HMS Victory

HMS Victory in Portsmouth, 1900
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Victory
Ordered:	14 July 1758
Builder:	Chatham Dockyard
Laid down:	23 July 1759
Launched:	7 May 1765
Commissioned:	1778
Homeport:	Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, England 50°48′06.52″N 1°06′34.5″W / 50.8018111°N 1.109583°W / 50.8018111; -1.109583Coordinates: 50°48′06.52″N 1°06′34.5″W / 50.8018111°N 1.109583°W / 50.8018111; -1.109583
Honours and awards:	Participated in: First Battle of Ushant (1778) Second Battle of Ushant (1781) Battle of Cape Spartel (1782) Battle of Cape St Vincent (1797) Battle of Trafalgar (1805)
Status:	Active Flagship of the First Sea Lord and museum ship
General characteristics
Class and type:	104-gun first-rate ship of the line
Displacement:	3,500 tons
Tons burthen:	2,142 tons bm
Length:	186 ft (57 m) (gundeck), 227 ft 6 in (69.34 m) (overall)
Beam:	51 ft 10 in (15.80 m)
Draught:	28 ft 9 in (8.76 m)
Depth of hold:	21 ft 6 in (6.55 m)
Propulsion:	Sails—6,510 sq yd (5,440 m²)
Sail plan:	Full-rigged ship
Speed:	up to 11 knots (20 km/h) maximum
Complement:	Approximately 850
Armament:	Trafalgar: Gundeck: 30 × 2.75 ton long pattern Blomefield 32 pounders (15 kg) Middle gundeck: 28 × 2.5 ton long 24 pounders (11 kg) Upper gundeck: 30 × 1.7 ton short 12 pounders (5 kg) Quarterdeck: 12 × 1.7 ton short 12 pounder (5 kg) Forecastle: 2 × medium 12 pounder (5 kg), 2 × 68 pounder (31 kg) carronade Marines armed with muskets
Armour:	None, although oak hull thickness at waterline 2 ft (0.6 m)
Notes:	Height from waterline to top of mainmast: 205 ft (62.5 m)

HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, ordered in 1758, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is best known as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

She was also Keppel's flagship at Ushant, Howe's flagship at Cape Spartel and Jervis's flagship at Cape St Vincent. After 1824, she served as a harbour ship.

In 1922, she was moved to a dry dock at Portsmouth, England, and preserved as a museum ship. She has been the flagship of the First Sea Lord since October 2012 and is the world's oldest naval ship still in commission.

In December 1758, the commissioner of Chatham Dockyard was instructed to prepare a dry dock for the construction of a new first-rate ship. This was an unusual occurrence at the time, as the Royal Navy preferred smaller and more manoeuvrable ships, and it was unusual for more than two to be in commission simultaneously; during the whole of the 18th century, only ten were constructed. Then Prime Minister Pitt the Elder placed the order for Victory on 13 December 1758, along with 11 other ships.