Welcome to Gaia! ::

HMS Victory stands today as the world's oldest commissioned warship. Still manned by Officers and Ratings of the Royal Navy, the Victory has seen over 220 years of almost continuous naval service.

Best known for her role in the Battle of Trafalgar, the Victory currently has a dual role as the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command and as a living museum to the Georgian navy.

Launched in 1765 at Chatham Dockyard, the Victory was commissioned in 1778 and continued in active service for the next 34 years. In 1812 the Victory was retired from frontline duty and anchored in Portsmouth Harbour, on the south coast of England. For the next 110 years the Victory remained at her moorings in Portsmouth Harbour fulfilling a combination of practical and ceremonial roles.

In 1922, amid fears for her continued survival, the Victory was moved into Portsmouth's Royal Naval Dockyard and placed in No2 Dry Dock. Work then began on restoring the Victory to her 'fighting' 1805 condition.

Open to the public all year round, HMS Victory allows the visitor to explore the world of the Georgian navy, experiencing both the ship herself and the lives of the men who lived within her 'wooden world'.

The Battle of Trafalgar was fought on the 21st of October 1805 off Cape Trafalgar on the Spanish coast, between the combined fleets of Spain and France and the Royal Navy. It was the last great sea action of the period and its significance to the outcome of the war in Europe is still debated by historians.

The Chase

The battle itself was the culmination of a long campaign. After the Treaty of Amiens Europe was at peace for 14 months. Many ships in the Royal Navy were paid off and the British returned to their peace time activities. But across the Channel in France Napoleon was planning the next stage of his domination of Europe. He realised that if war broke out again then the Royal Navy would blockade French and continental ports as they had done before and French overseas trade would be crippled. So he planned to invade England and free the seas for French trade. He ordered the building of a fleet of invasion barges and the Grand Army was moved to the Pas de Calais area.
But to get the army across safely the French fleet would need to control the English Channel. To this end he tried to engineer a meeting of his fleets so they could control the sealanes, and protect his invasion barges. He gave orders for the fleets in Toulon, Brest and Ferrol to break out of their blockaded ports.

After an aborted attempt Admiral Villeneuve eventually managed to evade Nelson, blockading him in Toulon, and sailed for the West Indies on March 30th. According to Napoleons plan to meet up with Ganteaume ( who was blockaded in Brest ) , and then to sail back to Europe and with the Rochefort, Ferrol and Brest Squadrons 'procure our superiority before Boulogne for some days'.
When Nelson was told that the French fleet had sailed he assumed they were heading for Egypt, so he sent his ships off to the South East. When he discovered his mistake he set off in pursuit of Villeneuve. Villeneuve picked up Admiral Gravina and the Spanish fleet from Cadiz, and sailed for Martinique.

The Battle

When Villeneuve decided to sail from Cadiz his plan was for Magon to sail out with his squadron first and capture or drive off the British frigates. On October 19th and a fair wind for leaving Cadiz blowing Villenueve hoisted the order for ships to sail, There was some confusion amongst the fleets captains over whether this order was just for Magon to sail, the frigates or the whole fleet. As the fleet set sail the breeze died away and only seven battle ships and three frigates made it out of the harbour. The wind was too light to let them chase off the British frigates. Villeneuve was forced to order the rest of the fleet to anchor for the night.
The British frigate Sirius (opens in a new window)made the signal 370, 'Enemy's ships are coming out of port', which was repeated along the chain of ships until it reached the main fleet. Nelson then signaled the fleet for 'general chase south-east', his plan was to steer for the Straits of Gibraltar and prevent the Combined Fleet from sailing into the Mediterranean.
On October 20th the rest of the Combined Fleet got under sail and set course for the south-east. Because Nelson had reacted quickly to the signal 370, the British fleet reached the entrance to the Strait before the French and Spanish fleet had left Cadiz. So the British fleet retraced its steps back to the north-west.

The Nelson Touch

As the British Fleet had waited for the Combined Fleet to sail from Cadiz Nelson had asked his captains to come on board the Victory and had explained his plan of attack. The ships were to form two columns, with Nelson in command of one and Collingwood the other, and sail at the centre and rear of the enemy line of battle so as to bring the British ships into close action and cut off the van of the Combined Fleet, which would then take time to get back into the action. Nelson wrote a detailed memorandum explaining his plan on the 9th October, although this was not stricly adheared to in the battle. Nelson reported that his captains were pleased with this innovative plan.

Service Record

1959 - Keel laid
1765 - Launched
1778 - Commissioned, flagship of Admiral Keppel
1780 - Hull sheathed w/copper to combat shipworm
1781 - Battle of Ushant
1782 - Relief of Gibraltar
1793 - 1st refit, armament increased
1794 - French Revolutionary War
1795 - Refits at Portsmouth and Chatham
1797 - Admiral Sir John, Battle of St. Cape Vincent
1800 to1803 - 4th refit at Chatham
1805 - Lord Nelson, Battle of Trafalgar
1806 - Extensive repairs at Portsmouth
1808 - Re-commissioned, two Baltic campaigns
1817 - Put into reserve
1824 - Flagship for the Port Admiral
1889 - Flagship for Commander-in-Chief (she still is)
1903 - Accidentally rammed while under tow
1922 - Moored to her present dock for restoration