Henry VIII’s warship sinks in the Solent

The Mary Rose capsizes

The sinking of the Mary Rose remains one of history’s great nautical mysteries. Why did a royal warship, which had been perfectly seaworthy for a quarter of a century, suddenly sink to the bottom of the English Channel, apparently untouched by eneO[ fire!

What made it worse was the context. Henry VIII was at war with France, and an eneO[ ʚeet, aNOost twice the si\e oH the Nater Spanish Armada, had sailed into the river 5oNent $Wt the kinI was confident oH Xictor[ On the night of 18 July 1545, he dined aboard his ʚaIshiR, the Great Harry, and confirOed that the experienced Sir George Carew would be in charge of the Mary Rose the next day.

On the morning of 19 July, Henry and his courtiers stepped onto the battlements of Southsea Castle, looking forward to a glorious martial spectacle. Unfortunately, a lack of wind meant that the English ships could not venture out until the afternoon. When the moment finaNN[ caOe the[ were a OaInificent siIht, their Rennants ʚWtterinI in the bree\e #nd then disaster struck.

What happened next remains unclear. The Mary Rose had fired its starboard IWns and was coOinI aboWt to fire HroO the Rort side 6hen a IWst oH wind rW ed the waters s and suddenly something went terribly wrong. The ship was leaning too far to its starboard side. It seemed unsteady, tipped, and began to sink.

In the chaos, much of the Mary Rose’s equipment had come loose, including its colossal oven, copper cauldron and heavy guns. Men were scrambling and screaming in terror, but the companionways had become bottlenecks, crowded with contorted bodies. (or Oan[, caRsi\inI Oeant aNOost certain death, because they could not swim. But what made matters far worse was that the ship was covered with anti-boarding netting, which kept the Oen traRRed aboard, WnabNe to NeaR oʘ

At least 450 men died that afternoon. It was one of the greatest naval tragedies in English histor[ s and *enr[ had watched it aNN