On the shoulders of giants: HMS Queen Elizabeth crew lay wreath at wreckage of WW2 warship

In a touching moment of remembrance, personnel from HMS Queen Elizabeth have laid a wreath over the wreckage of a Royal Navy escort carrier in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland.

HMS Dasher suffered a major unexplained internal explosion before sinking on 27 March 1943.

Of the 528 men on board, 379 lost their lives, making it the second-worst loss of a British warship in UK waters during the Second World War. There were only 149 survivors.

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In her short life, HMS Dasher made a full contribution to the war effort – including participation in the Battle of the Atlantic and the invasion of North Africa under Operation Torch.

HMS Queen Elizabeth shared an image on X showing the crew standing at attention, with the message: "The lessons from the tragedy improve the safety of carrier aviation. We still benefit from those lessons", and the hashtag "on the shoulders of giants".

The sinking of the Royal Navy Avenger-class escort carrier was long shrouded in secrecy, with news officially suppressed to protect British morale. 

However, the government immediately and secretly implemented radical changes which redefined naval aviation safety standards.