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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 18h

4 Oct 1945 // Motor launch MDL.1226 was sunk by a mine while clearing a minefield off the island of Samothraki. She was manoeuvring to clear her sweeps, which had become snagged on an obstruction, when her stern ran over a mine. Three of her crew were killed. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 18h

4 Oct 1944 // Frigate HMCS Chebogue was torpedoed in mid-Atlantic by U.1227 while escorting an outbound convoy, losing thirty feet of her stern. Seven of her crew were killed. She was towed to Port Talbot and was written off as a constructive total loss. #RoyalCanadianNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 18h

4 Oct 1940 // Whaler HMS Whippet, towing a lighter from Mersa Matruh to Tobruk and escorted by HMS Svana, was subjected to two dive-bombing attacks: the first at 7pm was a near-miss, but the second, one hour later, scored a direct hit and she sank with one man lost. #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 18h

4 Oct 1940 // Submarine HMS Rainbow was lost in the southern Adriatic with all 56 crew, cause unconfirmed but she almost certainly sank after being struck while submerged by Italian merchantman MV Antonietta Costa, which was in a convoy from Bari to Durazzo (Durrës). #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 18h

4 Oct 1918 // HM Submarine L.10 was sunk in the Heligoland Bight after breaking surface while attacking a German destroyer flotilla. She successfully torpedoed and sank destroyer S.33, but other vessels in the German flotilla pursued and sank her. All 38 crew were lost. #RoyalNavy #WW1 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 18h

4 Oct 1918 // Special service vessel HMS M. J. Hedley, hired and converted to act as a decoy ship, was written off after capsizing and sinking while taking on coal at Barry, South Wales. #RoyalNavy #WW1 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 18h

4 Oct 1918 // HM Drifter Coleus, a Lowestoft boat in naval service as a net barrier tender, struck a drifting mine off Dover and sank at around 1am with the loss of four men. #WW1 #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 18h

4 Oct 1912 // HM Submarine B.2, taking part in exercises off Dover at around 6am, was rammed and sunk while surfaced by German liner SS Amerika. Just one man from B.2's crew of 16 survived: Lt Richard Pulleyne was blown out of the sinking submarine by escaping air. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 18h

4 Oct 1782 // 74-gun 3rd-rate HMS Hector, captured from the French at the Battle of the Saintes, was abandoned to sink in mid-Atlantic on this date. She had been heavily damaged in a battle with two French frigates on 5 September and was then being badly hit by the great storm of 16-19 September.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 19h

4 Oct 1780 // A hurricane struck central Caribbean, resulting in six Royal Navy vessels being lost. 44-gun ship HMS Phoenix was off Jamaica when the weather sharply deteriorated. Blown across to Cuba by the hurricane, she went aground near Cape Cruz. Stores and guns were removed and the wreck burnt.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 19h

4 Oct 1760 // 50-gun ship HMS Harwich was driven onto rocks off Isla de Pinos (now Isla de la Juventud), Cuba, in a gale. She was refloated after being lightened but was very badly damaged and was abandoned. All on board reached shore safely and the wreck was burned. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 19h

4 Oct 1757 // 10-gun cutter HMS Hawke was attacked by a French 8-gun privateer off the Lizard, which crippled her with well-aimed shots that brought down spars and rigging. The cutter, already undermanned and having suffered two killed and six wounded, surrendered. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 19h

4 Oct 1741 (O.S.) // 8-gun sloop HMS Tryall, part of Admiral Anson's squadron in the South Pacific, was found to be severely strained and leaky after chasing and capturing a Spanish merchant ship off the Chilean coast, and was scuttled off Valparaiso. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 19h

