Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-06-30
British Iron-clad, Victoria, Run
Down and Sunk.
over 100 Men and Officers Drowned.
Including Vice-Admir.I ,r.,...

time TO reach the deck, the water nOurino
IN through an enormous hole in her side
and causing her to fill Immediately. AS
soon as the officers of the Victoria saw
that there was danger of their ship found
ering, orders were given to close the col
llslon bulkheads, to keep the water in the
compartment into which the Camperdown
had showed her ram; but the ship was
making water too fast to allow ANYTHING to
be done, and her immense guns and heavy
top hamper caused her to overturn, and
she went down in. so fathoms of water.
The eastern Mediterranean has proved a
most unfortunate cruising ground for the
Victoria, for it was in this part of the sea
that she met with her serious accident in
January, 1892.
The Victoria was a twin screw battle
ship of 1910 tons and 1900 horse-pow-
er, her maximum speed being 16. Is knots.
She mounted 10 guns. Her armored belt
and bulkheads consisted of compound ar
NOR from Ii to Is inches in thickness.
The Camperdown is also a first-class twin
screw batteship. She is of 1000 tons
and IL, 800 horsepower and carries 10
guns. The officers, marines and crew of
the Victoria numbered us men. Among
the lost are Vice-Admiral Tryon and 20
officers.
1t is probable that the Camperdown
struck the Victoria slanting blow, glanc-
ing along the side and opening out the
plates above several OF the compartments.
The water was then admitted into several
of the compartments on one side of the
ship, causing her to capsize by its great
weight. Several times the Victoria is said
to have shown signs of weakness in her
steering gear. One theory is that on ac-
count of this weakness she became I'M
manageable and could not be got out of
the Camperdown's way, but the cause of
the collision is as yet matter of conject-
ure.
The Camperdown was badly broken up
forward, but has been temporarily repair
ed. 1t has been decided to courtmartial
Admiral Markham and the officers of the
Camperdown.
In London the news of the calamity
caused intense excitement, not only among
those who had relatives and friends on
board the Inflated ship, but among all
classes, and the admiralty office in White
hall was besieged with so dense a throng
that the police had to be summoned to re-
strain them. A special letter of condo
lence for families afflicted by the disaster
has been published by the queen, and re-
lief fund has been opened for needy families
which have lost members.
The most serious accidents of this kind
on record are the cases of the British war
ship Vanguard and the German warship
GrOsser Kurfurst. The British vessel was
sunk off the coast of Ireland during a
heavy fog, in 1875, by another English
warship, and over 200 lives were lost. The
German war shipwas sunk while maneuver-
ing off Spithead, England, in 1878, by col
lision with her companion ship, the KONG
Wilhelm, and over 800 persons were
drowned. An impromptu execution of an
order for change of squadron formation
was the cause.
In loss of life the recent accidents to ma
val vessels have not approached the awful
result of the Victoria's laundering. An
accident. which in loss of lives is recalled
as a parallel, is that to the Royal George,
an English line-of- battle ship, in 1882.
This ship. carrying 10S guns, had been
hesled over for repairs off Spithead, when
a sudden gust of wind carried her over so
far that the sea entered her open ports.
She filled and went down with all on board,
including Rear Admiral Kempenfeldt and
a number of women. Altogether about
600 persons lost their lives in that disaster.
A model of the ship Victoria in the
TRANSPORTATION building at Chicago is the
largest and finest model of any vessel at
the Worlds Fair As soon as it became
known that the Victoria with her crew
had gone to the bottom of the Medlter-
ranean sea, Worlds Fair visitors Hooked
around the model by the thousand, the
crowd becoming so great that 1t was nee
essarv for the guards to clear the aisles.
Later Dispatches Bring Details
A special cable despatch to the New
York Evening World gives the details Of
tbe awful disaster. When sighted from
Trinoli the fleet was advancing from the
northeast directly toward the harbor. The
five bip jron-clads, with the Victoria in the
centre and the Camperdown on the left,
were drawn up in the front line When
thew we're within five miles of shore Vice
Admiral Sir George Tryon signaled to
tnrn and form in double line, which meant
that the Victoria and Camperdown were TO
describe a turn toward each other and adj
vance side by side in the direction from
which they had come, the other vessels
swinging into double column behind theh'
! The execution of the order was easy
enough for ships further away from centre'
| lint extremely difficult for these TWO, whlch
| in turning would pass WlIniii " iO" -.
of each other. Whether because Adhlral
Markham of the Camperdown could not
| believe this movement was to be tried wheh
the ships were so close together, or because
he Thought Admiral Tryon had miscalcu-
lated the distance he hestated for mo-
ment about executing it, signaling that he
aid not understand the order; but seeing
the other vessels following the signal, the
Camperdown no longer hesitated' But the
brief DELAY had been fatal, and the crash
came. though with quick thought the
course of each vessel was altered so that
tbe inevitable blow might be given at the
smallest angle possible. -, -.
II seems that Admiral Iryon ana not
realize the extent of the damage TO ms yes
sell and replying to signaled offers OF boats
from the other vessels that he ala not
need them, began TO run for the shore uh-
der full steam. After getting some TWO
niles nearer shore, the Victoria all al
once toppled over, and her bow plunged De
low the surface, leaving her screws reVoIE-
inc swiftly in the air As The Vessei sam .lH
sIou,lv these screws came nearer TO the
,goter and descended into the midst OF
strnooling human beings, who OalIleu III
vain AGAINST the suction and were drawn
1ou,n AGAINST the swift blades. A scene Oh
hanUa DESCRIPTION,