HMS Invincible (wreck)

 First World War 1914-1918, shipwreck, warship, battlecruiser

The HMS Invincible was a battlecruiser of the British Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class of three, and the first battlecruiser to be built in the world. In the First World War she participated in the Battle of Heligoland Bight in a minor role as she was the oldest and slowest of the British battlecruisers present. She fired on the light cruiser Cöln, but did not hit her before Cöln was sunk by the battlecruiser Lion. During the Battle of the Falkland Islands, Invincible and her sister Inflexible sank the armoured cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau almost without loss to themselves, despite numerous hits by the German ships.

She was the flagship of the 3rd Battlecruiser Squadron during the Battle of Jutland. The squadron had been detached from Admiral Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet a few days before the battle for gunnery practice with the Grand Fleet and acted as its heavy scouting force during the battle. She was destroyed by a magazine explosion during the battle after 'Q' turret was penetrated. Of her complement, 1026 officers and men were killed, including Rear-Admiral Hood. There were only six survivors picked up by HMS Badger.

After the war, the Invincible was located by a Royal Navy minesweeper lying on a sandy bottom at a depth of 180 feet (55 m). The battlecruiser's stern is right-side up and the bow upside-down.

For Battle of Jutland see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Jutland