HMS Vanguard - Britain's Last Battleship

On 4 August 1960 HMS Vanguard was towed from Portsmouth Harbour to the Breakersyard at Faslane in the Gareloch,Scotland, just a few miles from where she first set sail in 1946. Under the command of Lt. Cdr. W.G. Frampton were two officers and sixty ratings.She had been sold to the British Iron and Steel Corporation for £560,000.

[@kyle857]

Such a shame that the UK could not preserve a single battleship. Warspite deserved better.

[@adayhr]

Or Duke of York

[@CrazyPalidin57]

The British incurred such a large debt to the US for the lend lease program of WW2 that it wasn't financially feasible to operate or maintain them. They did what was necessary, if they hadn't borrowed from the US in WW2 they wouldn't have survived the war. And if they didn't cut post war costs, they would have been bankrupt and possibly had civil uprisings.

[@marloogoy956]

Don't worry theres still a British built battleship still exist today but sadly not under the British flag but rather under the Japanese here in Asia still preserve the Battleship Mikasa sadly the Brits don't even tried to at least respect their past (the British were the pioneers of the battleship first by HMS Dreadnought) the Yanks beat the Brits by preserving numerous numbers of battleships examples are the Iowa class battleships,North Carolina class Battleship, South Dakota class battleship, even the 100 year old Battleship Texas still exist today and numerous other ship classes from destroyers cruisers and aircraft carriers and even submarines the British could've preserved this mighty ship but sadly no its so shameful and sad they weren't interested as as the yanks were

[@marloogoy956]

@TheBlueHavoc9 true but the British didn't preserved any battleships from its Grand fleet not even the King George or the Grand old lady or any of the large battleships that Britain used to have

[@hermannalios2740]

uk steel maniac now uk steel industry its dead hahahah

[@mayuri4184]

Girlfriend: I can't believe you didn't cry at Titanic! Have you ever felt sadness? Do you have any emotion at all? Me:

[@reecem9367]

HMS Belfast This comment doesn’t make any sense.!

[@Brick12343]

I’m not ever British and I’m right there with you.

[@deathdooddieimmortal.therian]

Seem Nederland understand

[@ryanc5195]

@@deathdooddieimmortal.therian Welp America kept the Iowa class battleships since they developed a 16 inch nuclear shell

[@doubledekercouch-gameswhat9677]

Reece M Normie

[@yak141freestyle2]

*_Why did i just get an emotional attachment to a ship ive never seen before until now?_*

[@darkwarrior5560]

Yak 141 Freestyle because they donut deserve and end like that

[@johnbockelie3899]

Hurrah!!!, our ship defeated the enemy!!!. Ok, let's cut her up!!!!.

[@robertewing3114]

You saw her in your dreams many times because she would star in a film called Coming Home, or already did.

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

Because machines and animals are more beautiful then humans

[@III_DarkAngel]

The pinnacle of British shipbuilding, Vanguard was a gorgeous looking battleship. Scrapping it really was quite a spit in the face to everyone that designed her, not to mention to the proud nation she represented.

[@pingu1986]

Sadly her guns were obsolete when she had launched there would have been better ships to save from scrapping such as warspite etc due to her achievements and due to finnancial issues she had to be scrapped

[@Jumpjet_Halliel]

Ikr!? But blast financial issues, we now don't get to see such beautiful and legendary ships, Vanguard and Warspite would've been nice, I'd like to also add Nelson or Rodney I like them personally, even if they are what they look like.

[@ZantiMisfit198]

I find it so hard to believe that Britain with her incredible naval history did not save any of her battleships for posterity. What a real shame!

[@mathiasbartl9393]

They did keep HMS Victory though.

[@samanli-tw3id]

Mathias Bartl don't forget HMS Belfast!

[@rayhan_2k841]

thats nothing compared to a ww2 era floating fortresses that are battleships

[@beaconrider]

At the end of WW II, the UK was flat broke. She didn't have the money to preserve them.

[@smithy222008]

Yes, would love to walk round a dreadnought.

[@ianc8999]

Absolutely criminal that the British Royal Navy has not one single remaining big-gun battleship preserved for the nation. Scrapping Vanguard, Warspite, King George V, Duke of York, even Dreadnought... Sure we have the Victory which is impressive, and the Belfast is at least WWII era, but nothing quite has the majesty of a battleship. Just such a shame. The US has kept the Texas and the Missouri and they are all the smarter for doing so.

[@TheVaughan5]

***** I think they still have the Iowa and the North Carolina as well. Typical of G.B. to discard it's maritime history just as it did with the RMS Queen Mary but also typical it was the Americans who saved her. I think there was another warship of Nelson's fleet that also survived into the 2oth c but that too was scrapped.

[@pabloholland]

cameronpaul We have the Massachusetts, North Carolina, Alabama, and all four Iowas, Utah and the Texas, which is an authentic Dreadnaught.... Technically the Arizona is listed as well.

[@TheVaughan5]

Paul Holland Great! I remember seeing the Iowa when she came to Portsmouth, England, I think it was around 1988/89. I was very keen to see over her as when I was a kid I built a model of this class. Marvelous ship and congratulations to the U.S. for preserving an important part of their naval history.

[@Tuning3434]

***** Anyways.... USS Enterprise was scrapped in 1957, after a long decade with plans to preserve her (starting from 1947). even after pleas of the Secretary of Naval Affairs and Admiral "Bull" Halsey. Scrapping that particular ship is probably the biggest sin against military history ever made.

[@ianc8999]

Paul Holland I hope to visit some of these fine ships when I get the chance. I'm spoilt for choice!

