Helm of HMS Invincible that sank in the Solent in 1758, discovered 200 feet away from main shipwreck

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The rudder of warship HMS Invincible has been discovered 60 meters away from the main shipwreck – more than 40 years after the wreck was first located.

The 11-meter blade was discovered last week during a routine inspection by marine archaeologists while lying at the bottom of the Solent.

It will be covered with sandbags to protect it from further erosion, but it has yet to be decided whether it will be financially viable to bring it ashore.

The ship was built by the French in 1744, but was captured by the British three years later during the Battle of Cape Finisterre.

It sank in 1758 when the its rudder jammed and it foundered on a sandbar between Langstone Harbor and the Isle of Wight, before capsizing three days later.

The helm of warship HMS Invincible has been discovered 60 meters away from the main shipwreck in the Solent by a team of divers conducting a routine inspection

Marine archaeologist Dan Pascoe said the discovery of the rudder was “unique and important.”

The 11-metre blade was the reason for the warship’s sinking, after it hit a sandbar between Langstone Harbor and the Isle of Wight in 1758 and capsized three days later.

The fascinating history behind HMS Invincible

Originally L’Invincible, the 74-gun ship was built in southwestern France on the banks of the Charente River at Rochefort in 1744

It was designed to fight all over the world and protect the French overseas empire and merchant fleets

HMS Invincible’s service with the French Navy was cut short when it was captured off Cape Finisterre in 1747 by a superior British Royal Navy fleet commanded by Admiral Anson.

But his career in the British Navy also came to an unexpected end on February 19, 1757

The wreck, which is three nautical miles from Portsmouth, Hampshire, was first discovered 40 years ago by a fisherman in shallow water 7.5 meters deep.

There the wreck lay for 222 years, until a fisherman brought up unusual wood after snagging his nets on a sandbank.

Divers then went down to explore the site three nautical miles from Portsmouth, Hampshire and identified the wreck as HMS Invincible.

The following year it was designated a historic shipwreck under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 and has been studied ever since.

Dan Pascoe, a marine archaeologist from Bournemouth University, said: ‘Since 2010 we have carried out several surveys of the seabed and we have noticed several anomalies 60 meters from the stern of the boat, which I suspected could be the rudder. are.

‘Since then natural erosion of the sand cover has made the object more visible.

“On subsequent dives, we noticed that it was shaped more like a rudder.”

On May 24, Heather Anderson, a maritime archaeologist and junior consultant at the Maritime Archeology Trust, and Dr Rachel Bynoe, from the University of Southampton, dived seven meters to confirm the identity.

Dan Pascoe added: ‘As next steps, we will bury it in sandbags in the short term to protect it from damage, and in the long term our team will see if it can be brought to the surface and stored safely.’

A new excavation project at the wreck site was initiated in 2017 by Poole’s Maritime Archeology Sea Trust (MAST) and Bournemouth University.

Marine archaeologists have conducted several surveys of the seafloor since 2010 and have noticed several anomalies 200 feet from the stern of the boat that they suspect may be the rudder. Over time, erosion of the sand covering the rudder made the object more visible

The rudder must be protected with sandbags to prevent further erosion while submerged, but bringing it to the surface can be costly

This was prompted after the shifting seabed exposed the lake to the elements, leading to fears the relics could deteriorate

It involved 1,458 dives over two years, recovering nearly 2,000 artifacts.

The array of new finds, including the ship’s massive shaft, is now on display at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth.

Other significant artifacts included a gun port cover and a collection of swivel guns, some with their butts and mounts intact.

There were also many other small finds, including cutlery, a bottle of corked rum and regimental buttons.

During an excavation project between 2017 and 2019, 32 and 24 pound gun barrel ‘crams’ were recovered along with their wooden markers during a dig project between 2017 and 2019.

During the excavation project between 2017 and 2019, several bottles of what appears to be wine or spirits were recovered from the shipwreck during the excavation project, some with the corks still intact

A 261-year-old mop was also found in the shipwreck of HMS Invincible during an excavation project conducted by marine archaeologist Dan Pascoe’s team

Originally L’Invincible, the 74-gun ship was built in southwestern France on the banks of the River Charente at Rochefort in 1744.

It was designed to fight all over the world and protect the French overseas empire and merchant fleets.

HMS Invincible’s service with the French Navy was cut short when it was captured off Cape Finisterre in 1747 by a superior British Royal Navy fleet commanded by Admiral Anson.

But his career in the British Navy also came to an unexpected end on February 19, 1757.

HMS Invincible was ordered to weigh anchor and begin the journey to Louisbourg (present-day Nova Scotia) to fight the French.

But a series of disastrous events led to her wrecking on a shallow sand bar known as Horse Tail Sand to the east.

According to maritime archaeologist Dan Pascoe, the revolutionary streamlined design of HMS Invincible was copied by the British who adopted it on their ships until the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805

What happened at the Battle of Cape Finisterre?

On May 14, 1747, during the War of the Austrian Succession, Invincible escorted a convoy of merchant ships through Cape Finisterre in Spain.

The French warship was then spotted by the British canal fleet of 16 ships, which gave chase.

Invincible attacked the British ships to give his convoy a chance to escape.

After attacking six warships alone, most of the crew were left dead or wounded, so the French surrendered.

The French commander, Saint-Georges, handed his sword defeated to Admiral George Anson.

The Royal Navy immediately sailed Invincible to Portsmouth Naval Dockyard and used its dimensions as a blueprint for all future Royal Naval 74 gunships.

HMS Invincible was discovered 222 years later by local fisherman Arthur Mack in 1979.

Realizing the importance of his discovery, Mr Mack worked with Commander John Bingeman, who had previous experience surveying Royal Navy shipwrecks.

Due to its importance, it was designated a historic wreck in 1980, under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973.

Commander Bingeman and Mr. Mack led excavations between 1980 and 1991 and found that the port side was intact with vast amounts of well-preserved artifacts inside.

In 2010, Mr. Pascoe became the site’s permit holder and archaeologist and found that the wreck was exposed due to parts of the ship being exposed by changing seabed levels.

This led him to investigate the newly exposed areas of the wreck and monitor the decreasing sediment levels.

Consequently, the site was placed on the Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register as a high risk.

This work drew the site’s attention to Professor Dave Parham of Bournemouth University and Jessica Berry of MAST, as well as the National Museum of the Royal Navy.

Together with Mr. Pascoe, they realized the need for an excavation project to salvage and capture fragile material before it was lost.

Today, HMS Invincible represents the most complete and best-preserved remains of a mid-18th century warship.