On 7 May 1765 a magnificent new ship of the line was floated out of the Old Single Dock in Chatham’s Royal Dockyard. She was HMS Victory, a first-rate battleship and the largest and most up-to-date ship in King George III’s Royal Navy. In the years to come, over and unusually long service, she would gain renown leading fleets in the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic War. She achieved lasting fame as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson in Britain’s greatest naval victory, the defeat of the French and Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar.
It is almost impossible today to imagine the physical brutality of fighting at sea in sailing warships. These great wooden battleships, under acres of sail, confronted each other at point blank range, their crews intent on smashing and capturing the other ship. Their heavy guns blasted tons of iron, shattering hulls, splintering masts and yards, overturning gun carriages and filling the air with deafening noise and blinding smoke.
She may seem beautiful to our eyes, but Victory was built principally as a huge and complex machine of war. Every man in her 820 crew played a vital part in operating the ship and ensuring that ultimately she was in the right place and ready to fire her deadly broadside iron shot.*
The Admiral’s Quarters
The Upper Gun Deck
The Sick Berth
*From the Royal Navy HMS Victory guidebook
I visited it over 40 years ago — thanks for the pics, which reminded me of that. Actually it looks a bit posher now than it did then!
They have done a lot of restoration and conservation work on it over the years. It is ongoing.
The woodwork, the woodwork!
Has it given you any ideas?
Well done on an impressive set of images. Restricted spaces with a mixture of poor light and excess window light can make it difficult but the quality here hasn’t gone unnoticed in my eyes.
Thank you J, that is a big compliment coming from you
i am so pleased to see this grand ship restored so well Cherie…
i enjoyed your comments on it’s history very much…
i love tall ships… and everything that floats on water….peter:)
Thank you
You will like the Warrior when I get to posting that soon.
Truly impressive!
To be honest, I don’t remember this ship there. He he…
It’s been a long time.
You should take time out to go and have another look. This one however is not free, but the ticket to all the attractions lasts for a year.
thank you for the test and the photos. you are right, it is indeed hard to imagine the life and circumstances in those times!
Thanks Ayush, I am glad you like them
That really looks quite posh and comfortable! Was it really I wonder.
The main decks would have been very crowded and the ceilings are very low, even I had to duck on occasion. So perhaps not so comfortable as it looks from the photographs.
Certainly not the ship one sees in Chatham today. This one looks very well furbished.
From what I remember there are some find ships in Chatham. They are just presented differently.