This film of the destruction of HMS Implacable is extraordinary. Almost unbelievably, this vessel was originally a French naval ship that fought at the battle of Trafalgar, and was later captured at the battle of Cape Ortegal.
According to the Wikipedia account, in British service she was involved in capturing the Imperial Russian Navy 74-gun ship Vsevolod in 1808 during the Anglo-Russian War.
Later, Implacable became a training ship and for a time was the second oldest ship in the Royal Navy after Lord Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar, HMS Victory. It seems unthinkable that a ship in today’s Navy could stay in service for so long.
As the film shows, she flew both the French tricolour as well as the White Duster on the day she was scuttled by the Navy.
