Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-07
.BA7TLESH|P DISASTERS
Record of Naval Distinctions
and Explosions Since 1870.
THE VICTORIA AND MAINE.
Causes of Some Of the Catastrophes to
Ironclads.
DEATH LIST A LONG ONE
Accidents on Warships Of Great
Powers in Which Many Sailors
Were Killed.

In recent years there have been great ad-
ditions to the growing list Of battleship ca
tastrophes. which opened in 1870 with the
loss of her majesty's ship Captain. the first
full-rigged turret-ship tried in service at
sea, says the London Mail. Within the past
two years no fewer than four large arm
ored vessels Of the first class have been de-
stroyed in time Of peace, and as the total
number of such vessels does not exceed
200 the proportion of loss has been dis
quietingly large.
All the earlier ironclad catastrOphes
were due to instability or to collision, and
thus differ greatly from most of the dis
asters which in the last ten years have
overtaken lighting ships. The British IRON
clad Captain, with which the story of mis-
fortune opens. was lost in the Bay of Bis
cay in September, 1870. She was cruising
with the channel fleet in dirty weather
when a violent gale struck her and she
capsized. carrying down with her to the
depths nearly 500 officers and men. The
survivors told how there came a heavy
lurch-how the angle Of the heel moved
quickly from 18 degrees to % degrees, and
the ship lay literally on her side upon the
sea, while all on board waited holding
their breath to see whether she would
cover. She never recovered, but turned
slowly. over and was gone. Her gallant
captain, Burgoyne, met his end with his
ship, refusing an oar which was offered
him by the few men who managed to gain
q floating boat.
Five years later the British ironclad
Vanguard, then cruising with the channel
fleet was struck by the ram of the Iron
Duke in a thick fog in the Irish sea. The
water poured In quickly, and nothing could
be done to. save the ship, but the crew
were safely removed before. one hour after
the collision, she went to the bottom.
The next battleship lost at sea was the
German Grosser kurfuerst. She was cruis-
ing with the German active squadron off
Dover when she was rammed by another
German ironclad. the KONG Wilhelm. in
May. 1873. She was struck almost amid
ships, with a terrible crash and a violent
shock. The armor was torn through as
though 1t had be,n orange peel, and an
immense volume Of water poured into the
ship. Her captain made desperate attempt
to run her into shallow water, but only five
minutes after the collision she went down,
carrying with her nearly 300 of her crew.
The KONG Wilhelm suffered such injury
on her ram and forward that she. too, was
In great danger of laundering.
d. j i:
But the most tragic and terrible of all
these disasters was the loss of the new
batteship Victoria. by collision on June
%, 1893. She was the flagship Of Admiral
,Tryon, commanding the Mediterranean
feet and was engaged at the time of the
collision In carrying out the +"grfdiron''
evolution. in which two lines of ships turn
inward toward each other. The maneuver
was ordered on the morning Of the fatal
day, and her captain. Bourke, had protested
In vain against its danger. At BIDS pm.
the signal was made to turn, and the lat
tleships Victoria and Camperdown at the
head of the two lines began to move In
toward each other. Three minutes after
the signal 1t was clear to all that COL
lision was imminent. but another minute
passed before the bugles sounded the CO.
which is the order for collision stations
and for closing water-tight DOORS With a
crash that rang through the ARA dread
full, crunching sound-the Camperdown's
ram tore through the Victoria's bow and
drove the flagship bodily back some sew
enty feet or more in the water.
Effort was made to save the Victoria
but in vain. The engineers and stokers
remained at their posts below, and the en-
gines steadily moved ahead to reach shoal
water. The rest of the crew were called
on deck and drawn up in line there on ,.le
jump was given, and then, but not before
the lines broke and the men threw them
selves into the water. Almost at the same
instant the Victoria dved, stem foremost
and disappeared in a cloud of steam. taking
down with her her admiral who remained
at his post to the last 1t is a strange
and touching fact that according to cred
ible witnesses. his wrath was seen that
same day in London by one near and dear