HMS Vixen

History

HMS Vixen was an experimental armoured gunboat, built at Deptford and launched in 1865 - the first Royal Navy ship with twin screws. Her hull was composite: iron frames clad in thick teak, with an iron armour belt, and she carried two 7-inch muzzle-loading rifles. Like her near-sisters she proved slow at sea, managing under 9 knots on trials.

In 1868 Vixen and her sister Viper were towed across the Atlantic to Bermuda to act as floating batteries inside the reef line guarding the naval base. Her masts and rigging came off in 1873 and by the 1890s she was an accommodation hulk for dockyard workers.

Listed for sale by 1895, she was sold to a local scrap merchant, her engines were removed, and in about 1896 she was placed across the Chubb Cut off Daniel's Head and blown open with scuttling charges, breaking her keel. The aim was to block the channel so that any enemy torpedo boats would have to pass close under the shore guns. Archaeologist Richard Gould studied the wreck from 1986.

Diving the wreck today

One of Bermuda's most recognisable wrecks: the bow still pokes out of the water in a narrow gap in the reef about 0.2 nautical miles off Daniel's Head, and the hull lies in about 33 ft. It is a classic snorkel and glass-bottom-boat stop - the clear water lets you see much of the ship from the surface - and an easy shallow dive. Boat traffic uses the area, so stay with your guide.