The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1875-09-07 00:00:00

THE CRUISE OF THE RESERVE
SQUADRON.

COLLISION BETWEEN TWO IRONCLAD:4 IN TUE

IRISH CHANNEL

TOTAL LOSS OF R.M.S. VANGUARD.

For the past few weeks the reserve squadron of the
Channel Fleet, consisting of the Warrior, the Achilles.
the Iron Duke, the Vanguard, and the Hector have been
making their annual cruise from port to port round
Ireland. During the last six days the ships have been at
Kiugstown, and as the appearance of men-of-war at any
port atfords an opportunity for the display of no ordinary,
hospitality and gaiety, dinners have been given ashore
and dances have been given afloat each day while the
ships were here. We'Haden steaniers and hundreds of
pleasure yachts went ~it to make the circuit ..f the ships
daily. On Thursday the steamers and yachts pin went
out, but no longer to cruise about the fleet of ironclad.
All that was visible of the fleet was two bare mastheada
of one of the finest ships in her Majesty's service. The
unfortunate ship was the one of all others possessed with
interest for the people of Kingstown, for she has been sta-
tioned here for four years, and in that time Captain
Richard Dawkins and his gallant colleague have secured
for themselves the esteein and good will of all who had
the good fortune to make their acquaintance, In addition
to the men-of-war the yacht Hawk, having on been!
Vice Admiral Sir John W. Tartleton, Admiral Supertn-
tendent of the Naval Reserves, lias laen with the vessels
elf the port. This gallant oilieer was on board the
Warrior, whi.•h led the fleet on Thursday, when the dia.
aster uccured. At half-past tau on Thuralay 'moiling, the
ships gut into line ill the Mau-of-Wax Road)). elf King.-
town, and prepared for departure. The usual order
haying been at length settled, the start for Cork was
made, the Warrior and Hawk, in trout, the Achilles,
Hector, Iron Duke, and Vanguard coining behind in a
straight line. Off the Kish Lightship, which floats at sea
six miles from Kingstown, the Achilles, hoisted her
011401 to say farewell, and then parted company to
proceed to Liverpool at noon, the ace being at this thee
what is known in nautical phraseology as moderate. A
fog came on; amid increhoel, as Ceps at sea do, in density
every moment. At 12.33 fifty yards of sea ahead could
not he seen, and at this time the Warrior and !lector
were considered to be a mile or two in front of the other
shine. They proceeded onwards, and knew nothing of
the disaster which had befallen their comrade vessels
till telegrams reached them at Cerk on Thursday. at 12.50.
In the afternoon the accident occurred. The ships were
then steering down the said-channel course between the
Kish Lightship and the Tuskar Light, which surmounts
the moot dangerous rock on the Irish coast. The speed
was at the time moderate, and there was no Nowa-
housiou of danger. Hari the weather been clear the
ships could have easily beau still visible from Ktugstowu,
being only four miles south-south-east of the Kish,
or ten or twelve miles from the port the duet
had quitted. Throe minutes before the Irou Duke
struck the Vanguard there was no ides of disaster
,iii the mind of any one. Within two minutes the
captaiu of the Iron Duke, Captain Henry !fickle'',
who was on deck at the touu, saw the figure of the
I Vanguard coining through the fog. He instantly ordered
the engines to he reversed, but this direction, it was at
ouve chair, went forth too late. The prow of the Iron
Doke crashed int.) the Vanguard on the port side amid-
slop, at the neat vulnerable part of the organization of
ironclad ship*, that portion of her plating abreast of the

engine rani): The 'rent was excee.dinely large, and the
water poured into the boll in a perfect flood. The officers
of the Vanguard, with a crew whose discipline the officers
describe as sailorilike and magnificent throughout, did all
they could to forestall the danger, by endeavouring to
make tight the various compartments of the ship. lint
nothing could withstand the deluge tint began to permeate
through every seetiou. Meanwhile the boats of both ship,
wore promptly lowered. While the launching was going
on the swell of the tide caused a lifeboat to surge upwards
against the hull, and one of the Vanguard's crew, a petty
officer named John Morahan, hail his fingers badly
crushed. This was the only injury to the person which
happened throughout the catastrophe. Captains Hielrdey
and Dawkins themselves worked vigorously to get the men
of the Vanguard aboard the Iron Duke, and within
twenty ttt i l lutes the whole of the four hundred men were
transferred. There was many a voluntary delay, as indi-
vidual sailors petitioned to make one more effort to secure
chattel or keepsake hidden away below. But the orders
"CURIC along, boys come instantly,- wore not only fre-
quent but stern. As the clocks on board the Iron Duke
were striking two the Vanguard went down, the depth
thereabouts being fifteen fathoms. Her two highest spats
were left visible after she touched the rucks beneath.
During the last moment Commander Tani.ly remembered
that his dog was yet on board, but it would have risked
Perhaps the loss of a more valuable life to attempt to save
him. The pour animal was the only living creature that
I'll a victim to the waves. The injury oustained by the
1r in Duke was confined to the snapping of the bowsprit,
and general but slight diefigurament of the prow. 'Her
captain thought it beat to return to Kingstown at dawn,
and have is vessel sent out with buoys to mark where the
Vanguard sank. In a conversation with your comripen-
dent, the officer whose kindness and courtesy I shall not
semi forget, expreieed thankfulness to God that it hap.
pineal in daylight, foggy though it was lied it been
night time the lose of life would have been awfuL At the
time of the accident the Iron Duke was the last ship on
the lee line, and therefore the sources of anxiety on the
xr.,re of the accident were justifiably small. The Iron
Duke with more than 1.000 hands on board, now lies in
the Man-of-War Roads, Dublin Bay. As the %'anguaril
lies in the centre of a busy channel effort must at once be
made to iliatrey her hulk. A court-martial will he held.
Further particulars respecting the loss of the Vanguard
state that the rani of the Iron Duke struck her about four
feet below watermark. An artificer, at the inunineut risk
of his life, ran down into the engineir,e,m, and left off the
steam. But for this • terrible explosion would base
oixurred, and destroyed probably the lives 'fall on board.
The afteriportion filled tint, and the water rushed into the
eligine-room, extinguishics the fires The ship gave a
lurch, and oinking stern foremost went down in an
inclined pooition. On reaching the battom she righted.
The Iron Duke was greatly shaken. Several plates were
wrenched, but she does not leak, tier bowsprit, jibboom,
and some woodwork were carried away. The % anguard
with her armament was worth half a million sterling.
PLTuotrru. fintraver.
The Admiralty yacht Vivid has arrived, bringing two
diver, and party, and the master attendant of Devonport.
Diving experiments were made Malay. Divers found
the forenutst 21 feet suet the mainmost 10 feet above high
water, the Vanguard having settled by the stern. The
rent in the Vanguanl made by the prow iif the Iron Duke
is 15 feet in depth by 4 feet broad. and lea little ivitern of
the centre battery. The diver, are of opinion that if 24
chain cables, capable of lifting FM tons Call be reeved
through the lower battery ports, and each end of them
attached to lighters at low tide, the rise and fall being
seven feet, the sunken vessel may be WWI, hut if high
is hid and heavy sea set in there is every probability of
the ship filling with sand, and in that ease only the guns,
masts, and floating mils can be saved, and the hull must
lii blown up. The Vanguard had 114 tons of powder on
board.