Loss of four Royal Navy vessels off the Isles of Scilly in 1707
An 18th-century engraving of the disaster, with HMS Association in the centre
Occurrence
Date
22 October 1707[a]
Summary
Navigation accident
Site
Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom 49°51′56″N6°23′50″W / 49.86556°N 6.39722°W / 49.86556; -6.39722
Operator
Royal Navy
Destination
Portsmouth, England
Fatalities
1,400–2,000[1]
Injuries
13
Survivors
13
The Scilly naval disaster of 1707 was the loss of four warships of a Royal Navy fleet off the Isles of Scilly in severe weather on 22 October 1707.[a] Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors lost their lives aboard the wrecked vessels, making the incident one of the worst maritime disasters in British naval history.[2] The disaster has been attributed to a combination of factors, including the navigators' inability to accurately calculate their positions, errors in the available charts and pilot books, and inadequate compasses.[3]
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^The earliest reports of the disaster appeared in the Daily Courant, and were rather brief. The account for 1 November 1707 read: "an Account, that Sir Cloudsly Shovel with about 20 Sail of Men of War coming from the Streights, having made an Observation the 21st, lay the 22d from 12 to about 6 in the Afternoon; but the Weather being very hazy and rainy and Night coming on dark, the Wind being S.S.W, they Stearing E by N, supposing they had the Channel open, were some of them upon the Rocks to the Westward of Scilly before they were aware, about 8 a Clock at Night. Of the Association not a Man was sav’d ... The Captain and 24 Men of the Firebrand Fire-Shop were saved, as were also all the Crew of the Phoenix. 'Tis said the Rumney and Eagle, with their Crews, were lost with the Association." Cited in: Dunn, Richard. "Isles of Scilly Disaster – Part 2". Archived from the original on 4 August 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2017.
^May, W.E. (1960). "The last voyage of Sir Clowdisley Shovell". Journal of Navigation. 13 (3): 324–332. doi:10.1017/S0373463300033646.
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