She was to be the flagship of King Henry VIII’s fleet and was a new breed of Tudor warship with purpose-built gun-ports. An eyewitness said that she had fired all of her guns on one side and was turning when she was caught in a strong gust of wind causing her to sink in the Solent whilst leading 60 ships against the French.
The wreck of the Mary Rose was discovered in 1971 and was raised on October 11 1982 by the Mary Rose Trust. The surviving section of the ship and thousands of recovered artefacts now sit in The Mary Rose Museum for us all to see.
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There may have been 700 men on board the Mary Rose when she sank, of which fewer than 40 survived. There have been 27,831 dives made to the Mary Rose during the main excavation, that’s 22,710 hours on the seabed. 60 million people worldwide watched the wreck being raised live on television.
17. Royal Navy Flagship The Mary Rose raising and artefacts
The Mary Rose in the cradle on the barge. Photo: The News archive
18. Royal Navy Flagship The Mary Rose raising and artefacts
The Crow's Nest is exhibited in the new Mary Rose Museum at Portsmouth's Historic Dockyard on May 29, 2013. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Photo: The News archive
19. Royal Navy Flagship The Mary Rose raising and artefacts
Cowdray Engraving showing The Mary Rose. The Cowdray Engraving shows the sinking of the Mary Rose and the events of the Battle of the Solent! Photo: The News archive
20. Royal Navy Flagship The Mary Rose raising and artefacts
The Mary Rose in its cradle being brought ashore by a barge in October 1982. The News PP3741 Photo: The News archive