HMS Vanguard - Sunk 1st September 1875

• Lat/lon: 053.12.804N 005.46.313W (GPS)
  Description: East of Bray Head, Dublin

 Construction

• Type:HM Battleship (Ironclad), Sail and Steam Double-bladed Twin-Screw
  Built: 1870
  Shipyard: Cammel Laird, Birkenhead.
  Hull material: Iron on 8" teak planking
  Armament: 10 x 9", 4 x 6" MLR Guns

Dimensions

• Tonnage: 6034 Tonnes.
  Length: 280 ft.
  Beam: 54 ft.
  Draft: 16 ft.

 History

• Sunk: 1st September 1875
  Cause: Collision
  Found: Salvaged by the Royal Navy in the same year, Rediscovered 1985.

 Depth

• Top: 32 m
  Deck: 34-40 m
  Seabed: 37-49 m

 Best dived

• 1hr. Before High/Low Water

Position

• Lying: Upright (N-S)
  Condition: Intact

Access restrictions

• Access: National Monument (OPW License required)

References

• Compuwreck (Roy Stokes)
• Newspapers
• Shipwrecks of the Irish coast 1105-1993 (E.J. Bourke)
• Shipwrecks of the Irish coast 937-1997 (E.J. Bourke)
• Depictions in The Illustrated London News.

Remarks

This battleship sailed from Dunlaoghaire (Kingstown) in convoy for Cork (Queenstown) with several other warships which include her sister ship the Iron Duke. In fog the Iron Duke rammed the Vanguard which sunk in about an hour. There was no panic and no loss of life which was a recrimination by the subsequent court martial whose members felt that the ship should have been saved. The wreck lies in roughly the same longtitude as the Leinster but on a hardpacked bottom. The wreck is massive and easily the most preserved in Irish waters and is a splendid dive. The whole of the hull survives intact and there is extensive machinery to inspect. The dive can be very dark and great care should be taken as there are large areas of the hull which can be travelled through. The dive ranges from 30 metres to a deep 49 metres at the seabed. The slack water is at 1 hour before High/Low water.
For a better idea on how the ship looked you can visit the similar but earlier battleship, HMS Warrior, which survives in magnificient condition and afloat as a museum piece in Portsmouth,UK. The wreck is owned by Eugene Houlihan, Co. Limerick and is also subject to the protection of The National Monuments Act. (Historic Wreck). Permission is required from its owner and the Office Of Public Works to dive it.