4 Oct 1689 (O.S.) // 30-gun 5th-rate HMS Lively Prize, the former French l'Éveille, was recaptured by the French when she fell behind her two consorts while being pursued, and was overhauled and taken by two large French warships after a brief engagement. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1943 // Submarine HMS Usurper was lost with all 35 crew in the Gulf of Genoa on or around this date, possibly to a German anti-submarine vessel or through striking a mine, although the exact location and cause of her loss remain unconfirmed. #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1943 // HM Trawler Meror, part of the escort for a coastal convoy, struck a mine as she left the Humber Estuary. A tow was rigged but after a short time the trawler suddenly rolled over to starboard and sank. There were no casualties. #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1943 // HM Trawler Aracari, in use as a water carrier, was wrecked on Filicudi Island north of Sicily, with no casualties, after her anchors dragged in a gale. #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1943 // Midget submarine X.10 was scuttled in the Norwegian Sea. Part of the force used to attack the Tirpitz, she had failed to lay her explosives due to mechanical defects, was eventually recovered by submarine HMS Stubborn but was then damaged in a collision. #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1942 // Motor gun boat MGB.78 was heavily damaged by gunfire while engaging German armed trawlers off the Hook of Holland, then ran aground. The survivors set the wreck on fire and drifted on a Carley raft until picked up and made prisoner by the Germans. #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1918 // HM Drifter Lustring, a Banff boat in naval service as a net barrier tender at Kirkwall, was run into and damaged by HM Trawler Elvina. Beaching was attempted but she foundered close to the shore off Hellier Holm, Shapinsay. All on board were saved. #WW1 #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1808 // 18-gun brig sloop HMS Carnation was lost to the French 16-gun sloop Palinure in a hard-fought encounter which had an ugly aftermath. The Carnation, cruising in the Indian Ocean, sighted and chased the Palinure, overhauling her and bringing her to action north-east of Mauritius.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1805 // 4-gun schooner HMS Barracouta set out from Grand Cayman on 1 October with the frigate HMS Pique and the brig sloop HMS Port Mahon. The weather quickly deteriorated and by the evening it was blowing a full gale; and during the night the Barracouta lost contact with her companions.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1796 // 20-gun 6th-rate HMS Narcissus was lying at anchor off Nassau when struck by a sudden and violent storm. Her cables parted and she was carried across the anchorage until she struck a sand bar, grounded, and rapidly broke up. Remarkably, no lives were lost. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1796 // 10-gun lugger HMS Experiment was off Cabo de Gata, south-east Spain, when a number of vessels came into view. A frigate was detached from among the vessels and began to approach, but neither Lt George Hayes, in command, nor any of his officers could identify her or her nationality.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 Oct 1756 // 8-gun sloop HMS Swift was last seen on this date departing from the Nore for the Baltic. She disappeared in the North Sea, presumed sunk in a storm. She was lost with all hands: her usual complement was around 80 men. #RoyalNavy

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

2 Oct 1942 // HM Trawler Lord Stonehaven, part of the escort for a westbound coastal convoy from the Solent, was torpedoed and sunk by German torpedo boat S.112 at about 1am, near the Eddystone lighthouse. 18 men lost their lives. #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

2 Oct 1942 // Cruiser HMS Curacoa was rammed and sunk by RMS Queen Mary while she was escorting the liner north of Ireland. The Queen Mary, carrying US troops, was at full speed and cut Curacoa in half. 337 men were killed in this tragic accident. (IWM image: A 5807) #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory #WW2

Royal Navy cruiser HMS Curacoa. Image: Imperial War Museum A 5807. A two-funnelled warship at anchor with the shore visible behind and a barrage balloon overhead in the distance.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

2 Oct 1917 // Armoured cruiser HMS Drake was torpedoed by German submarine U.79 off Rathlin Island at 9:03am, just after leaving a convoy she had escorted from the USA to Northern Ireland. A single torpedo struck her starboard side at no. 2 boiler room, where 18 men were killed.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

2 Oct 1916 // HM Drifter Girl Eva, a Yarmouth boat in naval service as a net barrier tender, struck a submarine-laid German mine off Broadstairs and sank with the loss of seven men from her crew of thirteen. The mine was laid by U-boat UC.6. #WW1 #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

2 Oct 1916 // HM Trawler Filey, a Hull boat in naval service as a patrol vessel, was driven ashore on Tory Island, Ireland, in bad weather. No lives were lost. She was abandoned as a wreck and sold but, salvaged and repaired, was back in Admiralty service in 1918. #WW1 #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

