| Notes | The <i>Royal George</i>, flagship of Admiral Kempenfelt, sank on 29 August 1782 with the loss of eight hundred lives, including as many as 300 women and 60 children who were visiting the ship.
The ship had been anchored off Spithead for repairs to a leak below the water line and was heeled to raise the leak above water. The starboard guns were run to the port side and it was during this procedure, that a loud crack was heard and the ship sank almost instantly.
A subsequent court-martial acquitted the ship's officers and crew (most of whom were dead) of any wrongdoing, and blamed the accident on the "general state of decay of her timbers." |