The eighth HMS Vanguard of the British Royal Navy was a St Vincent class battleship, an enhancement of the ´dreadnought´ design built by Vickers at Barrow-in-Furness. HMS Vanguard was laid down on 2 April 1908 and launched on 22 February 1909.
HMS Vanguard served in the I Battle Squadron during 1914, then in IV Battle Squadron at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916.
On 9 July 1917, HMS Vanguard was anchored in Scapa Flow. Just before midnight HMS Vanguard suffered an explosion in one of the two magazines which served the amidships turrets ‘P’ and ‘Q’. She sank almost instantly, killing an estimated 804 men. Only two survived the explosion.
Source: Wikipedia