2 Oct 1866 // HMS Griffon, a sail/screw gunvessel of the West Africa anti-slavery squadron, was wrecked at Little Popo on the Bight of Benin (now Aného in Togo) when confusion over night signalling caused a collision. She had arrived from Lagos that afternoon to relieve HMS Pandora.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

2 Oct 1817 // 16-gun brig HMS Julia, anchored off Tristan da Cunha while a party went inland to fetch water, was driven ashore by a sudden gale. Her cables broke and she struck the beach, rolled over, and was wrecked. 55 men and 1 woman died. (National Maritime Museum image) #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

Charles W. Browne, 'Wreck of HMS Julia at Tristan da Cunha South Atlantic' (1818). National Maritime Museum, Greenwich: public domain image. A drawing showing a sailing warship being wrecked among churning waves at the bottom of a steep cliff.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

2 Oct 1804 // A number of Royal Navy fireships were expended in an attack on invasion barges assembled at Boulogne. Explosive casks and torpedo-catamarans (floating bombs triggered at a preset time by a clockwork mechanism, invented by American engineer Robert Fulton) were also used.

Watercolour and ink drawing of the British attack on Boulogne, October 1804. The British fleet is in the foreground and the French fleet can be seen in the shelter of the coast in the background, with the port of Boulogne in the centre. Image: National Maritime Museum via Wikimedia Commons.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

1 Oct 1762 // During British operations against the Spanish in the Philippines, store ship HMS Southsea Castle (28 guns) was driven on shore and wrecked shortly after arriving at Manila to support the British Fleet. Her cables parted in bad weather, she grounded, and swung broadside-on to the shore.

'The Attack of Manilla', print of January 1763 showing British operations against Manila in October 1762. Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons. The print shows a partial plan of Manila with the attacking British warships in the bottom right. Individual landmarks and vessels are marked with letters of the alphabet, with a key below the plan.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

1 Oct 1694 (O.S.) // HMS Postboy, an advice boat of 4 guns, was chased and captured by a French 22-gun privateer soon after leaving the Downs for a reconnaissance mission on the French coast. She was unable to use her guns in the heavy swell and surrendered when fired upon. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

30 Sept 1941 // During a German air raid on Tyneside on the night of 30 September two naval trawlers were sunk: HMT Eileen Duncan (8 men lost) and HMT Star of Deveron (5 men lost). They were moored side by side at South Shields when hit by a stick of four bombs. #WW2 #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

30 Sept 1940 // HM Trawler Comet was one of a number of vessels sent out to search for traces of the armed yacht Sappho which had been sunk by a mine in Falmouth Bay during the previous night, when she too struck a mine and sank with the loss of 15 of her 17 crew. #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

30 Sept 1918 // HM Trawler Sealark II, a Hull boat in naval service as a minesweeper, sank off St John's point, County Down, Ireland, after colliding with naval trawler Henry Ford. Seven of her crew were lost and five survivors were rescued. #WW1 #RoyalNavy

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

30 Sept 1918 // HMS Seagull, built as a torpedo gunboat in 1889 and rebuilt as a minesweeper in 1909, was sunk in a collision with merchantman SS Corribb off Dunoon in the Firth of Clyde. 53 men lost their lives and 21 survivors were picked up. (Imperial War Museum Q 75435) #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

Royal Navy minesweeper HMS Seagull, originally launched in 1889 as a torpedo gunboat and rebuilt in 1909. Photograph: Imperial War Museum, Q 75435. A warship under way, viewed from low on the starboard bow, with a shoreline of buildings visible in the background.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

30 Sept 1917 // HM Trawler Charlsin, a former German boat in naval service as a patrol vessel in the eastern Mediterranean, was escorting a transport from Sollum to Alexandria on 27 September when her engine broke down. The transport went on alone while the Charlsin's crew attempted to make repairs.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

30 Sept 1805 // 4-gun schooner HMS Flying Fish, anchored at Bermuda, had on board 15 French prisoners from the captured privateer Mathilde, guarded by a small detachment of soldiers. The privateer captain had given his parole and he and his men were allowed limited freedom to go ashore.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

30 Sept 1652 (O.S.) // English Navy 50-gun ship Antelope, newly built and only just commissioned, was wrecked on the Jutland coast while part of the escort for a Baltic convoy to England. She ran aground at about 3am in a gale. There were few casualties: most of her 260 crew were taken off safely.

