Princess Irene was 395 feet (120 m) long, had a beam of 54 feet (16 m), and a draught of 17 feet (5.2 m). Her four steam turbines were built by Denny's, and could give the ship a service speed of 22.5 knots (41.7 km/h).[1]
In May 1915, Princess Irene was moored in Saltpan Reach, on the Medway Estuary in Kent between Port Victoria and Sheerness, being loaded with mines in preparation for deployment on a minelaying mission. At 11:14 GMT on 27 May, she exploded and disintegrated. A column of flame 300 feet (100 m) high was followed a few seconds later by another of similar height and a pall of smoke hung over the spot where she had been,[7] reaching to 1,200 feet (400 m).[8] Two barges lying alongside her were also destroyed.[3] The explosion was larger than that which had destroyed HMS Bulwark in the Medway six months earlier, although the loss of life was less. A total of 352 people were killed,[4] including 273 officers and men, and 76 dockyard workers who were on board Princess Irene. On the Isle of Grain a girl of nine was killed by flying débris, and a farmhand died of shock.[4] A collier half a mile (800 m) away had its crane blown off its mountings. A part of one of Princess Irene's boilers landed on the ship; a man working on the ship died from injuries sustained when he was struck by a piece of metal weighing 70 pounds (32 kg).[4][7][9][10]
Wreckage was flung up to 20 miles (32 km) away, with people near Sittingbourne being injured by flying débris,[3] some of which landed in Bredhurst.[2] Severed heads were found at Hartlip and on the Isle of Grain. A case of butter landed at Rainham, 6 miles (10 km) away.[8] A 10-ton (10,160 kg) section of the ship landed on the Isle of Grain. The Admiralty's oil storage tanks there were damaged. The sole survivor from Princess Irene was a stoker, David Percy Wills, who suffered severe burns.[4] Three of her crew had a lucky escape as they were ashore at the time.[11]
The victims whose bodies were recovered were buried at Woodlands Road Cemetery, Gillingham.[2] A memorial service for the victims was held at the Dockyard Church, Sheerness on 1 June 1915. It was led by Randall Davidson, the Archbishop of Canterbury.[12]Inquests were held on two victims of the disaster.[10] The coroner stated that he did not intend to hold an inquest for any other victim unless there were exceptional circumstances that warranted it.[13]
A Court of Inquiry was held into the loss of Princess Irene. Evidence was given that priming of the mines was being carried out hurriedly and by untrained personnel. A faulty primer was blamed for the explosion.[2] Following the loss of HMS Natal on 30 December 1915 and HMS Vanguard on 9 July 1917, both caused by internal explosions, suspicion was raised at the inquiry into the loss of Natal that sabotage was to blame for the loss of all four ships. A worker at Chatham Dockyard was named as a suspect, but a thorough investigation by Special Branch cleared him of any blame.[8]
