2-720-474 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'Loss of H.M.S. Gladiator', 1908, (1933). On 25 April 1908, during a late snowstorm off the Isle of Wight, the armoured cruiser HMS 'Gladiator' struck the outbound American steamer SS 'Saint Paul'. Visibility was down to 800 yards (730 metres), but strong tides and gale force winds required both ships to maintain high speeds. The sides of both ships were ripped open, and 27 sailors were lost in the disaster. From "The Pageant of the Century". [Odhams Press Ltd, 1933]