"The Dreadnought Hoax" Topic

HMS Dreadnought was the showpiece of British naval supremacy — the perfect target for six friends hoping to prank the Royal Navy.

USNI: link

Interesting piece of naval history. Thanks, Bill.

Jim

Interesting how "pranks" can often presage the decline of a once great civilization. In retrospect I am afraid of Virginia Woolf

The speculation about the involvement of some of the officers is interesting. Both Richmond and Dewar fell somewhere on the spectrum between "deeply unpopular" and "utterly detested," where a big slice of their brother officers were concerned.

The origin of the phrase "bunga bunga."

Thanks for sharing. The lighter side of history ;)

I think as a perpetrator, Richmond seems like the more plausible of the two. I've read Leslie Gardiner's account of the "Royal Oak mutiny," and his portrait of Dewar does not leave the impression that the man had much of a sense of humor.