[@jenshornauer8234]

I´m a german. But i get teardrops seeing this. Why could such a proud ship not become a museum remembering the history for further generations ?! In Peace.

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

Had the US any brains left in their sockets KMS Prinz Eugen would fetched you a great nr of tourists,

[@VicariousReality7]

Ironically, your bismark and many other ships remain

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

@@VicariousReality7 In story and song sure, that is the only legacy the steel clad gun towing titans of the high seas left behind, Granted I KMS Tirpitz would have been captured,

[@jenshornauer8234]

@@VicariousReality7 the Bismark had a bad Commander. Not meaning the Captain.

[@jenshornauer8234]

@@VicariousReality7 The Bismark proudly died in fight against an overpowering Opponent.

[@hughrainbird43]

I recall Vanguard at Portsmouth when I was taken as a small boy to visit HMS Victory. On a later visit to Pompey, I remember being with my parents on the verandah of the "Still and West" pub at the mouth of the Harbour (near where Vanguard defiantly ran aground) and as dusk fell across the harbour, the "Last Post" being sounded from the Naval base, and echoing across the water. It sent a tingle up my spine and I've never forgotten it.

[@bustermk2]

The expression on the face of the crew when they started cutting away the guns says it all. 5:28

[@AWMJoeyjoejoe]

I had the exact same expression watching the video. Depressing footage to say the least.

[@Legitcar117]

Awm Joeyjoejoe yeah same, hard to watch

[@daveherman6624]

what is the logic of cutting up the last set of battleship guns...that would never be reproduced again...the aesthetic lost to the ages

[@dapperfield595]

It's Iike giving your toys away back when you were a kid, now you're nostaIgic for those memorabIe items

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@dapperfield595 I enjoyed the video of cutting up this useless obsolete ship which never saw battle anyway. Much useful scrap was produced in the recycling exercise.

[@twrecks4598]

As a former U.S. sailor, I gotta say that watching a ship get cut up is heartbreaking. So many memories and so much history there.... we lived a good part of our lives on those ships. They were our homes.

[@thalmoragent9344]

Yeah, I can only imagine all the time and memories there. Just joined the US Navy not too long ago myself, and our ship is on its way to Decommissioning in the next 2 years at most.

[@twrecks4598]

@@thalmoragent9344 congratulations on your enlistment! There will be challenging times, but you will forever be known as a Sailor. You will have seen and done things others can only imagine. It will be a source of pride for the rest of your life. Fair seas shipmate

[@thalmoragent9344]

@@twrecks4598 Thanks a lot, shipmate, hope your days have fair winds in your future as well 👍🏾

[@GraveKommander]

Not a sailor at all, i can feel the pain, too. It's heart breaking to see the guns cut, the mast falling and ship disappearing...

[@pmonkeygeezer6212]

@@twrecks4598 The number of people starting their posts with "I was a sailor in the US Navy".... what do you want, a chufty badge or something? Just get over it, it's nothing to shout about. If anything you should be ashamed you have taken part in the military which is not used for "defence". It is used to subjugate other countries on their own doorsteps.

[@TaterTot11]

"At last, the unwilling victim is dragged clear to the open sea"...... My heart breaks for this poor old girl. Betrayed by those who built her. Such a tragedy. I am tempted to weep for her, and I'm not even British!!! It is absolutely criminal, that such beautiful young vessel was condemned to death by the ship breaker's torch and hammer. Rest in peace milady. Rest, in peace. :'(

[@davidhardy4328]

Disgraceful, disgusting, outrageous that we scrapped this beautiful ship, heartbreaking.

[@KatyushaLauncher]

I really doubt you had the money to save her

[@ryanelcock948]

@@KatyushaLauncher enough money was raised but the Royal Navy only cares for boring old ships like Victory. 3 admirals put their life savings aside for her, and multiple public charities raised more than enough. However, they were simply overruled by the leading heads of the admiralty and so on. So, sadly, she was cut up.

[@amxelcbis4464]

honestly i agree, but when you're also recovering from a certain major global conflict, i'd think that you should focus on more pressing issues like rebuilding? also, britain was in debt to the us, so i doubt they'd help much. i think belfast alone is good enough, considering the circumstances

[@Anakin_Sandy_High_Ground]

@@ryanelcock948 I wouldnt call Victory "boring". It was the flagship of the most decisive battle in Royal Navy history.

[@kenstanding4039]

Britain should have kept at least on of the historic big dreadnoughts ..... Warspite was the obvious one.

[@Wombat1916]

+Ken Standing By 1945 HMS Warspite was worn out. She had been badly damaged off Crete in 1941 and then in 1944 almost sunk off Salerno by several Fritz X guided missiles. Badly damaged she was towed first to Malta then Gibraltar where she was dry docked and the enormous hole in her bottom filled in (with concrete?). She was repaired enough to be a shore bombardment vessel with 6 operational 15 inch guns and finally went aground near Land's End on the way to to be scrapped. She was scrapped in situ.

[@zachearwood7370]

+Terry Shulky well maybe if Britain STOPPED DRINKING TEA for once in their lives they might do it!

[@Wombat1916]

+zach earwood Might do what? Did the point that HMS Warspite was worn out pass you by? Having had to sell assets and borrow vast sums of money to fight the war before the Americans were forced in the UK was broke. The UK had been the richest country in the world in 1914 but two world wars had all but bankrupted her. The last repayment to the States was ten years ago, IIRC. WTF has drinking tea have to do with it? The Yanks drink gallons (US gallons) of coffee. So what!

[@samwardle12]

I wish she had been retired into a museum though, maybe put onto the Thames with Belfast.

[@tams805]

She was not fit for even being a museum ship any more and the UK at the time could just not justify it.

