An elevated view looking from the cliffs to the starboard bow of the battleship HMS Montagu (1901) aground off Shutter Point, Lundy

An elevated view looking from the cliffs to the starboard bow of the battleship HMS Montagu (1901) aground off Shutter Point, Lundy. The photographer was standing at the top of the suspended walkway looking down its length towards its termination at the foremast in the centre. The secondary 6-inch guns and the four 12-inch guns have been removed from their barbettes and taken ashore, a task completed by 1 October 1906. Part of the port bow has been removed during the salvage operations. The tug Etna is moored along the starboard broadside. This is very similar to G14399, except the tide is higher.

On 30 May 1906, the battleship was on its way back to an anchorage off Lundy having conducted wireless telegraphy experiments when it struck Shutter Point in increasingly dense fog. The ship was stuck fast and a salvage operation was conducted over two months to remove the guns and other equipment. The 12-inch guns were removed from the battleship between 8 September, with the forward guns, and the last of the after guns removed on 30 September and towed to Pembroke dockyard on 1 October 1906 [Whispers from the Fleet by C. Craddock, 1908].

Object Details

ID: G14400
Collection: Historic Photographs
Type: Glass plate negative
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Gibson & Sons of Scilly
Date made: After September 1906
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Gibson's of Scilly Shipwreck Collection
Measurements: Overall: 6 1/2 in x 8 1/2 in