HMS Defence 1907

HMS Defence was a Minotaur-class armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy in the first decade of the 20th century, the last armoured cruiser built for the Royal Navy. She was stationed in the Mediterranean when the First World War began and participated in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser SMS Goeben and light cruiser SMS Breslau. The ship was transferred to the Grand Fleet in January 1915 and remained there for the rest of her career.

Defence was sunk on 31 May 1916 during the Battle of Jutland, the largest naval battle of the war. Escorting the main body of the Grand Fleet, the ship was fired upon by one German battlecruiser and four dreadnoughts as she attempted to engage a disabled German light cruiser. She was struck by two salvoes from the German ships that detonated her rear magazine. The fire from that explosion spread to the ship's secondary magazines, which exploded in turn. There were no survivors.
At the time, it was believed that Defence had been reduced to fragments by the explosion, but the wreck was discovered in mid-1984 by Clive Cussler and a NUMA survey of the North Sea and English Channel at coordinates 56°58′02″N 05°49′50″ECoordinates: 56°58′02″N 05°49′50″E.[15] It was dived upon in 2001 by a team led by nautical archaeologist Innes McCartney and found to be largely intact, despite the violence of her sinking.[16][17] Defence, along with the other Jutland wrecks, was belatedly declared a protected place under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986, to discourage further damage to the resting place of approximately 900 men. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Defence_(1907)   Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 

Further information at https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?10785 

Displaying 1 to 3 of 3 records - page 1 of 1

Furlong, William

Date of Birth
Service No.
RMA/12643
Rank
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
HMS Defence sunk during the battle of Jutland.
Other Biographical Details

Son of John and Anastasia Furlong nee Kelly of Crandaniel, Barntown, Wexford

Kehoe, James

Date of Birth
Service No.
287130
Regiment
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Ship's magazine exploded when hit by a German shell during the Battle of Jutland.
Other Biographical Details

Son of William and Catherine Kehoe nee Burnell of Oldhall, Bridgetown, Wexford. 

Sunderland, John

Date of Birth
Address
Ballywoodrane, Blackwater
Service No.
2793T
Rank
Date of Death
Circumstances of Death
Direct result of enemy action
Other Biographical Details
Son of Michael and Anne Sunderland nee Bowe of Ballyvoodrane, Blackwater, Enniscorthy. Husband of Elizabeth Mary Roche of Ballywoodrane, Blackwater.