The Day 2 British Warships Collided, and 1 Sank

On June 22, 1893, the British battleship HMS Camperdown accidentally collided with the British battleship HMS Victoria off the coast of Lebanon.

Digging Deeper
Victoria was the flagship of the British Mediterranean fleet, the most powerful fleet in that sea and as such carried Vice Admiral Sir George Tryon.

These 2 ships were 2 of the most powerful ships in the world, launched in 1885 and 1887 respectively.  They were engaged in maneuvers and using the tactics of using an absolute minimum amount of signaling between ships.  Remember, back then there was no radio, so ships used signal flags, semaphore or blinking lights.