HMS Vanguard (1870)
Note: This is a sub-section of HMS Vanguard
The eighth HMS Vanguard of the British Royal Navy was an Audacious-class central-battery ironclad battleship, launched in 1870.[1]
1875 It collided with HMS Iron Duke.
The draught of the Vanguard was 22ft. 6in. aft. and 21ft. 6in. forward, and her displacement 5899 tons the area of her midship section being 1067 square feet, and depth in hold 24ft. 1in. She carried six 12 1/2 ton guns on the main deck, three on either side at broadside ports 17ft, apart, and two guns of the same weight on each side of the upper deck at broadside ports 41ft. apart, in a half-battery carried out sufficiently far to command a direct ahead and stern fire past the sides of the ships, which are formed with considerable "tumble home" for the purpose. In addition to these guns she carried two 64-pounders on the upper deck...Read more
"The news of the sinking of H.M.S. Vanguard, which reached us yesterday, describes a deplorable catastrophe. During a fog on the night of Wednesday, H.M.S. Iron Duke, a double screw iron armour-plated ship of the Audacious class, ran into her sister ship, H.M.S. Vanguard, off the coast of Wicklow, and sunk her the Iron Duke belonged to the reserve squadron of the Channel Fleet, and was proceeding to Cork when she ran into the Vanguard. The tonnage of each vessel was 6034 tons and each carried 14 guns, protected by 6 in. of armour. This is a practical though costly was of testing the power of a ram bow against armour plate. Happily no lives were lost, and we may still hope that some good may accure from the castastrophe, though it will be dearly paid for, since now the absolute necessity for some efficient system of fog-signalling will be brought home so forcibly to the authorities."[2]