[@ArmidasTV]

They made less than 20% of the cost back when they scrapped her? Had they kept her (and other ships) as a museum ship, they would have made far more money back than the initial cost. Just look at HMS Belfast and Victory. True tourist magnets. The americans did it right with their ships.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

Armidas No they would not. It would cost far more to maintain the ship than you would ever get from museum revenue. Far better, more economical and more entertaining to chop this sucker with cutting torches. I enjoyed watching the scrapping.

[@LandersWorkshop]

That's debatable. The Americans manage it with not one but FOUR battleships!

[@lanceheaps581]

Watch Ryder is right people shell out big money to go see old ships.

[@DimitrisSfounis]

He said "One-twentieth of that", so they made 5% back.

[@joshebarry]

I agree it's a real shame to scrap such a beautiful ship, however the things people forget is that Britain was on the bones of her arse after WW2. In financial ruin, her cities flattened and huge debts to the USA. Furthermore Vanguard was scrapped at the height of the Cold War. The money was badly needed elsewhere. Sure it's a pity, but those times called for desperate measures.

[@ut000bs]

There are two fine warships that went to the scrap yard that I can shed a tear for even now. Those two ships are USS Enterprise (CV-6) and HMS Warspite. There were never two other ships more worthy of preservation as a museum.

[@gerdnaydock7790]

I park across the street from the USS New Jersey BB-62 everyday in Camden NJ. It's really great that these ships are preserved. Also, I did the tour of the USS North Carolina in Wilmington NC which was truly awesome. Very much worth the trip.

[@captaindreadnought212]

so both vanguard and warspite broke loose during their scrapping..... ships are living things

[@krashd]

Like taking a horse to the knackers yard, it knows where it is going and it will have some final fight in it :/

[@alistairdean4393]

Certainly feel the pain of Vanguard. I'm sure we could have done without the resources. It would have been better as a memorial

[@jackferris4584]

@@alistairdean4393 after WW2 no way which is a shame really but at least the US was able to preserve a fair few

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

you can add Dreadnought & Q.E. too

[@highfall60]

This is just too painful to watch.....

[@pagongtagi6124]

+Tom K it should be preserved as a museum ship.

[@stuffanthings]

+Tom K I feel ashamed as a Brit to know this happened, she should have taken her place next to Victory :'(

[@adrianlarkins7259]

+THESATURNSSC1 At least you still have your Iowa Class battleships for people to see. We scrapped the lot thanks to callous, left wing politicians. All we have left is a comparatively small cruiser, HMS Belfast.

[@adrianlarkins7259]

+stuffanthings I agree. Scrapping HMS Vanguard was a criminal act against the national pride of the British people.

[@jarmanjohn1]

+Adrian Larkins Sorry Adrian, but not only left wing politicians. Governments of all colours have been responsible. E.g. It was a Tory Government when Vanguard was scrapped. The sad thing is we will no longer have British steel to produce the materials for future ships. I guess HMS Queen Elizabeth (a Labour Government purchase) will be the last RN major vessel to made from British steel. Who scrapped our last carriers (and the Harriers) and left us with none for now ?

[@FrightfulAccountant]

I wonder how many horrible British Leyland cars where made of her steel...

[@barbarybar]

Probably the worse insult of all.

[@noelmajers6369]

This was 1960, therefore none. British Leyland didn't come into existence until 1968.

[@Hattonbank]

@@noelmajers6369 But the companies that became part of BL were in existence then.

[@hans2406]

@pencilpauli I always drove Leyland cars. Mini, Maxi, Princess, Rover, Allegro, and so on Never had any problems with any of these cars, just going on and on. The maxi I had for nearly ten years, 370,000 km, lost it in an accident.

[@v8pilot]

@@hans2406 I had three maxis.

[@rivco5008]

#1. This ship should've been preserved. #2. The quality of the color footage is great. #3. Now I know what inspired the dress uniform of the US Marine Corps.

[@JBGARINGAN]

Not just that, the whole of the 5th battle squadron. The mighty dreadnoughts deserved to become museums. I know it's an expensive thing, but they could've been great tourist attractions, now that could pay for itself. Look at the revenue of Hawaii or Florida.

[@JBGARINGAN]

And to hell with the Washington Naval Treaty !

[@tams805]

There isn't the demand to see old naval ships like there is in the US.

[@thejudge-kv2jk]

Don't agree.

[@joshebarry]

Joe Garingan But you have to consider after WW2 Britain was absolutely bankrupt. As for the Americans (not disrespectful to their dead) but the USA came out of WW2 smelling of roses. They were a world super power, huge military and a booming industry. During WW2 the US unemployment rate plummeted, household income soared and the standard of living after WW2 was hugely higher than before. They could afford to keep their ships around. Look at Britain at the same time and you'll see the difference. At the time Vanguard was scrapped it was the height of the cold war. The money was badly needed elsewhere. Britain simply could not afford to keep such a ship sitting around. Either they gave it to a charity (and lost that £560,000 at the time) or paid the upkeep herself. Either way the money was needed elsewhere...badly.

[@fredfarnackle5455]

Painful to watch. I was working in Portsmouth Royal Dockyard when she was decommissioned. I went aboard and wandered through the engineering spaces and engineers' workshop. I souvenir-ed some ¼" and ⅜" lathe HSS cobalt tool-bits, which I still have.

[@iantomlinson9651]

Obsolete, waste of money,in truth should never have been built

[@SuperWayneyb]

Should have been kept as a floating museum

[@thefisherj3392]

wayne burgess I think hms warsphite deserved it more. Plus it would mean she would be over 100 years old and it recipient the most medals of all royal navy ships in ww2

[@Mechanotron]

In usa there are several museum battleships, and in europe not even a single is preserved. What a pity!

