HMS Natal
15 mcruiser
The Admiralty first feared a U-boat, then concluded that a cordite fire had reached HMS Natal's magazine, the same kind of explosion that destroyed other British warships at anchor during the war. On 30 December 1915 the Second Cruiser Squadron's armoured cruiser lay at anchor off Cromarty, wives and children aboard for Captain Eric Back's film show, when fire broke out and her magazines blew up. She capsized almost at once, with heavy loss of life; tugs and warships pulled more than 300 men from the water. Her upturned hull stayed in the firth for the rest of the war, and salvage went on into the late 1970s. Her scattered remains lie in about 15 metres, marked by a buoy.
Lost: 1915 — explosion