The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1893-06-24
LOSS OF TIE VICTORIA
Various Speculations as to
What Caused the British
Battleship to Sink.
PECULIAR COMPARTMENT SYST EN-
OF THE Vessel

Maritime Authorities say " ~ N"'''''
That such an Accident Has Not Hap
psned Before Misreading of Signals
May Have Caused the Accidonf-Ihros
Hundred and Forty-nve Lives Were
Lost-Intonse Excitement In England
Iovpov, June 24.-The accident to Che
British battleship Victoria. the hagship OIL
the Mediterranean squadron, has never
been eaualled in fatal results in naval an
nails Of recent times
Arthur Bower Forwood, well-known
thipowner of Liverpool, who was for.
merly Secretary to the Admiralty, said u
was a wonder that such an accident haa
not occurred before The Victoria had
longitudinal bulkbead running through
her. besides a number running across
shin. She was thus divided into compart-
ments on each side Of the longitudinal
bulkhead without communication be
tween Them
In his opinion what had occurred was
this: The CamperdOwn had struck the
Victoria a ripping blow, glancing along
the side. and opening out the plates above
several Of the compartments. The water
was then admitted into a number Of the
compartments on one side Of the ship,
causing her to capsze by the great weight.
The LONGITUDINAL bulkhead was good
thing I'm its way, Mr. Forwood said, but 1t
did not serve to avert disaster.
The immediate cause Of the collision, he
added cannot now be eXactly stated. The
squadron appears to have been vancouver
ing. probably within a space Of three miles
leaving a small area for each vessel TO
move in A msreading Of signals may
have caused the accident,
/ The Victoria, which flew the flag of
/ Vice Admiral Sir George Tryon, X. Q. B.,
was run into off Tripoli by the British
] battleship Camperdown, also belonging to
/ the Mediterranean squadron, and under
] the command of Capt Charles Johnstone.
| The Victoria had an enormous hole made
in her side through which the water
poured in torrents.
The immense hull Of the Victoria at
once began to settle and before those on
board Of her could cast loose their small
boats she went to the bottom carrying
down with her nearly all on board Some
of the officers and crew managed to get
out of the suction caused by the sinking
vessel and were rescued. Among those
lost is Vice Admiral Iryon.
The first reports of the disaster stated
chat about POO men had been drowned,
hut later dispatches show that the loss Of
life is far greater, not less than 345 Of the
officers and crew of the Victoria having
gone down with their ship.
The Victoria was a twin screw battle
ship Of the first class She was an
armored vessel of 0,470 tons and IA 900
horse power. She mounted fifteen guns.
The Camperdown is also a first-class
twin screw battleship. She is of 10, 600
tons and II, 500 horse power, and carries
ten guns.
Admiral Sir George Tryon was com
mander-in-chief on the Mediterranean
Station. lie was made Vice Admiral
Aug. 20, 1891
Rear Admiral Albert H. Markham, of
the Trafalgar the flagship of the Rear Ad-
miral in the Mediterranean, has tele-
grauhed to the Admiralty from Tripoli,
Syria, as follows:
al regret TO report that while manoeuv-
ring off Tripol the Victoria and Cam
lerd0wn colidad. The Victoria sank in
fifteen minutes in eighteen fathoms of
vater She lies bottom uppermost. The
Camperdown's ram struck the Victoria
forward OF the turrat on the starbOard
side Iwouty-oue officers were drowned.
Two hundred ard ffty-fiv men were
saved The injury to the Camperdown
has not yet been fully ascertained, but it
Is serious and will necessitata her going on
dock for repairs. propose to send the
survivors TO Malta"
According to the navy list the principal
li,ers Of the Victoria were: Vice Ad-
miTal, Sir George Iryop; Captain. Mau-
! rice A. Bourke; Commander, Charles L.
Ottley; Chaplain, Rev Samuel S. o. Nor
ris; Fleet Surgeon, Thomas Bolster; Fleet
D Do Valentine ID i I2Tplfcpr1s Hlaat
Engineer, Felix Foreman.
The complement of officers and crew of
) be Victoria comprised 600 men.
The list o officers drowned include, be-
sides Vice Admiral Tryon, Chaplain Nor
ris, Lieutenant Munro, Fleet Paymaster
, Bickcord, Fleet Engineer Thomas Fore
man, Engineer Harding, Assistant Engi-
neers Deadman Hatherly and Seaton,
Gunner Howell. Boatswain Barnard Car
penter Beal Midshipmen Inglis, Grieye,
Fawkes, Danyon Henley, Gambler and
Scarlet, Cadet Stocks, and Clerks Allen
and Savage.
As soon as the news Of the disaster be
came known *. london, the Duke of Edin-
burgh, who was lately promoted to the
position Of Admiral Of the Fleet, visited
the Admiralty and conferred with the of
fcials there.
A meeting of the Admiralty Board was
held, and a telegram Of instructions was
sent to Rear Admiral Markham
The news of the calamity has caused
the most intense excitement, not only
among those who had friends on board the
III fated ship, but among all classes of the
population The Admiralty Office in
Whiteall is besieged by relatives and
friends Of the cry ~. reporters seeking fur
her details nj De d -ds er and throngs Of