History – HMS Invincible

Six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name Invincible.

Invincible silhouette

The Invincible's

The last (our) Invincible was the sixth in the famous line which began with the French 74 gun L’Invincible, built in 1744 and captured off Finisterre in 1747.

The Invincible after her capture. in 1747
The Invincible after her capture. in 1747

She was wrecked in The Solent in 1758.

Invincible - 1747, now in the Royal Navy
Invincible – 1747, now in the Royal Navy

See THIS link for details on the excavations being carried out on this important wreck.

Check out the playlist of Diving Deep for more videos.

HMS Invincible, lost in 1801
HMS Invincible, lost in 1801

The second Invincible was a third rate, 74 gun ship launched at Deptford in 1765. Her adventurous career included three historic sea battles and ended when she was wrecked off the Norfolk coast in 1801.

The third Invincible was built at Woolwich in 1808, another third rater carrying 74 guns. this ship was broken up at Plymouth in 1861.

HMS Invincible (1869-1914), a Royal Navy, Audacious-class, ironclad battleship.
HMS Invincible (1869-1914), a Royal Navy, Audacious-class, ironclad battleship.
HMS Invincible off Plymouth, commissioning in 1870
HMS Invincible off Plymouth, commissioning in 1870

The fourth Invincible was an armoured “broadside battleship” built by Napier on the Clyde in 1869. She mounted 14 guns and saw action in the Egyptian War before being relegated to depot ship duties at Portsmouth, renamed Erebus in 1904 and Fisgard II in 1906, before foundering of Portland while under tow in a storm in 1914.

HMS Invincible, British Battlecruiser, launched 1907
HMS Invincible, British Battlecruiser, launched 1907
Invincible anchored at Spithead in June–July 1909
Invincible anchored at Spithead in June–July 1909
Battlecruiser HMS Invincible (1907) exploding at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916.
Battlecruiser HMS Invincible (1907) exploding at the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916.
The bow and stern of HMS Invincible standing upright on the bed of the North Sea after being sunk during the Battle of Jutland.
The bow and stern of HMS Invincible standing upright on the bed of the North Sea after being sunk during the Battle of Jutland.

The fifth Invincible was built by Armstrong Whitworth on the Tyne. A Dreadnought Class Battle Cruiser laid down 2nd April 1906, launched 13th April 1907 and commissioned 20th March 1909.
She was a battle cruiser attached to the 1st Cruiser Squadron, Home Fleet at the end of 1908. She saw action at the Battle of Heligoland before steaming off secretly to avenge a British defeat at Coronel in the Battle of the Falkland Islands. She blew up in the Battle of Jutland and sank with the loss of 1,026 crew. Only six crew members survived. Mount Invincible in the Canadian Rockies was named after
her in 1917

(strictly speaking there would have been 7 Invincible’s. A iron hulled armoured Frigate that was sister to HMS Warrior would have been number 4 but was renamed HMS Black prince)

 

Battle honours:

St Vincent, 1780
St Kitts, 1782
Glorious First of June, 1794
Alexandria, 1882
Heligoland, 1914
Falkland Islands, 1914
Jutland, 1916
Falkland Islands, 1982