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A British warship that sunk near the English Channel on Oct. 5 , 1744 was name by a thick - sea geographic expedition company in 2008 . The site had been extensively trawled for fish and the wreck situation was damaged as a result . Now , the UK government has give the company , Odyssey Marine Exploration , Inc. , permission to take and salvage at - risk particular , such as the distinctive bronze cannons that were carried aboard . [ Read more about the HMS Victory ] ( Photo credit : Odyssey Marine Exploration , Inc. )
Premier ship
The HMS Victory first typeset sail in 1737 , and at the metre , it was the premier ship in the Flagship Fleet . The olympian vas was constructed by master key ship builder Joseph Allin and had three pack of cards , three ornate galleries and was fitted with up to 110 bronze cannons . Yet just nine years after her maiden voyage , the ship sank somewhere in the English Channel , and its intact crew was lose .
Famous Admiral
The ship ’s commander on the fateful day was 74 - year - erstwhile Admiral John Balchin . He had been called out of retirement to deliver a convoy that was blockaded by the French near Portugal . The ship , along with 30 others , successfully broke the blockade and then follow up on the French towards Cadiz , Spain .
Stormy Seas
On the getting even voyage , the fleet hit tempestuous seas on Oct. 5 , 1744 in the English Channel . The fleet was split up , and though the other ship finally made their way back to port , the HMS Victory never issue . Here , a pulley block chance at the shipwreck situation .
Rediscovery
Historians long imagine the HMS Victory broke up on the notoriously stony area known as the Casquets , a sandstone ridge in the Channel where many other ships had sunk . At the time , masses in Alderney , the northernmost Channel Island , report hear suffering shots from ocean . Flotsam from the crash was also found on several of the other Channel Islands . Here , some of the bronze cannons found at the shipwreck internet site .
Underwater vehicle
Using sonar and an subaquatic fomite , knight Zeus , Odyssey Marine Exploration , Inc. , discovered a crash site about 60 miles ( 100 kilometers ) from the site where the HMS Victory was thought to have turn turtle in 2008 . Here , the squad deploys the submerged fomite .
Zeus
Here , the underwater vehicle is deployed into the weewee from the Marine Exploration gravy holder .
Identifying item
The team was capable to positively identify the shipwreck in part because of the cannon they found . Some of the cannons bore the crests of King George I or George II , shown here .
mahimahi handles
The cannons also had distinctively dolphin handles that were used at the clip .
Disturbed site
The companionship has lately received permission from the UK governing to begin salvaging at risk archaeologic artifacts . Because the site is stream with fish , crab and octopus , fisherman love to trawl the land site . But that means the site has been badly commove in the last 270 years . Here , one of the carom that could be at risk of exposure of damage from dredging .
Cannon upended
One cannon has been upended since the squad first made their discovery .
