The University of Wolverhampton (UoW) is leading an international, multi-institutional effort to find the wreck of HMS Captain—the most powerful seagoing battleship in the world—which sank off Cape Finisterre, Spain in 1870
What was the Captain?
HMS Captain was an experimental ‘sail-and-steam’ turret warship which capsized in a storm off Cape Finisterre, Spain just after midnight on 7 September 1870.
Why did the Captain sink?
Coles wanted a high-tech man-of-war which could go anywhere (including across the Atlantic) and sink anything. His ‘perfect’ iron vessel would boast the biggest guns, mounted in revolving turrets.
As with American monitor-ironclads, Coles believed a weapons platform low in the water added stealth and further maximized armour protection.
But to ensure great speed and geostrategic range in an age of empire, Coles insisted upon a large spread of sail to supplement her steam engines. With a lower freeboard than originally planned, the vessel’s high centre of gravity made her dangerously unstable.
On the night of 6 September 1870, HMS Captain was part of a combined fleet of the Channel and Mediterranean Squadrons of the Royal Navy, on manoeuvres in a diplomatic show of force, when a fierce gale of hurricane strength toppled her over before the crew could cut loose her remaining sails. Only 18 men of nearly 500 aboard survived.
Testimonies from the court-martial (27 September to 8 October 1870) conflicted on the nature of the freak 'gale' and 'heavy squall' which suddenly obscured and then sank the Captain, and no other vessels nearby. Was she struck by a random cyclonic downburst, like the one which capsized the superyacht Bayesian off Sicily in August 2024?
Fact: Since the 17th-century there had been several capital ships in the Royal Navy named 'Captain', including Horatio Nelson's career-making flagship at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (14 February 1797).
But the sheer scale and controversial nature of HMS Captain's loss in 1870 was so appalling that no other vessel has carried the name since...
She quickly became a black ship in British national memory - an Albatross tinged with political scandal and naval embarrassment.
Thus, 'HMS Captain' been largely forgotten (and buried over) to this day.
The Standard, 11 October 1870
Where is the Captain now?
University of Wolverhampton research has analysed surviving historical evidence such as the logs of every warship in the combined fleet —carefully cross-referenced against survivors’ accounts, court-martial testimonies, newspaper accounts and other sources.
Our working scatter plot suggests the time and place of the Captain’s foundering was further out to sea than some have speculated.
This means a possible depth of 1,300 to 1,700 metres — nearly a mile down — with the wreck possibly on sloping, uneven seabed.
This also means the wreck of HMS Captain would be out of reach of most fishing trawlers and relic hunters off Spain’s ‘Costa da Morte’. There are relatively few destructive marine organisms at these depths, with no sunlight and little oxygen, so the shipwreck might be remarkably intact.
The Project Team
The University of Wolverhampton is well placed to lead this effort:
Project leader Dr. Howard Fuller is an acclaimed naval historian, Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and Editor of the International Journal of Naval History. His research monograph, Turret versus Broadside: An Anatomy of British Naval Prestige, Revolution and Disaster 1860-1870 (Helion & Company, 2020), was the first comprehensive academic study of the Captain tragedy
The Department of History, Politics and War Studies has the longest running undergraduate War Studies programme in the world, and its online MA in Military History is the first of its kind in the UK
The University’s Centre for Historical Research (CHR) produces research that is rated 4-Star (‘Internationally Excellent) according to REF2021
One of the University of Wolverhampton’s own undergraduate students in War Studies is related to Isaac Glithero, a 27-year-old marine who also went down with the ship
For more information, see also the department’s ‘Pods of War’ video on the Find the Captain Project
The University of Wolverhampton is collaborating with a wide array of historians, archaeologists, museum authorities, MoD personnel, civil servants and international authorities. These include:
- Salvage and Marine Operations (SALMO) branch, Ministry of Defence
- Naval Historical Branch (MoD)
- Matthew Sheldon, Interim Director General, National Museum of the Royal Navy
- Royal Museums Greenwich
- Royal Geographical Society
- (US) National Maritime Historical Society
- Dr. James P. Delgado, (US) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Waves Group (UK marine survey consortium)
- Galicia-based maritime archeological authorities
- Vizuals Lab, producing a documentary for Spanish television
- Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles KCMG LVO, great grandson of Captain Coles
- TV Presenter, Historian Dan Snow (History Hit)
- William H.P., Subsea Ltd.
