Читать книгу Deeper into the Darkness онлайн

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The evening went uneventfully until around 2320 when, without any previous warning, flames were seen coming up from below, just abaft her foremast. This was followed after a short interval by a heavy explosion deep within her. The flames greatly increased in intensity and wreckage was thrown up abaft the foremast in the vicinity of P and Q wing turrets, either side of the ship abaft the bridge.

This first explosion was followed after a short interval by a second, heavier, explosion that considerably increased the volume of flame and smoke. The ship was by now totally obscured by smoke and the exact location of this second explosion could not be determined.

When the huge cloud of smoke that had obscured the battleship drifted away in the gentle evening breeze, Vanguard was gone; 845 men had been aboard her at the time of the explosion – but only one officer and two ratings survived, one of whom subsequently died of injuries received. The total death toll of 843 included Commander Ito, an observer from the Imperial Japanese Navy – then an ally of Britain. Two Australian sailors from HMAS Sydney were locked in her cells when she went up and were also killed.