The Demise of the Lowie

Sinking redundant warships is an effective way of testing new weapons and warships in as realistic a manner as possible. Whilst practice torpedoes are fired fairly frequently, they behave differently. Apart from other things, the practice torpedoes are designed to turn away from the target so they can be recovered, rather than hit it.

HMS Lowestoft was sunk on the 8th June 1986 by a single Tigerfish Torpedo, fired from HM Submarine Conqueror off the Bahamas. Conqueror was pretty good at hitting its target, as it also sunk the Argentinian Belgrano during the Falklands conflict. Apparently it was the last time a ship was sunk showing its pennant number. It is now common practice to remove pennant numbers and sink the warships anonymously, as a mark of respect to those who sailed in them.