HMS Invincible (1869)
Later career and shipwreck
Later career and shipwreck
--------------------------

She made a trip to China in 1886 to carry out a new crew for *Audacious* before becoming the guardship at [Southampton](/wiki/Southampton "Southampton") until 1893\. Her engines were removed in 1901 when she became a depot ship at [Sheerness](/wiki/Sheerness "Sheerness") for a [destroyer](/wiki/Destroyer "Destroyer") [flotilla](/wiki/Flotilla "Flotilla"). She was renamed HMS *Erebus* in 1904, a name that she bore until 1906, when she was converted into a training ship at [Portsmouth](/wiki/Portsmouth "Portsmouth") for engineering [artificers](/wiki/Armed-forces_artificer "Armed-forces artificer") and was renamed *Fisgard II* (*Audacious* had been renamed *Fisgard* in 1904\).

On 17 September 1914, she sank during a storm off [Portland Bill](/wiki/Portland_Bill "Portland Bill") with the loss of 21 of her crew of 64\. She was being towed from Portsmouth to [Scapa Flow](/wiki/Scapa_Flow "Scapa Flow") where she was to act as a receiving ship for seamen newly mobilised for [World War I](/wiki/World_War_I "World War I"). She now lies upside down with the bottom of the hull about  below sea level.

HMS *Fisgard II* is a Designated vessel under schedule 1 of The Protection of Military Remains Act 1986 (Designation of Vessels and Controlled Sites) Order 2012\.


Why was HMS Fisgard II being towed from Portsmouth to Scapa Flow on the day of her sinking?