- Drachinifel (YouTube)
- Mike Brady, Oceanliner Designs (YouTube)
Progress so far
In 2022 Dr. Fuller worked closely with Vizuals Lab to secure co-sponsorship by the University’s Centre for Historical Research for an exploratory marine survey. This was conducted by ROVSEA and Hydromatech, using a multi-beam echosounder (MBES).
On 30 August, this joint expedition proceeded at dawn from Portonovo to the area where local Galician fishermen have long thought the ship went down. This resulted in the discovery of four unidentified shipwrecks, the last of which showed dimensions and a general configuration approximate to that of HMS Captain.
Thanks to the sponsorship of William H.P. of Subsea Ltd. (UK), a one-day expedition set out from Porto Novo on 19 September 2025. Operated by Omil Offshore, the Punta Herminio of Maritime Global Services successfully deployed a Deep Trekker-ROV down to the wrecksite.
Nevertheless, strong underwater currents (limiting visibility), partial sonar capabilities, and time/weather constraints prevented a thorough survey; see the ROV footage below.
The team of researchers is now looking for additional philanthropic support to conduct a further survey employing side-scan sonar and ROVs with cameras to make a positive identification of this tantalising ‘mystery wreck’. International protection of this iconic British man-of-war can then follow.
"A few days ago we heard of the dreadful loss of the splendid Iron Clad turret ship "Captain", with all on board, excepting 1 petty officer & 17 men! The poor Captain, Capt. Burgoyne was old Sir J. Burgoyne’s only son, & he is 88!"
- Queen Victoria's Journal, 14 September 1870
The Lost Flag
The morning after this experimental 'turret ship' foundered its torn Royal Navy ensign (sprung from its flag locker near the signal mast) was recovered from the sea by horrified sailors of the rest of Britain's ironclad squadron.
Indeed, when the Captain was first commissioned on 30 April 1870, this same flag was mistakenly hoisted Jack downwards, a signal of distress. As described by Seaman Frederick Robinson (later drowned on the Captain along with some 500 of his shipmates), this was traditionally considered "a very bad omen…and all hands don't half like the look of it."
Letter and CDV of Frederick Robinson (1851 - 1870) courtesy of Julia Robinson-White and the Robinson Family of Western Australia
The surviving remnants of the Captain's Jack flag represent only a fraction of the overall Royal Navy White Ensign (the dimensions generally suggesting a total length of some 10-metres/33-feet by 4.9-metres/16-feet)
The doomed flag’s remnants were sent to All Saints Church, Sutton, Bedfordshire, the seat of the Burgoyne Family (Captain Hugh Burgoyne of the Captain went down with his ship). Over the past 155 years, they had deteriorated to such a degree that urgent restoration and preservation was necessary.
With the formal consent of the Diocese, the University of Wolverhampton’s Find the Captain Trust took up the professional restoration of this fateful historical relic; a corner of the RN Jack-portion of Royal Navy ensign field is all that remains.
Historic Flag Undergoes Restoration
Thanks to generous support from the University of Wolverhampton, its Centre for Historical Research, and the public backed Find the Captain Project, the tattered flag remains have now been meticulously restored by Textile Conservation Limited (Bristol). These have now been carefully preserved in a museum-quality display case (UV and moisture-resistant) by Ironbridge Fine Arts.
For the first time, this restored flag of HMS Captain went on public display; at a special fundraising lecture at the Royal Geographical Society (23 September 2025), in the presence of a large audience with HRH Princess Anne and other distinguished VIPs—including many descendants of those lost and survived the Captain disaster; see the YouTube-based video lectures below.
The flag in its display-case was then returned to All Saints Church, Bedfordshire and may feature in additional national displays.
