PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND—The rudder of the HMS Invincible, a 74-gun warship that sank in the Solent off the coast of southeast England in 1758, was spotted about 200 feet away from the stern of the wreckage during a geophysical survey, according to a BBC News report. “We weren’t particularly looking for it,” marine archaeologist Dan Pascoe said of the 36-foot-long flat piece. The ship was built by the French in 1744, and was captured by the British in 1747 before it eventually ran aground when the rudder jammed, and capsized three days later. “The ship was highly maneuverable and the rudder was critical to its design,” Pascoe added. He and his team plan to protect the rudder from erosion of the sea floor with sandbags. A gunpowder barrel, swivel guns, a bottle of corked rum, and woodworking tools have been recovered from the shipwreck site so far by researchers from Bournemouth University and the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust. If funding becomes available, the rudder could also be raised and conserved. To read about the discovery of the famous wreck of HMS Erebus, go to "Franklin's Last Voyage."
