THE ACCIDENT ON BOARD THE THUNDERER.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5628, 10 March 1879, Page 7

THE ACCIDENT ON BOARD THE THUNDERER.

.T .r.. - - When-tho-tnail-lef b England full partiou~ lari of the disaster on board the l -Unlucky l ; Thunderer had not been received. The following is supplied by a opnteffiporary-. Considerable excitement was Caused‘in London on Jan. 3on receipt l of the intelligence that an explosion had occurred' on board H.M.S. Thunderer, Captain A. J. Ohotfield, while gupnery exercise, was being carried on by; the English Mediterranean Fleet. ’ Itbeing remembered;that two, years and a half ago a boiler exploded on board this ship while on a trial of her machinery in Stokes’ Bay, when 45 men were killed aridvery many injured. Some doubt was atflrst entertained as to the correctness of the,information., j Inquiries at the Admiralty, howeyer, confirmed the painful news, with a diminution of the number of wounded at first {announced, but anincrcase of three among the dead. The. Thunderer has but recently joined the Sqacll. ron in the Mediterranean under Sir James Hornby, haring relieved her sister. but* formidable ship, the Devastation. She was launched in March, 1872, .being originally designed to carry 10 to ,85-ton guns in; each of her two' turrets, modnted on carnages designed by Captain Scott. Subsehoweyer, Messrs Armstrong’s system of : working heavy guns by hydraulic power was introduced into the forward turret of the ship, the two 85-ton guns in this part of the vessel being replaced by others weighing three toes heavier. The trials vere so successful in this ship that the Admiralty, ordered similar equipments to be fitted on board the Dreadnought and the Inflexible. From the latest information obtained at Whitehall/ it seems that the fleet was ordered to proceed to, gunneiy practice off Ismid on Jan. 2. The gups of the Thunderer had. been fired with battering charges, and subsequently the order whs given to load them with full charge and empty shell. This operation was witnessed in! the fore turret by. Lieutenant Coker, the gunnery lieutenant, and Lieutenant' Daniel,; of; the .Boyal Marine. Artillery. the gun being fired a terrific explosion occurred, from some, cause as yet unexplained. The men serving the gun in the turret were mostly killed,- while those in the immediate neighbourhood turret were injured by the debris, jvhic& was scattered in all directions. The consternation which, natvt ra}ly ensued’ was followed by a digilept search to Ascertain the extent of .the casualty, and it was soon discovered that ton and r mcn were victims of the arifi<tnat thirty-three officers ’and men The dead are Lieutenant Coker, E'.N. j; Lieutenant Daniel, R.M.A.; George Fern, 'lsaac; Grover, and John Eoche, petty ofilcers ; G. Hi Rutland, William Monday, and William Warne, leading seamen; Henry Bezel, able, seaman ; arid Thomas Bolton, corporal, Royal Marine Artillery. Admiral Hornby- reports ’that Mr Jackson, boatswain, and thirty-two men were wounded, twelve having, suffered serious injuries. .The admiral adds that the turret of the ThttnderCr was disabled, but that the ship was otherwise uninjured. . The gun which exploded measured 23 inches round the muzzle, and 16 inches’just in front of the trunnion. The explosion was so great as to blow the muzzle immediately overboard. Competent authorities are of opinion that the Cause of the disaster .originated just at the point where the bore thins.