Model of a mid-17th-century English warship, partially unplanked to show the internal construction, displayed on a wooden stand: three-quarter view from off the port bow. This model may represent the Antelope, launched in 1652, although with the Stuart royal arms are displayed on the stern, possibly added at the Restoration. National Maritime Museum: SLR0217.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

30 Sept 1782 // 100-gun 1st-rate HMS Ville de Paris, captured from the French in a damaged state at the Saintes on 12 April 1782, was sailing from Jamaica (where repairs had been carried out) to England when her convoy was struck by the violent storm of 16-17 September. She was left heavily damaged.

'The Ville de Paris, Foundering in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean', engraving from 1808. National Maritime Museum, public domain image via Wikimedia Commons. A view of the stern of a large sailing warship as she is overwhelmed by a violent storm. Men are gathered on the upper stern gallery and many more can be seen on the right struggling amid debris in the water.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

30 Sept 1744 (O.S.) // 14-gun sloop HMS Grampus, sailing from Spithead to Lisbon, was chased and captured by ships of a French squadron in the English Channel, and was carried into Brest. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

30 Sept 1651 (O.S.) // 42-gun Constant Reformation, built for the Royal Navy in 1619, was wrecked in a gale off the Azores with over 300 men lost. She had been in Royalist service since her crew switched allegiance from the Parliamentarian navy in 1648, and was serving as Prince Rupert's flagship.

Willem van de Velde the Elder's depiction of the 'Constant Reformation' c1648. National Maritime Museum: PAI17253. A monochrome drawing of a large sailing warship showing only the hull, viewed from off her port quarter with her elaborate stern decoration, armament and other hull details meticulously depicted.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

29 Sept 1940 // HM Yacht Sappho vanished, almost certainly the victim of a mine, while on a night patrol in Falmouth Bay. An explosion was heard at 20:33 and debris was seen next morning, but there were no survivors from her 32 crew and no further trace was found. #RoyalNavy #WW2 #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

29 Sept 1918 // Motor launch ML.247 was attempting to depart St Ives Bay, Cornwall, with other launches, when her engine failed. A strong gale was blowing and she was driven onto rocks at Clodgy Point where she quickly broke up. There was only one survivor from her crew of nine.

Geoffrey Stephen Allfree, 'Motor Launches' (1918). Imperial War Museum: Art.IWM ART 1081. A painting of two motor launches in the open sea in rough and rainy weather, partially obscured by the large waves through which they are sailing.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

29 Sept 1914 // Armed merchant cruiser HMS Oceanic (ex White Star Line RMS Oceanic) broke up and sank without loss of life off the Shetland Islands in a storm, having run aground off Foula on 8 September 1914. (Image: Swedish National Maritime Museum via Wikimedia Commons) #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

RMS Oceanic during her peacetime service. Public domain image, Swedish National Maritime Museum. Black and white photograph of a large passenger liner with two funnels, with a coastline of buildings and other ships visible in the background.

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

29 Sept 1808 // 14-gun brig HMS Maria encountered a 22-gun French corvette off Guadeloupe and fought fiercely until overcome by the corvette's heavier broadside and more numerous crew. Six men were killed including Maria's commander, Lt James Bennett, and nine were wounded. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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RN ship losses @rnshiplosses.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

29 Sept 1696 (O.S.) // 10-gun HMS Portsmouth's Pride (ex French la Joyeuse, captured 1694) was carrying letters to Admiral Benbow off the Norfolk coast but was pursued by a squadron of five French ships. After a short chase and a brief exchange of fire she surrendered. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

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