Sarah Morris GCF (APF) Adv, Creative Director of Ironbridge Fine Arts, and Dr. Howard Fuller FRHistS, Find the Captain Project Leader (University of Wolverhampton), with the newly restored flag remnants of the lost Victorian turret-ship HMS Captain
Geoff Hunt Painting
Geoff Hunt's Tribute to HMS Captain
We are excited to announce that master painter Geoff Hunt has undertaken a large oil-on-canvas depiction of the foundering of HMS Captain (7 September 1870).
A former President of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, Geoff Hunt made his international reputation with a series of cover paintings for Patrick O’Brian’s famous Nelson-era adventure novels (later combined in the 2003 Hollywood blockbuster Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World).
Exclusive Prints on high-quality acid-free giclée paper are available for purchase with proceeds going towards the Find the Captain Project and the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
Initial sketch work by Geoff Hunt.
Find the Captain Project-patron Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, KCMG LVO (right) consults with celebrated marine artist Geoff Hunt, MBE in his studio in Wimbledon, London. A 1:200-scale model of HMS Captain by Mariusz Kaminski is on the tabletop, along with copies of the ship’s plans. Geoff’s dramatic oil painting, paid for by the Cowper-Coles Family, is the first of its kind on this subject in over 150 years.
Exclusive Geoff Hunt HMS Captain Print
Dimensions with outer border (on high quality acid-free, fine art giclée paper: 845mm x 612mm, or 33¼” x 24”); dimensions of painting image 800mm x 500mm, or 31½” x 19¾” (the exact size of the original oil painting). Captions read:
“May England still retain her old supremacy upon the seas, despite the constant changes in Naval Architecture, but may God in his mercy grant that the pages of the nation’s history be never again darkened with so sad a tale as the loss of the ill-fated ‘Captain’.”
"From the narrative of Gunner James May, sole surviving officer of the experimental rigged turret ironclad HMS Captain, foundered off Cape Finisterre, 7th September 1870."
Cost is £150, including packaging and shipping to UK addresses; EU-based orders add an additional £50 (£200 total); US and other orders $200 + $75 shipping (£216.94 total, converted into UK pounds-sterling at sale)
Additional—Exclusive—Victorian Navy Art Prints
We are also offering project supporters a unique chance to order exciting high-res scans of original woodcut illustration-supplements from The Illustrated London News. These are very rare, very spectacular pieces of Naval Victoriana. Each is printed full-scale on high quality acid-free fine art giclée paper.
‘Types of the Royal Navy of Great Britain’, by J. R. Wells (July 24 and August 7, 1886, The Illustrated London News)—sold as a matching set as shown
1041mm x 394mm, or 41” x 15½” (each)
Note: HMS Hotspur as shown was launched six months before the loss of HMS Captain; HMS Glatton, Gorgon and Rupert were laid down before the Captain disaster; and HMS Hercules, Minotaur and Monarch were in the combined squadron with Captain the night she was lost.
Cost is £250, including packaging and shipping to UK addresses; EU-based orders add an additional £50 (£300 total); US and other orders $388 including packaging and shipping (£315 total, converted into UK pounds-sterling at sale)
‘Plymouth.’
(Supplement to The Illustrated London News, September 14, 1872)
1257mm x 508mm, or 49½” x 20”
Note: The early Coles experimental turret-ship or ‘cupola vessel’ HMS Royal Sovereign—converted from a 121-gun first-rate ship of the line—is depicted in the middle of the harbour, right.
Cost is £150, including packaging and shipping to UK addresses; EU-based orders add an additional £53 (£203 total); US and other orders $271 including packaging and shipping (£220 total, converted into UK pounds-sterling at sale)
‘The Bombardment of Alexandria.’
(11-13 July 1882)
714mm x 500mm, or 28” x 19¾”
Cost is £125, including packaging and shipping to UK addresses; EU-based orders add £40 (£165 total); US and other orders $221, including packaging and shipping (£180 total, converted into UK pounds-sterling at the sale)
Proceeds from all print sales help support the Find the Captain’s mission, with 50% of all proceeds annually donated to the National Museum of the Royal Navy. All sales are final.
Descendants
Find the Captain Project Unites Descendants of Lost Crew
One major contributor to the Project has been Queensland resident Hugh Childers—the great-grandson of Liberal Cabinet Minister Hugh Childers, the First Lord of the Admiralty when the Captain sank in September 1870. Tragedy struck the family hard as youngest son Leonard (a midshipman) was posted to the fated ironclad shortly before her final cruise and perished along with nearly 500 officers and men.
