HMS Victory

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HMS Victory is the world's oldest surviving warship to still be in continuous use and remains the Second Sea Lord's Flagship.

Victory will always be associated with Lord Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar. By pure coincidence, Horatio Nelson was born in the same year (1758) that the Board of Admiralty placed the order for the battle ship on which he was later to be fatally wounded by a French marksman and die uttering the immortal words 'kiss me Hardy'.

The HMS Victory first saw active service in 1778 when equipped with 104 cannons on her 3 gun decks. Each cannon weighed up to 3.5 tonnes each, with the largest cannons on the lower gun deck propelling a huge 32 pound ball up to 1000 feet.

Victory is 227 feet long and fitted with 4 masts, the tallest of which is some 220 feet high. Any crew member falling from the masts could expect almost certain death, either on impact or by drowning. Many sailors couldn't swim!

Victory saw action in the Battle of Cape St Vincent and the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Between these battles the ship was used as a floating hospital. HMS Victory was removed from active service in 1812, after which she served as a floating depot in Portsmouth harbour. A campaign by the Society for Nautical Research was finally successful in 1922, when Victory was towed to her present home in the dry dock for restoration.

You can take a guided tour of HMS Victory and imagine the appalling conditions that the 821 crew and officers lived and worked in. Visit the Great Cabin where Lord Horatio Nelson planned the Battle of Trafalgar and the spot where he was fatally wounded by a French marksman.

HMS Victory is one of three magnificent battle ships at Flagship Portsmouth, the other 2 being the Henry VIII's Mary Rose and the worlds first iron battle ship; HMS Warrior 1860. You can also visit the Royal Naval Museum and The Great Ship Basin.

Victory has several flights of steep steps and is therefore unsuitable for the disabled, but a video tour can be seen in the Lower Gundeck.

Other Museums that may be of interest are: The Mary Rose in Portsmouth, Flagship Portsmouth And Historic Dockyards in Portsmouth, Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, Fort Nelson in Fareham, Beaulieu in Beaulieu, Lymington St Barbe Museum in Petworth.

Attractions near HMS Victory include Cascades in Portsmouth, The Bridge Shopping Centre in Portsmouth, South Parade Pier in Southsea, Thackeray Mall in Fareham, Flamingo Park Waterfowl & Water Gardens in Seaview, The Meridian Centre in Havant, Greywell Shopping Centre in Havant, The Isle Of Wight Steam Railway in Havenstreet, Morton Manor in Sandown, Isle Of Wight Zoo in Sandown.