during World War I mostly consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea.

Just shortly before midnight on July 9th, 1917 the might sky was shattered by a series of explosions that rent the night sky apart.

Witnesses later stated that a white flash had been seen near A turret of HMS Vanguard, followed shortly by two much heavier explosions amidships as the main cordite stores of P and Q turrets detonated. Vanguard quickly sank from view although pieces of debris landed on nearby ships of the Grand Fleet. Of a total crew of 845, only two survived.

Vanguard sits at the bottom of Scapa Flow to this day, a protected wreck and memorial at the Northern end of the anchorage. The forgotten wreck of Scapa Flow, often overshadowed by her Grand Fleet brethren Royal Oak.