[@Electricfox]

Completely, fully, utterly agree. She was in bad shape but nothing some restoration couldn't have hopefully fixed, the RN owed her that much at least.

[@richardsharpe9947]

+Mechanotron hms victory is down in Portsmouth

[@Channel-os4uk]

Razor blades; best thing for the old tub...

[@coskuntoktamis]

SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN PRESERVED!!!

[@jimmyjackson7157]

*To the British Government* YOUUUU FOOOOOLLLLSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@einarholtet2104]

Fully agree!

[@haydenrogers3486]

I think you are forgetting this is the British government were talking about. christ they thought to vote on the leaving the EU and look where that got em.

[@Robert-ry6xe]

Preserving it would be a waste of recourses. And we can't preserve every ship.

[@dominicomucci3014]

hayden rogers yeah what a stupid democracy. letting the people decide who rules them! 😂

[@JohnTurner-zi7in]

We were discharging oil at Finart on Loch Long. I caught a bus in to Helensborough and remember seeing the Vanguard from the top deck of the bus at the breakers at Faslane c November/December 1960. A sad end to a beautiful ship.

[@saptono]

I emotionally have nothing to do with her, but still I'm feeling sad to see this.

[@Bruce-1956]

It's always sad to see a ship dismanteled.

[@gailkerr7299]

Saptono Istiawan was on hms caroline last week well worth a visit

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

I love seeing a ship smashed up!

[@eatmyskids]

Yes heelfan1234 especially a piece of crap ship like this sandpan

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

+Woody German This ship was outdated. It deserved to be *torched to scrap and melted down* I hope you are not one of these shirtlifter teenage fanboys who thinks every rusty old bucket should be "made into a museum/hotel"

[@kingcurry6594]

Pity we didn't keep one battleship as a museum. My choice would have been Warspite. But one error - "the guns never fired a shot in anger". Not on Vanguard, they didn't, but those guns had previously been on other ships - which did see action. Two turrets had been on HMS Courageous which fought at the 2nd Battle of Heligoland Bight.

[@chadmock5883]

yes, this ship would have made an excellent museum piece as she looked in excellent condition, and would have taught future generations what naval ships were about, and where the designs were came from.

[@1138thz]

Yes its a shame you didn't keep a few battleships for people to tour. I'm glad we kept a lot of them. My favorites are the USS Alabama and of course the USS Iowa and her sisters.

[@Akm72]

I'd prefer Dreadnought, but Warspite would have been a good choice as well.

[@Kwinquark1]

Both would have been better still

[@Elthenar]

Agreed. Vanguard was not an amazing ship and did nothing of note, although I've read that she was incredible seaworthy and rough seas were nothing to her. Warspite or Dreadnought were too much more influential ships and Warspite laid a lot of beatings. If I am not mistaken, aren't the US battleships the only ones left in the world?

[@030319471]

Was lucky enough,to see this great ship at Faslane before she was broken up,but was even luckier to see the Gareloch Mothball Fleet from land and sea round about 54-55 i think.I was only 7-8 years old at the time,but it left an impression that i have never forgotten.

[@Enginator8]

I would've made a kill to see that. Lucky you!

[@benadam7753]

Such a shame, Germany also refused to buy back the German dreadnaught era battleship SMS Goeben in 1963 as a museum ship, she was scrapped a decade later

[@arnddegenhard2278]

Bin ganz deiner Meinung! Nur war das öffentliche Interesse an der Erhaltung solcher Schiffe in den 60ern längst nicht so groß wie heute. Zumindest die HMS Warspite hätte erhalten werden sollen - immerhin kämpfte dieses Schiff in beiden Weltkriegen und hätte es verdient gehabt, als Museum erhalten zu bleiben.

[@davidfair1479]

Ben Adam775 ze

[@herbertblum7704]

@@arnddegenhard2278 Stimme dir zu.

[@markusz4447]

I think Goeben was a Battlecruiser not a Battleship. But you are right with the rest =)

[@WozzasWatches]

this is typical Britain....vanguard was nothing short of awesome and a devastating battleship.....she could have served better as a museum and would still be making money today......would give anything to go on a battleship like this...utterly criminal in my eyes

[@hardalarboard8876]

It isn’t us, its the government

[@easyfiveOsink]

Yes we still have the Texas, the Iowa, the Missouri, the Wisconsin, the New Jersey, the Massachusetts, the Alabama and the North Carolina. I agree it is tragic that there are no preserved Royal Navy battleships. The Vanguard as the last and the Warspite as the one with the longest battle honors should have been saved! Hell, they all should have been!

[@markusz4447]

I have visited the Missouri. Is there a Iowa Class preserved in its WW2 Armament/ Layout? I enjoyed the Missouri very much but those tommahawk and phalanx systems don't fit in too well

[@mikefischer8576]

@@markusz4447 no. All were updated over the years. They were left as they were when decommissioned

[@Hagmire]

@@markusz4447 The Massachusettes is still in it's WW2 set up it fired the first and last 16 inch salvos of the war, and our state bought her from the navy for $50,000 and now she's a museum ship in Fall River just a short distance from where she was built. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXW3pKmJja9kjbc

[@uralbob1]

So sad for me to see these old, majestic dinosaurs die. I wish the Brits had saved her as we have saved a few of our old battlewagons here in the States :-(

[@mombaassa]

In the past, Britain’s merchant and naval fleet, is what allowed her to have a vast empire. For better or for worse, British culture (law, language, railways... etc.) was thus spread, all over the globe. This has had an indelible, and indeed, an ongoing, impact on humanity. I am not British, yet here I am, typing in the language of the internet - English. As a lover of history, I feel it is tragic that not a single British battles ship has been preserved. These battleships were a part that which made us, what we are today. At least one, should have been preserved.

