A Tragic Loss – HMS Bulwark

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HMS Bulwark

HMS Bulwark belonged to a sub-class of the Formidable-class of pre-dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy known as the London class.

On 26 November 1914, while anchored near Sheerness, she was destroyed by a large internal explosion.  During that day she had been taking on board ammunition and it was thought that the shells had been stacked too close together and too close to a boiler room which caused some of them to ignite and cause a magazine explosion.

Of her complement of 750, no officers survived and only 14 men were rescued.  Two of the 14 survivors died later in hospital.

Source: Wikipedia