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The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707. [a] Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors lost their lives aboard the wrecked vessels, making the incident one of the worst maritime disasters in British naval history. [2]
Scilly naval disaster of 1707: The fourth rate ship of the line struck the Bishop Rock, Isles of Scilly, and foundered with the loss of all but one of her crew. HMS St George: Royal Navy: Scilly naval disaster of 1707: The first rate ship of the line struck rocks off the Isles of Scilly. She was refloated, repaired and returned to service.
Association was a 90-gun second-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1697. [1] [2] She served with distinction at the capture of Gibraltar, and was lost in 1707 by grounding on the Isles of Scilly in the greatest maritime disaster of the age.
The Scilly naval disaster of 1707. 22 October – HMS Association, HMS Eagle, HMS Romney and HMS Firebrand (all Royal Navy) with the loss of nearly 2,000 [8] souls; HMS Phoenix sustained a damaged hull but was later refloated and repaired (see Scilly naval disaster of 1707).
The story first appeared in the Scilly Isles in 1780, with the common sailor being a Scilly native, who recognized the waters as being close to home but was punished for warning the admiral. [13] Some versions of the legend report that the sailor cursed Shovell to suffer a watery grave before his execution. [18]
This was particularly inaccurate on long voyages without sight of land and could sometimes lead to tragedy, as during the Scilly naval disaster of 1707, which claimed the lives of nearly 2,000 [3] sailors. This brought the problem of measuring longitude at sea into sharp focus once more.
1707 Great Britain: The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 – On 22 October, a Royal Navy fleet en route from Gibraltar to Portsmouth sailed through dangerous reefs west of the Isles of Scilly. Four ships (HMS Association, HMS Eagle, HMS Romney and HMS Firebrand) sank. The exact number of crew lost is unknown.
22 October – Scilly naval disaster: Four Royal Navy ships, including HMS Association, run aground in the Isles of Scilly because of faulty navigation – Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell and at least 1450 sailors are drowned. 23 October – first sitting of the Parliament of Great Britain, at Westminster. [3]