16. The flagship of Henry VIII’s naval forces at the Battle of the Solent, the Mary Rose inadvertently flooded itself and caused the deaths of ninety percent of its crew.
A product of the dramatic expansions of the English Tudor Navy under King Henry VIII, the Mary Rose was a carrack-type warship that underwent major reconstruction and modifications in 1536. The alleged favorite of Henry, the Mary Rose was the among the earliest ships capable of firing a broadside and consequently was selected to serve as the English flagship during the Battle of the Solent on July 19, 1545. Sailing into the Solent – a stretch of water separating the Isle of Wight from the English mainland – to combat a French invasion fleet, carrying a crew of approximately 400 the Mary Rose suddenly encountered disaster.
Turning to engage the French galleys, the Mary Rose leaned heavily onto her starboard side, permitting water to rush into the ship’s bowels via the open gunports. Unable to correct the snowballing imbalance as the ship rapidly flooded, the crew of the flagship were helpless to prevent her sinking. Attempting to abandon ship, anti-boarding netting covering the upper decks to obstruct a French attack imprisoned the below-deck crew as they frantically sought to escape their watery tomb. In total, of the estimated four hundred men on board, just thirty-five, mostly those stationed on the masts and rigging, survived the sinking.