HMS 'Victory' - mystery of sinking solved after more than 271 years

More than 271 years after the sinking of the great British sailing ship HMS Victory, archaeologists have managed to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of the ship and its crew. Previous assumptions had been that the ship sank as a result of a storm, but scientists have now established that human error during construction

ByTomasz Andrukajtis

Published: August 2, 2015 - 18:38

Updated: July 22, 2023 - 11:24

HMS ‘Victory’ – mystery of sinking solved after more than 271 years

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However, one of the biggest disasters in the history of the Royal Navy took place on 4 October 1744. It was then in the waters of the English Channel about 80 km north-east of Plymouth that over 1100 sailors from the crew of HMS “Victory” lost their lives.

“The moderate winters of 1730-39 turned the seasoning of felled timber into a lengthy, if manageable, process. Juxtaposed with the New Forest’s running out of raw material, mismanagement and several minor factors, disaster was inevitable, ” explains Sean A. Kingsley of Odyssey Marine Exploration.

At the time of the ship’s construction, England was suffering from a severe shortage of high-quality timber. This was a result of, among others, the industrial revolution, which consumed raw materials in huge amounts, the rebuilding of London after the great fire of 1666 and, finally, the very high demand for raw materials by the Royal Navy, which was constantly at war with the Dutch fleet. All this translated into the use of unseasoned wood of much lower quality.

The mild winters of the 1830s, which were completely frost-free, meant that the felled trees contained much more sap. The mild winters of the 1830s, completely devoid of frost, meant that the felled trees contained a lot more sap. As a result, the time needed to obtain quality raw material from them was significantly increased. Moreover, this process was sometimes impossible to carry out, as the material simply started to rot.

The wreck of HMS “Victory” was found in 2008 by Odyssey Marine Exploration, a company well known to our readers, engaged in the search and retrieval of valuable finds from the deep sea.

Source: dailymail.co.uk Photo: Odyssey Marine Exploration

About author

Tomasz Andrukajtis

Editor-in-chief of the DIVERS24 portal and magazine. Responsible for obtaining, translating and developing content. He also supervises all publications. Achived his first diving certification – P1 CMAS, in 2000. Has a degree in journalism and social communication. In the diving industry since 2008.