[@caroledonald1960]

My dad worked on this ship at John browns at Clydebank. Beautiful ship gone as well as the shipyards and mydad! We still have our memories and old films like this! 🚢🚢

[@rocketman5000]

I enjoyed the first few minutes. Then was horrified by the rest. The fella cheerfully telling me it was being turned into bath mats, and a block of flats did nothing to set me at ease. How did Britain fail to preserve even one battleship? It breaks my heart.

[@BLADE_KING47]

I might be American but this ending breaks my heart worst than any of my exes ever did

[@pwilki8631]

Well are you?

[@BLADE_KING47]

@@pwilki8631 am I what ?

[@donaldparlettjr3295]

Man that was a painful video. The scrap value 1/20th the value of the ship. She would have been a great memorial to the Royal Navy. Sounds like when America scrapped the WWII carrier the Enterprise, the most decorated ship in WWII. The lost history that today's children aren't taught.

[@darth_raven_sith3rd391]

Donald Parlett jr the most decorated ship was the warspite

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

I really enjoyed watching breaking up this hulk with heavy cutting torches. Great scrapping action!

[@toasterbathboi6298]

Darth_Raven_Sith 3rd I think he meant most decorated of the United States Navy

[@phoenixlamp2]

I thought they tried multiple times to save the ship and it just couldn’t be done

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@phoenixlamp2 Not that I know of. There are usually a few fanboys who want to save old junk but who are unable or unwilling to pay the scrap price. And they are clueless about ongoing maintenance costs. Their usual line is that "they should put her in a museum" with no idea of the practicality.

[@KeyToTime]

I find it absolutely disgraceful that the biggest ship of that era preserved today is the poxy little light cruiser HMS Belfast. For a country with massive conservation organisations like the National Trust and English heritage alongside one of the most rich a vibrant archaeological communities in the world, the most preserved historic railways in the world and a naval history as colourful as it is, it's ridiculous that so little attention was paid to preserving any of our historic ships. Ok we have the HMS Victory and HMS Warrior but that's about it really. Such a shame, as the video sais, there never will be another British battleship.

[@preytor5889]

It really is :(

[@sharkbot25]

i bet all the stuff she was turned into is lying in the ground now

[@ShawFujikawa]

Calling it 'disgraceful' is more a little hyperbolic. You have to understand that right after WWII Britain was essentially broke and preserving 10,000+ ton warships for donation costs a lot of money that nobody could spare at the time. There _was_ some lobbying for preservation that I know of in passing, but rebuilding a shattered economy took priority, it's as simple as that. I too am sad that I cannot tour any of the battleships of the era like HMS Warspite or (especially) any of the King George Vs and there's nothing that I can do about that, but getting angry over it is silly.

[@sharkbot25]

Shaw Fujikawa why?if people got more angry about it at the time then it wouldn't of happened.are you telling me that me that a few tons of scrap made any difference to the uk economy?

[@ShawFujikawa]

sharkbot25 You really think Vanguard's costs were negligible? She sold for £560,000 at the time, or £11.7 million today, and that doesn't include the costs not incurred from having to maintain her all the time, whether she was in service or as a theoretical museum ship.

[@ThePitfall317]

I don't think I could be a breaker. I couldn't cut up such a beautiful and mighty ship.

[@stuartjones6339]

As the proud son of a WWII British Soldier, and, a retired US Soldier with 33 years of service myself; I find myself in tears that this ship was scrapped. What a bloody shame.

[@pillockbrain]

Sad Times! Once Britain "Ruled the waves"~ now the Govt: "waives the rules"..

[@ToonandBBfan]

5:26 If my companies Health and Safety Manager sees that, he'll faint!!!

[@UnknownPersononGoogle]

+ToonandBBfan Hahahaha mine too, I'd get the sack.

[@Firespectrum122]

Reduced to scrap and forgotten, like all of our military pride and achievements. Disgraceful.

[@Insert-Retarded-Reply-Here]

E. M. Cioran Britain was broke asf. They needed something called money and resources. It’s not like this is a fantasy world where every ship can be preserved and turned into museums you dumbass

[@DrSleazoid]

@@Insert-Retarded-Reply-Here Yeah pretty much. After getting their nuts cut off during WW2 Britains economy was completely in the toilet, they probably needed every penny.

[@johnslater1863]

i agree,it's disgraceful that i can't take my grandson to see a british battleship.at least one of them deserved better.

[@scootergrant8683]

@@Insert-Retarded-Reply-Here Please calm yourself. Just because of one person's statement about a topic may not have considered other factors doesn't call on the need for them to be called dumb. Regardless of the situation of Britain at the time it is still a sad occurrence.

[@michellepeoplelikeyoumurde8373]

@@DrSleazoid what age are you ?10 judging by your views

[@fredricc5771]

Not even 19 years old. She could see service in the Falklands and today be a museum. Such a shame she was scrapped.

[@pauldg837]

As a youngster I remember this ship sailing up the Firth of Clyde to her last destination. My father took many photographs of her as she sailed past the Isle of Arran.

[@g2macs]

Thanks for uploading, my dad took my brother along to see her come in, 20 years later we moved into a cottage directly opposite where she was berthed and for a few years I watched from my window the exact same process of demolition on other ships.

