HMS Invincible
Introduction
HWTMA have launched a new Heritage Lottery funded project to save the archive of one of the Solent's most important excavated shipwreck archives. The first HMS Invincible (1758) lies in the eastern Solent and since 1979 has been the object of an extensive excavation and research project by a small and dedicated team of enthusiasts.
The resulting documentary and material archive has kindly been made available by Commander John Bingeman, and we are pleased to commence the digitization of this collection to ensure its long-term survival.
Invincible History
HMS Invincible began life as the French warship L'Invincible and was launched at Rochefort, France, in 1744. With two decks, 74 guns, and a crew of 700 this was the elite fighting ship of the day. Such fire power could outmatch all but the largest three deck warships and was coupled with the speed and agility of much smaller vessels, making L'Invincible a far superior design. The introduction of the 74s became the backbone of the Fleet for over half a century and sixteen such vessels were present at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
In 1747 L'Invincible was escorting a French East India convoy to India that was intercepted by a British squadron led by Admiral Anson off the north coast of Spain. Though hopelessly outnumbered Captain St Georges' crew fought valiantly and L'Invincible was the last ship to strike its colours at the Battle of Cape Finisterre.
As a British prize, HMS Invincible was the flag ship of three Admirals, took part in two French wars and served as far away as the West Indies and Nova Scotia. Despite seeing little combat, the ship's powerful attributes meant that its fourteen year sailing career included a variety of roles from flagship to fast troop transport.
The Wreck
On February 19th 1758, Admiral Boscawen's fleet set sail from Portsmouth bound for Nova Scotia on a second attempt at taking the French fort of Louisbourg. Invincible was to take part in this successful mission, but never left the Solent. After a calamitous series of events the esteemed warship ran aground on Dean Sand and despite continuous attempts at refloating, the hull was flooded and fell over on the beam ends in gale force winds with seas breaking over the top.
After all that could be salvaged was retrieved Invincible settled into the sandbank and became entombed for the next 221 years. In 1979 a local fisherman, Arthur Mack, brought up some remarkable timbers after snagging his nets on a sandbank in the eastern Solent, and the site now known as Horse Tail was dived by local divers Jim Boyle and John Broomhead, and later by Commander John Bingeman.
The team successfully identified the extensive wreck and formed The Invincible Committee (1758) to research and excavate the site. In September 1980 HMS Invincible was designated as a Historic Shipwreck under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973.
The Archive Project
In ten years of diving and research several thousand artefacts were raised and a representative collection featuring one example of each is held at Historic Dockyard Chatham.
Until recently, the vast quantity of documentary records has not been as easy to access. The Hampshire & Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund have been making this research archive publicly available by copying, sorting and digitising the great quantity of dive logs, site plans and artefact records and enabling public access on-line via the Archaeology Data Service (ADS).
In keeping with the aims of the Trust this work successfully employes a large number of volunteers, increasing public interaction with maritime heritage and developing the skills and interests of those involved.
The end result of this work will be an interactive CD-ROM that will present the archive in a format that caters to young budding archaeologists, casual interest users and academic researchers alike. In this way, HMS Invincible will truly become an accessible maritime resource that anyone can learn from and enjoy.
References & Further Reading
Fenwick, V. and Gale, A. 1998. Historic Shipwrecks. Discovered, Protected and Investigated. Stroud: Tempus.
Lavery, B. 1988. The Royal Navy's First Invincible. The ship, the wreck and the discovery. Portsmouth: Invincible Conservations (1744-1758) Ltd.
Read all about it!- Invincible in the News
Portsmouth News 25/02/09
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/agenda/New-life-for-wrecked-Invincible.5014467.jp
Isle of Wight County Press 16/01/09
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/shipwreck-story-goes-public-at-last-24075.aspx
