Pre-Dreadnought Preservation
H.M.S. Victoria

H.M.S. Victoria today.
Source: DiverNet

H.M.S. Victoria is perhaps one of the most famous pre-Dreadnoughts in history. During close maneuvers on June 22, 1893, the Victoria collided with the H.M.S. Camperdown and sank taking the lives of over 300 crewmen. Both the commanding Admiral of the Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet and his flagship Victoria disappeared under the waves off the coast of Tripoli, Lebanon within 10 minutes. See this detailed report on the collision.

Vice Admiral Sir George Tryon, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy's Mediterranian Fleet, was considered to be responsible for the loss of the Victoria. It was widely considered that he did the right thing by going down with his flagship. Earlier in his carrier, Commander Tryon had been Executive Officer of the revolutionary H.M.S. Warrior from its first commission in 1861 to 1865.

A yet-to-be famous naval officer serving on the Victoria at the time of the collision was her Executive Officer, Commander John Jellicoe, later of Battle of Jutland fame. He was suffering from Malta Fever and was prone in his cabin at the exact time of the collision.

The wreck of the H.M.S. Victoria was discovered in 2004 and, remarkably, she is plunged vertically into the see floor - bow first. The Victoria is thought to be the only wreck in the world to be in a 90� position. See this site about Victoria. Here is a news report from the Lebanon Daily Star with additional details.


Artist's impression of H.M.S. Victoria wreck site.
Source: Magazyn Nurkowanie
See also various period photos of the ship. More period pictures. This site includes pictures of the Victoria's final moments as she listed then capsized.

A period photo of the H.M.S. Victoria in the United Kingdom.


Illustration of H.M.S. Victoria.
Source: Index to late 18th, 19th and early 20th Century Naval and Naval Social History
There is an memorial to the men lost with the Victoria in Portsmouth. It is complete with a list of the names of all the hands that perished.

A photo of the main guns of the Victoria being installed.

Here are detailed line drawing plans of the Victoria and the Camperdown.

The State Library of Victoria has a beautiful line drawing of the Victoria.

Here's another web site about the collision but this one has a picture of the Camperdown listing due to her damage.

This site, in Japanese, has four great pictures regarding the collision of the H.M.S. Victoria and the H.M.S. Camperdown including a bow shot of the Victoria in dry dock, a model of the Victoria showing its damage, the Victoria's final moments, and the Camperdown's damaged bow. Scroll down the web page about half way.

This Spanish site has some excellent close up photos of both the Victoria and the Camperdown.

A small book about the collision of the Victoria and the Camperdown titled "Admirals in Collision" is available from used book stores.

The loss of the Victoria entered popular culture long after the collision when the 1950 Alec Guinness movie Kind Hearts & Coronets included a small part for the Victoria. It showed two very small, model ships colliding and stated that both ships sank and all hands were saved except for the stubborn & mentally unstable Admiral commanding. This veiled reference to the Victoria is used as a plot device to get the villain one step closer (with the death of the Admiral) to the family fortune he seeks. The movie provided the iconic image of a bearded Sir Alec in his Admiral's uniform saluting as his ship went down.

The Wikipedia entry on the H.M.S. Victoria has an excellent description of the aftermath of the collision.

If you have any period prints & photos or dive photos that you would be willing to share regarding the H.M.S. Victoria, please e-mail me at [email protected]

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