[@melvinleppla6782]

Such a beautiful Naval Vessel. In this age of missiles and rockets, there still no better way to deliver tons of British steel all at once onto a target. When these old girls fired the air reverberated with a thunderous roar, and when the ordnance struck their target the earth trembled with a raw primal power. I have had the privilege of walking on these behemoths of war, truly awe inspiring. I walked upon the USS New Jersey, and the USS North Carolina that is berthed as a museum just an hour away from my home. Goodbye HMS Vanguard you were a credit to your country and to your service.

[@chriswelby4832]

So sad. We were brought up in Alverstoke, as Dad was Navy, and had fought in the War. As a 13 year old, I suppose, I went to the Navy days and went aboard the Vanguard and into one of her turrets. The sheer size of the turret, and the breech, remains with me as a memory today. Totally awesome in size.. I knew it was wrong to scrap her, but what could a 13 year old do ?

[@DasJager13]

Watching this broke my heart. I'm thankful to have been able to walk the decks of Texas, Lexington, Stewart and Cavalla.

[@smokinvalves]

Ian C is right. The newsreel states that the scrap value is "less than 1:20" of her construction cost. The recent launch of HMS Queen Elizabeth from Rosyth paralysed traffic on the south side of the Forth. People want and psychologically engage with capital ships, even if you don't fully appreciate why. That is all.

[@pjjclarke]

I was there when she was towed out of Portsmouth Harbour and ran aground. My father had taken me down to see it leaving for the last time.

[@Strelnikov403]

Can you imagine the sense of forlorn and melancholy on that final 5-day voyage to the breakers? Her engines dark, her cabins bared, her decks an empty, creaking hulk where once there was so much energy and life. Can you imagine how it must've felt to be one of only 60 out of 1,600 chosen to sunset her? How it must've felt to look out over the open sea and watch the going down of the sun from the wooden decks of a line-of-battle ship, a tradition that predates recorded history, for the final time ever? Heartbreaking.

[@wightman1525]

As a boy I toured this ship when it was in Portsmouth harbor. Some time around 1952/3 I think. A massive ship to a young boy.

[@chitlika]

I feel as if I just witnessed a murder. At least one ww2 battleship should have been saved probably Warspite

[@shawngilliland243]

Murder by slow dismemberment at that! Very sad to see, Chitlika, I agree.

[@trumpetguy8371]

Warspite was too damaged. One of the Nelsons or KGV's would have been good as well.

[@harry4046]

She was still sea worthy, any battle damage just adds to the history

[@thomashambly3718]

I think king George v should have be kept

[@davidknight2104]

100% its shameful tbh

[@ragnarbloodeagle7686]

I feel sick to my stomach to see this, what a great looking ship, last of the greats!!!!

[@xxxxxxxxxxhardy]

I saw Vanguard three weeks before she was towed away for scrap.I was on holiday,8 years old and I have never forgotten her

[@jasonkaczynski8218]

The age of battleships may be over but it will never be forgotten

[@alexandarvoncarsteinzarovi3723]

Better to die in battle, to live on in song and tale the scrapped,

[@Sol_Invictus_]

Are we just going to ignore the fact that some guy lobbed a ball so hard it broke a cricket bat?

[@RadioJonophone]

It wasn't the ball, but the rotten bat, past its useful life. I think the film-makers at Rank set that up as an allegory for the ship coming to the end of its life.

[@FinlayDaG33k]

This was so painful to watch... I can only imagine how it would be for her sailors, especially the one that sailed her towards her final destination how it would be to see them cutting off the first gun barrel. Such a shame the US couldn't say: "You know what... keep this one preserved" while they themselves preserved a few dozen ships...

[@anchorg1]

What A Beautiful Ship she was . We will never see that kind of Streamline .

[@yaboyed5779]

Yoooooo, I legit felt something for a ship I’ve never heard of till now. What a great and painful thing

[@Darthbelal]

Okay, I stopped watching at 5:25. I just can't watch such a beautiful and historic ship being broken up.

[@Odin029]

+Darth Belal Yeah. It's like a death in slow motion. I watched this video thinking about how this same thing is happening to the Enterprise right now.

[@kenstanding4039]

The Royal navy has always been unsentimental about its great ships, very sadly.

[@TheAmazingchickens]

this ship never did anything of merit, it was literally just a waste of money.

[@hagenvantronje8822]

+Ken Standing Also totally unsentimental about the Crews as well.

[@kenstanding4039]

Yes .... good point. It's always been the same .... back to Elizabeth times.

[@sambeech6771]

A sad end to a massive part of British history. Warspite, Rodney and dreadnought should have been preserved as museum ships.

[@Ourdavey64]

It's hard to watch any ship being scrapped for parts, but this one really stings. My uncle served on Vanguard, including the 1947 royal tour. It would of been great to board her as a memorial to him, his shipmates, the royal family and indeed that glorious bygone era.

[@andydinwoodie1497]

Great wee film. My dad was brought up in the village of Rosneath - which is opposite Faslane - the 1950s early 60s. He rememberds the Vanguard and numerous other ships coming to the breaker's yard

[@burtlangoustine1]

£560,000. As a tourist attraction, this vessel would've made £1billion by now.

[@krashd]

No, it wouldn't, that's the point. Maintenance of the ship would far exceed income. Also we Brits generally see military exhibits as a niche for military historians whereas in the US they are family days out. If you visit a preserved ship in the US it is covered in families, they are (I'll get flamed for this) a military culture, everyone is born to serve - even if you aren't in the military you are a 100% semper-fi patriot born to defend the capitol building and guns and hardware should excite you or there is something wrong with you. We Brits on the other hand are conservative, if you say "Honey, let's forget about taking the kids to Storybook Glen and instead walk around an aircraft carrier" you would get a funny look. Obviously I'm going to be told this is completely untrue but anyone that can think for a few seconds instead of slapping away blindly and compulsively at a keyboard will agree. We have war exhibits, we are immensely proud of them, but we're not a pay-to-walk-around-them species. The folks who fund the preservation of historical items know this! We have the largest tank museum on Earth with everything from the very first tanks of 1915, it is run by volunteers on a shoestring and barely makes a profit - if it was in America, even in the arse-end of nowhere like North Dakota (sorry ND peeps) it would likely be booked up all year round and have a hotel built near it for vacationers. We are Brits.

