Royal George was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Woolwich Dockyard and launched on 18 February 1756. At the time of her launch, Royal George was the largest warship in the world.
On 29 August 1782 while undergoing minor repair work at Spithead, the Royal George began to take on water. She capsized and sank very quickly with the loss of about 900 lives.
No accurate number is available for the amount of people who were drowned in the disaster. It is claimed that over 300 people survived, but figures for those lost range from 900 – 1200. Her sudden sinking remains one of the worst disasters ever to take place in UK waters.
Source: Wikipedia