List of descendants who have contacted the Find the Captain Project about those who perished or survived the Captain disaster:
Perished (472):
- Jonathan Ireland (University of Wolverhampton student) – Isaac Glithero (Royal Marine)
- Julia Robinson-White (Australia) – Frederick Robinson
- Clive Bremner (UK) – John James Manly Bremner (Quartermaster)
- Richard Wake-Walker (UK) – Captain John Burgoyne
- Carolyn Gander (UK) – W J Shepherd
- Edward C. Chapman III (USA) – Ruben Chapman
- Evelyn Wilcock (UK) — Charles William Dyer (Carpenter), unconfirmed on St. Paul’s plaque
- Carolyn Gander (UK) – W J Shepherd
- Sarah Townsend (UK) – H Stembridge (Boy)
- Chris Bright (Jersey) – Thomas Butcher
- Jasper Fellows, Simon Fellows (UK) — George J Fellowes (Boy)
- Barry and Sandra Fisher (UK) — George Fisher (Stoker)
- Sherard Cowper-Coles (UK) — Cowper Phipps Coles (Captain designer)
- Hugh Childers (Australia) — Leonard Childers (youngest son of Hugh Childers, the First Lord of the Admiralty)
Survivors (18):
- Stephen Walker, Tony Walker (New Zealand) – John Walker
- Emma May – Gunner James May (sole surviving officer)
Survivors of HMS Captain
Join the Search!
Funding us will provide contract charters with the world’s best marine surveyors, using state-of-the-art exploration vessels:
The University and wider research team will document the impact of the discovery and how this evolves into renewed public interest in naval history and the politics and technology of the Royal Navy at its Victorian zenith.
Tragedies and disasters capture the public imagination; the history and mythology of RMS Titanic, for example, has become a microcosm of Edwardian life.
From History to Screenplay: The Captain’s Untold Story
To make a Donation, please fill out the Get in Touch form at the bottom of this page.
As the University of Wolverhampton is a registered Charity exempt by status, UK-based contributors can also claim Gift Aid deductions (25%).
If you are a higher rate taxpayer, your accountant can further advise on tax-efficient giving.
Look for our latest academic talks and public seminars. We are also planning international conferences; a series of popular and scholarly publications; museum displays and national exhibitions; and exciting documentaries and dramas—as part of the Memorialisation process.
Despite the historical significance and sheer drama of the Captain's story it has never been the focus of a documentary or film. A major screenplay is now in the works; a True Story and 'Horrifying Epic' waiting to be produced.
Admiral - £25,000
Commodore - £10,000Public and Academic Events
We will keep you updated on upcoming public talks, seminars and conference papers about the history of HMS Captain, as well as our marine archaeological survey-expeditions off Cape Finisterre, Spain, and comparable shipwreck discoveries.