[@JBGARINGAN]

I'm an American and that is very true. Well for the less educated patriotic Americans. I myself am pro-Britain, and also unlike the uneducated Americans I know the difference between England, Great Britain, and the U.K. The only American citizen I know that can tell the difference lives maybe 500 miles away at least.

[@ObamaTookMyCat]

this is the truest statement i have ever read in my entire life.

[@jermainelaxuma2621]

We only have to look at the four Iowa Class Battle Ships that have seen so many changes. Now all of them are preserved. What would be nice to see is for Great Britain to reclaim the RMS Queen Mary from The City of Long Beach. By the way, Rob. Have you had the opportunity to visit the SS Rotterdam in Holland?

[@tams805]

The UK isn't very militaristic. Sure people turn out for airshows and the military museums do alright, but land and air based museums and assets don't cost that much preserve. Naval assets require lots of maintenance. Therefore there are only a few preserved warships. Take Duxford and Bovington. They don't have the issue of the sea ramping up maintenance, but they still need volunteers to keep them going.

[@ollo1982]

The people that decided this should have been put behind bars for life! Its horrible to watch such a beauty of a ship getting scrapped :'( :'( :'(

[@Eltae42]

That was very sad to see . Vanguard was the post war pride of the Royal Navy. She represented all those great ships that were sunk in WW2 .My father was a Royal Navy officer during the war and I remember him giving me a model of Vanguard made from the scrapped steel.There are maybe others out there . Okay, the days of the battleship were gone but there is national pride and the men who lost their lives aboard those great ships like the Hood, Prince of Wales and so many more. She should have been preserved.

[@Ah01]

The faces of the crewmen tell it all when one of the main gun barrels is cut… grim faces.

[@mikono8280]

seeing these ship torn apart is really heartbreaking for me

[@ronniefarnsworth8224]

We should have preserved HMS King George V, Victorious in 69' and R05 Invincible for all her modern conflicts !!! All three ships played important parts in many ways > WWll, Early Jet carrier to the Cold War and Modern War. This is what happens when we are ruled for so many years but a few by PC Socialist !! Bloody shame ! RN 1978-1986

[@neurofiedyamato8763]

Britain don't have a strong enough economy to maintain so many capital ships. You are talking about a battleship and two carriers. Has nothing to do with PC socialist, don't drag politics in to this. WW2 cost Britain a lot of money. Got to focus on the big picture.

[@ceeview]

I went on HMS Vanguard in the early 1950's she anchored in the Thames about two miles off Southend on Sea. We went out from Southend Pier on a small boat and was welcomed aboard. I was only little but have never forgot that day out with my father.

[@stangace20]

Makes me glad that the US was able to save all 4 of it's completed Iowa class battleships...... and so far I've been lucky enough to visit 2 of them (Missouri and Iowa)

[@seand7402]

Say what you want. Ships like these had a soul.

[@still_guns]

They shouldn't have ever scrapped her

[@bergerk20]

+BMWM3GTRLOVER they needed the money is what im getting out of this, the guy says metal was not plentiful to brittain so they scrapped all of them

[@david-1775]

In addition to 9 battleship museums in the US we also have 5 carrier museums. They are the USS Yorktown (CV-10), USS Intrepid (CV-11), USS Hornet (CV-12), USS Lexington (CV-16) and USS Midway (CV-41). All but the Midway served in WWII. The Midway conducted operations in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm. We also have the oldest commissioned naval vessel in the world. The USS Constitution, a wooden frigate, that was launched in 1979. She is the only commissioned US ship that has sunk another warship. The Brits would tell you that the HMS Victory is the oldest but her hull hasn't touched the sea in almost 100 years. The Constitution actually sails, ON THE OCEAN, and fires her guns. A true pity about the Victory because she is truly a remarkable ship.

[@U2QuoZepplin]

I would’ve said to keep HMS Hood , the biggest and greatest of all battleships but we all know the tragedy that befell that great and glorious vessel. Hood really deserved better but then she had a glorious if short lived career on the oceans representing The Empire. RIP The Mighty Hood...

[@Mmoorishmoore]

This is when we had a NAVY!!!!!

[@ThePalaeontologist]

Really is painful to watch. I mean, I'm just a student born way after the time of this even happening, but I love history and many all kinds of things. For posterity alone, this HMS Vanguard should have been preserved. It is a crying shame how short-sighted people were to sell it off for scrap at 1/20th its own original cost. That jingoistic spiel about it effectively being recycled because of limited resources on Earth, very questionable indeed and little more than a poor excuse. Had it limped into 1970 onward I'm guessing that it could have somehow gained enough public support to be saved, well and truly. Then again, maybe not. The Empire was in free-fall fold after WWII and the economic problems of the 1960's-1980's in general, would not have helped the cause of saving old warships at cost. Damn shame.

[@kenstanding4039]

Yes but Vanguard didn't really have much history but some of the others really had been through tough action in WW2 ..... Duke of York for one. It would have been fantastic to see a ship like that or better, Warspite in dry dock at Portsmouth now ...... sad.

[@theinfiniteblackvoid234]

The 1970's were very anti-war after the American Vietnam fiasco, so I doubt that would have happened, but one never knows.

