On 22 June 1893, she collided with HMS Camperdown near Tripoli, Lebanon, during manoeuvres and quickly sank, killing 358 crew members, including the commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon.

[4] One of the survivors was executive officer John Jellicoe, later commander-in-chief of the British Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland.

By comparison, the French battleship Amiral Baudin, constructed at a similar time, had 21.5 in (55 cm) armour along her whole length.

However, the British design produced a faster ship with greater range and larger guns.

But the crew missed the shallowest point, and Victoria grounded on the rocky shoal at 9 kn (10 mph; 17 km/h) and stuck fast.

Admiral Tryon was notified and departed for the scene in Surprise, also ordering a dockyard tug Sampson with pumping equipment and hawsers.

Hecla – a torpedo-depot ship – was already at Platea and made two attempts to tow Victoria free.

The leaks were patched up by creating temporary bulkheads and using timber and Portland cement to block holes.

Admiral Tryon ordered a manoeuvre that was to see each ship turn, one after the other in formation, to steam in the opposite direction.

Victoria eventually sank in approximately 15 minutes, with 358 members of the crew, including Admiral Tryon, lost.

[11] She stands vertically with the bow and some 30 metres of her length buried in the mud with the stern pointing directly upwards towards the surface.