Latest News
22 January 2022, ‘The Loss of HMS Captain: The Civil War Origins of the Victorian's Navy's Greatest Tragedy’, American Civil War Round Table (UK) public seminar, Civil Service Club, Great Scotland Yard (London)
20 June 2022, ‘ “Find the Captain”: Hunting for the Greatest Royal Navy Shipwreck of the Nineteenth-Century’, University of Wolverhampton Annual Research Conference (Wolverhampton)
15-16 September 2022, ‘Disremembering the Past: The Forlorn Case of HMS Captain (1870)’, Memorialisation & the Sea: Centre for Port & Maritime History Annual Conference, co-sponsored with the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University (Liverpool)
22 October 2022, ‘Relenting to the Alabama: The Role of Anglo-American Geostrategy in the Success of International Arbitration, 1869-1872’; referencing the global impact of the loss of HMS Captain, Arbitration in Britain and its Empire-conference, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (London)
28 July 2024, "The Loss of HMS Captain and its Connection to the Village of Sutton: A Talk from Dr. Howard Fuller of the University of Wolverhampton and the Find the Captain Project", Church of All Saints, Sutton (Bedfordshire)
2 July 2025, 'The Find the Captain Project', Navy Records Society Annual General Meeting, King's College London
23 September 2025, 'HMS Captain: Technological Triumph to Tragedy', Royal Geographical Society fundraising event for Royal Museums Greenwich, sponsored by the Cowper-Coles Family—featuring Guest Speakers Dr. Howard Fuller (University of Wolverhampton), Professor Andrew Lambert (King's College London), and Dan Snow (History Hit)
Podcasts & Media
August 2022, Dr. Howard Fuller of the University of Wolverhampton (UK) outlines the search and significance of the Find the Captain Project
16 February 2023, The Times
February 2023, Celebrated TV historian Dan Snow’s interview with with Dr. Howard Fuller (Find the Captain Project Leader)
17 March 2023, BBC Midlands interview with Project Leader Dr. Howard Fuller and Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles (conducted at the University of Wolverhampton)
May 2023, Dr. Sam Willis interview with Dr. Howard Fuller (Find the Captain Project Leader)
12 May 2023, Sussex Express
7th June 2023, Featured on Drachinifel's YouTube channel
1st December 2024, Featured on Michael Brady’s YouTube Channel, Oceanliner Designs
19th March 2025, ‘Is this Britain’s Long-Last Battleship?’
March 2025,“The Whole History of this Ill-fated Vessel”: HMS Captain, the American Civil War, and the Mid-Victorian Struggle for Naval Superiority,’ has been published in the International Journal of Naval History (Vol. 18, Issue 1, March 2025). The article explores HMS Captain’s role in the 19th-century naval arms race, its links to the American Civil War, and the broader contest for maritime dominance.
15 August 2025, BBC News - 'Sunken navy warship flag restored by university'
August 2025, 'HMS Captain: Britain's forgotten maritime disaster', Royal Museums Greenwich - Stories
23 September 2025, 'HMS Captain: Technological Triumph to Tragedy', Royal Geographical Society public fundraising lecture.
Watch the YouTube-based video (courtesy of Royal Museums Greenwich)—including ROV-footage taken four days earlier by Subsea Ltd. of the 'Mystery Wreck' off Cape Finisterre, Spain
Exploratory Marine Expeditions
30 August 2022: initial joint (UK-Spanish) marine survey of suspected wrecksites off Cape Finisterre, conducted by ROVSEA and Hydromatech, and co-sponsored by the University of Wolverhampton and Galician-based documentary film company Vizuals Lab.
The third wreck discovered here seems to be that of the German freighter Schwaneck (or Nautic), sunk by collision in 1965; the fourth wreck has the general configuration of HMS Captain with dimensions that seem to match within a metre.
3-4 June 2024: chartered research vessel Minerva Uno (Alpine Ocean) held up by last-minute delays; expedition
cancelled.
RV Minerva Uno, docked at Brens, Spain (3 June 2024)
19 September 2025: William H.P. of Subsea Ltd. charters the Galician-based companies Maritime Global Services (their vessel Punta Herminio, with crew) and Omil Offshore, piloting a Deep Trekker-ROV).
The rest of the team included Lieutenant Commander Pablo Eisman Borrego of the Spanish Navy, Jonathan Sander, and Dr.Fuller of the University of Wolverhampton.
After some initial difficulty tracing the 'Mystery Wreck's location again, the crew was able to deploy the ROV approximately 500- feet(152 metres) down. Strong underwater currents, however, restricted visibility to just a few metres ahead, and with limited sonar scanning capabilities. The expedition confirmed that this wreck is also largely covered by old fishing trawler nets.
So it's proven more of a challenge to confirm whether this is indeed the wreck of ironclad HMS Captain or not...
May 2025 - Current: A major marine robotics company (which helped facilitate the discovery of Shackelton's Endurance in 2022) hopes to detour one of its state-of-the-art vessels to Spanish waters off Cape Finisterre and positively identify the 'mystery wreck' by ROV - stay tuned for more Project updates!
Contact Information
Dr. Howard Fuller, FRHistS
Project Manager
University of Wolverhampton
Mary Seacole Building, MH122
Camp Street
Wolverhampton
WV1 1LY
