Victory is a historic warship of the British Royal Navy. It became famous as the flagship for Admiral Horatio Nelson, a great British naval hero, in the early 1800’s. A flagship is the ship that carries the commander of a fleet and displays the commander’s flag. HMS Victory is a first rate ship of the line—that is, a British sailing warship of the largest class. HMS stands for His or Her Majesty’s Ship. Victory was launched in 1765. It is the only surviving warship to have fought in the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the Napoleonic Wars (1796-1815).
After Victory‘s launch, the British held the ship in reserve until 1778. The ship was commissioned (put into active service) after France allied with the American Colonies. In 1778 and 1781, during the American Revolution, Victory confronted French ships in the first and second battles of Ushant (Ouessant in French), off France’s west coast. The ship took part in continued British conflicts with France and Spain. In 1797, Victory led the fight against Spanish ships in the British victory at the Battle of Saint Vincent, near Gibraltar.
Horatio Nelson made Victory his flagship in 1803. In October 1805, Victory played an important role in the Battle of Trafalgar, during the Napoleonic Wars. In the battle, Nelson’s British fleet defeated a combined French and Spanish fleet at Cape Trafalgar, west of Gibraltar. Nelson died from wounds suffered in the battle, and the ship was severely damaged. Victory was towed to Gibraltar and repaired. In December, the ship carried Nelson’s body home to England.
Victory retired to Portsmouth, a naval center in southern England, in 1812. In 1922, the ship was placed in dry dock. Workers began a major project to restore the ship to its 1805 appearance. Victory remains a commissioned ship of the Royal Navy. It is the official flagship of the commander in chief of Naval Home Command. It is also a living museum open to the public.
Several earlier British warships also had the name Victory. One of the earlier ships was launched in 1737 and lost in a storm in 1744. Everyone on board—about 1,100 men—died.
See also Nelson, Horatio ; Trafalgar, Battle of .
