24 March - British ship Eurydice sunk in 1878

 

On March 24, 1878, the British ship HMS Eurydice sank off the Isle of Wight. HMS Eurydice was a Royal Navy ship, a wooden-hulled screw frigate. The sinking of the Eurydice was a tragic maritime disaster resulting in the loss of 317 lives.

The ship had been returning to Portsmouth, England, from the West Indies when it encountered a violent storm off the Isle of Wight. The storm caused the ship to capsize and sink rapidly. Despite rescue efforts by nearby ships and shore-based lifeboat crews, only two of the crew members survived.

The sinking of the HMS Eurydice was one of the worst peacetime naval disasters in British history and led to significant changes in naval design and safety protocols. The tragedy served as a stark reminder of the dangers faced by sailors at sea and prompted improvements in ship construction and safety procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

 

India's first aircraft carrier warship INS Vikrant was deployed on 04 March 1961

 

India's first aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, was commissioned and deployed on March 4, 1961. INS Vikrant played a crucial role in the Indian Navy and had a notable history. It was a Majestic-class aircraft carrier originally built for the British Royal Navy during World War II, named HMS Hercules. After India acquired it, it underwent significant modifications before being commissioned as INS Vikrant.

INS Vikrant played a vital role during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, supporting naval operations in the Bay of Bengal. It served the Indian Navy for several decades before being decommissioned in 1997. The name Vikrant was later given to a more modern aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant (IAC-1), which was under construction and expected to be commissioned into the Indian Navy.