Join us as we delve into the intriguing and tragic story of HMS Vanguard, one of the Royal Navy’s St. Vincent-class battleships from the 1907 estimates. While she may have been one of the older dreadnoughts at the outbreak of World War I, her role in the Great War and her sudden, catastrophic end make her a ship worth remembering. In this video, we explore the events leading up to that fateful night on July 9, 1917, when Vanguard mysteriously exploded and disappeared within moments. Out of the 800 brave men on board, only two survived, making it one of the largest disasters in Royal Navy history. We approach this controversial subject with a commitment to providing factual information, drawing from various credible sources linked in the description below. Discover the routine life aboard HMS Vanguard, its practice drills, and the changes in Scapa Flow throughout the war. Learn how the Royal Navy’s safety protocols, or the lack thereof, played a significant role in the ship’s tragic fate. We also investigate the theories surrounding the explosion, from negligence in cordite stowage to the possibility of enemy action. Dive into the findings of the official inquiry board and their attempts to uncover the truth behind Vanguard’s destruction. The wreck of HMS Vanguard still rests in Scapa Flow, serving as a war grave and a reminder of the importance of safety measures in naval warfare.
Photos:https://www.huskyan.com/diving/hms-vanguard
Sources/Other Reading:
https://www.amazon.com/Castles-Steel-Britain-Germany-Winning/dp/0345408780
https://www.amazon.com/British-Battleships-World-War-One/dp/1591140536
https://www.amazon.com/Jutland-1916-Cassell-Military-Paperbacks/dp/030436648X
https://www.amazon.com/Jutland-Unfinished-Personal-History-Controversy-ebook/dp/B01LXCAJJ1/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=580696069162&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9016045&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=415891371355601087&hvtargid=kwd-174868812550&hydadcr=22569_13493349&keywords=jutland+the+unfinished+battle&qid=1686091014&s=books&sr=1-1
https://www.amazon.com/German-Battlecruisers-World-War-One-ebook/dp/B00XIMPBDS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2HRHZT2MKNUBD&keywords=german+battlecruisers+of+world+war+one&qid=1686091043&s=books&sprefix=german+battlecruisers+of+%2Cstripbooks%2C101&sr=1-1
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-was-the-battle-of-jutland
Video Information:
Copyright fair use notice. All media used in this video is used for the purpose of education under the terms of fair use. All footage and images used belong to their copyright holders, when applicable.
source
I hope you all enjoyed the video. There are some things I would like to clarify about some of the photos used. If there is an asterisk in the top left corner, than it is a photo of one of Vanguard's sister ships as it was rather difficult finding photos of Vanguard and the aftermath of the explosion. I could really only find one photo of the aftermath. Also, I show photos of some of the more famous cordite explosions at Jutland as a way to show the destructive power of the material, it's not a great translation but I didn't want to continuously show just photos of Vanguard and her sisters. Also, at the end the ship I show is HMS Glatton of which I should make a video about. But, here is Drach's 5 minute guide to learn a little more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns-A5muuJ3U
Thank you very much, sir, for sharing an important history. Naval operation has never been easy, good practices sometimes were only learnt from hard lessons of lives lost.
Very good presentation. Thank you
Between 1914 and 1917 Scapa Flow turned from a desolate isolated outpost with little supply infrastructure and protection to a well supplied and protected desolate isolated outpost. In Orkney bloody Orkney.
Thank you for a. Interesting and well balanced presentation!
Such a magnificent name for a Ship, of War. The Vanguard presence, imperative. A terrible terrible accident it appears, perhaps. Stunning.
There was an unfortunate sailor from the Imperial Japanese navy on board who also lost his life attached to learn how the Brttish navy managed a modern ship/fleet
I hadn't heard about this incident, which is interesting in itself, as it presumably indicates that it was kept very quiet at the time. The name Vanguard was thus not so tarnished that it couldn't be used on another battleship less than 30 years later. Also a car came to carry the name in 1948 with permission granted by the RN. The Vanguard car was a very popular model with a 15 year run, from the Standard Motor Company.
A very good, well balanced video. I'm glad you mentioned Master Gunner Grant. From my reading I think that the Battleships were better in terms of keeping to the Regulations than the BCS. Grant writes that it seemed to be common practise among them to remove Anti Flash doors to Magazines and Cordite dredgers, not just wedge them open.
One thing about Coal Fired Ships – was that that coal could spontaneously catch fire. Then that fire could cause other problems.
That is what happened to the USS Maine in Havana Harbor which started the Spanish – American War when the Spanish were blamed for it.
Eventually, much later, they had the technology to raise the ship – and that is when they determined what had really happened.
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Divers in this video get permission to dive., I hope this is okay. https://youtu.be/DmTf-cvH9us?si=ceBJiJPtbBQbsFRw
It has been speculated that the 'stabilizer' in British pattern cordite was to blame for spontaneous magazine explosions in Vanguard and the three other ships lost that way in WW1 and WW2, as well as a possible contributing factor to the loss of HMS Hood. In WW1 besides Vanguard (1917), the Italian Dreadnought Leonardo da Vinci (1916), the Russian Black Sea Fleet Dreadnought Imperatritsa Mariya (1916) and in WW2 the Japanese Dreadnought Mutsu (1943) all suffered magazine explosions and they all used British style cordite as propellant for their guns.
Considering the fact that hms Natal had suffered a very similar fate two years earlier, the risk of storaging the aging cordite was not taken seriously enough…
Read "A North Sea Diary 1914-1917" by Stephen King-Hall, a junior officer onboard a British light cruiser in Scapa Flow. Gives a very good insight into life aboard a British Warship 1914-1917. From boring days at anchor, to facing raging winter gales off Norway while on patrol, to the Battle of Jutland.
My Gt Grandfather was killed when she sunk, Frederick William Hutchings was a member of the “black gang” a stoker 1st class who’s job was to keep the ships steam boilers fed with coal. He was 45 when he died he volunteered because he had a large family and as a docker working in the port of London area work was scarce, you had to gather outside the dock gates every day and hope you were picked out for a days work. At least the navy was a regular income. My Grandad was 11 when his dad was killed.
My great uncle Robert Waite was a signalman on Vanguard during Jutland and then amongst those lost at Scapa Flow. I grew up always seeing a large photo of him in uniform on my grandmother's living room wall. He was well-loved by all the family who knew him (especially his sister) and his photo has always been in my memory.
At the going down of the Sun and in the morning we will remember them.
Thanks for your work. Pity the lost souls .
I don't know how you find time to do what you do another absolutely awesome one great footage on this one you absolutely deserve more credit for what you do thank you once again my friend for a great history lesson fellow viewers spread the word how awesome this channel is
One of my distant cousins was a marine on board at the time
How likely was this same situation could have led to the Hood being lost?
Very informative. I knew very little about this ship and class and did some reading on this and RN practices. MAN, it is a wonder they didnt lose more ships to those ways.
Inquiries were designed to protect the Navy from any hint of slackness.