[@donmorrison3443]

I was towing crew on the Vanguard when she was scrapped in a breakers yard in Scotland. The first items scrapped were the huge guns on the focsle which were burnt off with acerylen torches. I also transferred the spotlights from the mast to the main deck level to illuminate the ship. I have enjoyed the film tremendously.

[@JimKing315]

Progress is exciting and at the same time a bit of sadness to see greatness diminished. Fare-thee-well...

[@boboala1]

Should have made a monument/museum with her or perhaps another battleship. By now she would have recouped more than they got breaking her up.

[@tedthesailor172]

The idea suggested in this newsreel that it was scrapped because the metal was needed for other uses is absolute tosh. Like all aspects of authorised vandalism, there was no valid explanation. Now we have no capital ship from the great age of leviathans.

[@afenijmeijer9027]

Makes you cry when you see these great ships cut up.

[@loyalrammy]

Once they started cutting through the big guns with cutting torches, I couldn’t’t watch anymore. Hearing the cheerful narration of a mechanical autopsy was too much for this sailor to bear.

[@bigships]

Don’t be sad about vanguards fate. There is some alternate universe where she stuck fast in Portsmouth and the work needed to repair her to send her to the breakers was so expensive it was decided to retain her in reserve. After coming out of reserve during the Malay crisis she was recommissioned. However by 1982 she had only a farewell voyage left along with Eagle. In April she would sail with eagle to join up with the task force heading to the falklands. During that war she became famous for kerbstomping the Belgrano and taking all of Argentinas Exocets without suffering damage. After the war she became so famous that Thatcher was forced to preserve her. And now she sits alongside HMS warrior in Portsmouth. A poetic sight the first armoured ship and the last side by side. Both veterans at rest. Edit: this is just my Asperger’s fuelled ramblings Vanguard has been my favourite Battleship ever since I came across her. She was such a beautiful battleship that sadly I am way too young to ever have seen. Explaining the ending involving the HMS Warrior it is highly unlikely that she would be at Portsmouth with vanguard as the cost would just have been too high for them to have been side by side as they are in my timeline much sad yes

[@bigships]

Also if you are interested by top 10 battleship’s are: 1: HMS Vanguard 2: HMS Anson 3: HMS Barham 4: USS New Jersey 5: HMS Agincourt (aka turret farm) 6: USS Washington 7: Richelieu 8: HMS Hood (I don’t care that she’s a battlecruiser she is on this list) 9: HMS Ramillies 10: USS Colorado

[@gesitwicaksono1284]

​@@bigships I'm surprised Warspite isn't in your list

[@bigships]

@@gesitwicaksono1284 Ngl I like her it’s just she doesn’t reach the top 10

[@markroberts5665]

Never doubt what the political class thinks of the native people they rule over. All you need do is watch this or many other examples in history

[@jimpaul5925]

As a Royal Marine recruit (668 squad ,1957) I we completed our sea service,and then Kings squad..Good days.......

[@ichabodon]

As others have said this should have been preserved. A beautiful ship.

[@annewolfe1427]

This is kind of heart breaking...

[@milwaukeegregg]

Heartbreaking................

[@marcushollis7772]

milwaukeegregg brings a tear to your eyes

[@petesmuk]

My first ship in 1957 and when she was towed to the Gareloch for scrap, I was on HMS Adamant and watched her arrive. A sad day for me.

[@timsimms65707]

A sad end to a fine ship. This is hard to watch. Not one British Battleship remains and that's a damned shame.

[@conorspencer5411]

They really did try to sugarcoat her scrapping as an opportunity to construct new useful items, but in truth nothing would ever match what that ship had been

[@SmokeyBCN]

I think peacetime Britain needed the extra tin cans, rebar, and low background steel plating, rather than an obsolete Battleship.

[@krashd]

Sad, but true, we were desperate for scraps right up until the mid 90's when we finally paid off our war debts

[@robertmarsh3588]

Utterly shocking that HMS Vanguard wasn't preserved. We're very lucky to have Belfast but a capital ship, especially the last Battleship should have been saved. And what of Ark Royal? (post ww2 ship) Sadly all we can do is watch a 1970s BBC series...

[@dalane5196]

She should have been kept as the last Battle Ship of the Royal Navy, she would be such a great asset for tourism.

[@BeginnerCyclistNetwork]

Only matelot's will understand how painful it was for her ships company to watch that.

[@StaK_1980]

Saaaad sight, sad, sad, sad sight! :-( If I had the money (and was living back then) I'd have bought that beautiful ship!

[@SamuelHarrison]

The current Vanguard is the most powerful weapon in the Royal Navy

[@ScrotusXL]

Samuel Harrison yes and what a fitting legacy to that historic name. It has the power of the entire Royal Navy of the time and then some in one 'boat'. How times have changed.

[@krashd]

Vanguard is arguably the deadliest weapon on Earth, the American Trident system is thought to be the most reliable and accurate SLBM in use while our nuclear subs are regarded as superior to the US in regard to stealth characteristics like noise dampening and propulsion - the perfect platform to carry them on.

[@LandersWorkshop]

IF you have permission to fire via the US guidance system that is. ;)

[@robertewing3114]

The current preservation ship of the era is the most powerful political statement preservation could make, and inevitably made after 1960, the country could not afford the luxury politically to preserve otherwise.

[@lewisbons2503]

I have this ship on world of warships and I love her, I had never imagined she ended scrapped this way, It makes me wanna cry. From now on I rather fight back more often and get sunk with honor in battle

[@adadov012162]

I believe one of the last big gun British battleship you can visit is the Japanese battleship Mikasa, which was a Formidable-class battleship sold to the Japanese in 1900 and is now a museum.