'HMS Bonaventure and submarines'

Inscribed, as title, and signed by the artist, lower right. The 'Bonaventure' (1892) was a second-class protected cruiser converted to a submarine depot ship in 1907. This finished watercolour shows the ship in her 1911-14 condition. Both the 'Bonaventure' and the trawler tender on the left are flying the large red flags, advising other vessels to keep clear of a submarine operating area. The submarine with the number '61', lying close to 'Bonaventure', is the 'C31', launched on 2 September 1909 and lost by unknown cause after leaving Harwich for the Belgian coast on 4 January 1915. What appears to be a practice torpedo is in the foreground and an unidentifiable submarine on the left. As the circumstances indicate, the drawing is of an exercise off the English coast, probably in the Channel from the relatively high ground behind.

Object Details

ID: PAF2083
Collection: Fine art
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Wyllie, William Lionel
Vessels: Bonaventure (1892)
Date made: 1911-14; 1911-1914
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: Overall: 255 x 360 mm; Mount: 406 mm x 557 mm