HMS Victory

Did you know that a total of six ships of the British Royal Navy have been named as HMS Victory? The most famous is the one which was ordered in 1759 and was launched in 1765. This historic ship was in active service for a period of 34 years and participated in the American war of Independence, the French Revolutionary war and the war against Napoleon. The ship is currently the flagship of the Second Sea Lord besides being a living museum to the Georgian Navy. The ship today is in the form in which she fought the Battle of Trafalgar and on which Admiral Lord Nelson was shot by the French marine.

Some Important Facts About HMS Victory

• The order for the construction of a 100 gun first rate warship was placed in the year 1758.

• It was decided in the year 1759 to call this ship Victory, although previous owners of this name had been largely unsuccessful.

• This HMS Victory was launched on May 7th, 1765 and placed in ordinary or reserve for 13 years until the American War of Independence in 1778.

• The ship was again put in reserve in 1783 before returning to the fleet in 1789 and becoming the flagship of Admiral Sir John Jervis in 1796.

• HMS Victory was surveyed after the battle of Cape St Vincent and termed defective and thus paid off at Chatham for serving as a hospital ship.

• The ship was reconditioned and repaired significantly from 1800 to 1803.

• The ship was made the flagship to Lord Nelson's fleet in 1803 and served there until the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

• HMS Victory also sailed under the flag of Sir James Saumarez for several years before being withdrawn from active service in 1812.

• The warship served as a floating depot ship in Portsmouth Harbor for 110 years.

• HMS Victory was towed into the dockyard in 1922 and placed permanently in dry dock number 2.

• HMS Victory underwent an intensive restoration project which restored the ship's condition to as close as possible to the time of battle of Trafalgar. This was done for the bicentenary celebrations of the battle in 2005.

• The ship is currently serving as a museum and its maintenance has been awarded to BAE Systems from 2011 to 2020.

The historic significance of HMS Victory and its relation to several important battles has resulted in a huge demand for its models. You can get a wide variety of historic and modern model ships in various sizes at