HMS Victory

HMS Victory

Set sail and cast off!

The HMS Victory was a terrible and awe-inspiring sight to both enemies and allies. She has become one of the most famous ships in the world and remains in active service with the Royal Navy to this day; as of 2019, a total of 241 years of service.

First Rate

HMS Victory was a first-rate ship of the line, the most powerful type of ship of her time. She had three gun decks with 100 cannons. The Royal Navy had always built very large ships to fight large fleet battles. The French and Spanish navies only tended to build first-rates after the American War of Independence in 1783. Although she was ordered in 1765, she was not commissioned until 1778. This long period of weathering meant that her timbers were well-seasoned and are a major reason for her longevity.

Although HMS Victory was launched on May 7, 1765, the ship was not commissioned until 1778. In a period of 34 years, between 1778 and 1812, HMS Victory participated in five naval battles. Commissioned during the American War of Independence, Victory fought in the first and second battles of Ushant and in the Battle of Cape Spartel. During the French Revolutionary War, she was Admiral Jervis's flagship at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent.

In 1805, she achieved lasting fame as Vice-Admiral Nelson's flagship in the greatest British naval victory, the defeat of the French and Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Battle of Trafalgar (October 21, 1805)

In early 1805, Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson commanded the British fleet in a lengthy blockade of Toulon. The French fleet successfully evaded Nelson when storms broke the British blockade. After a rapid search of the Mediterranean, Nelson discovered that the French had crossed the Atlantic Ocean towards the Caribbean. So he set off in pursuit.

After pursuing the admiral of the Franco-Spanish fleet, Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, to the Caribbean and back, Admirals Lord Nelson and Collingwood finally engaged the enemy. On September 21, 1805, just off the southwestern coast of Spain, west of Cape Trafalgar, near the town of Los Caños de Meca, the two powerful fleets engaged. The French fleet was in disarray, and Nelson had devised an unorthodox tactic to finally defeat the Franco-Spanish fleet.

Nelson organized the British ships to sail perpendicularly across and through the French line. This meant that each British broadside was met with limited French return fire.

HMS-Victory attacks

For 40 minutes, Victory was under fire from the enemy ships of the line Héros, Santísima Trinidad, Redoutable, and Neptun. She broke through the enemy line between Villeneuve's flagship Bucentaure and Redoutable; she delivered a devastating broadside against the flagship before directly attacking the 74-gun Redoubtable. The close-quarters combat led to the two ships locking masts. Nelson was shot by a French sharpshooter from the Redoutable at the height of the battle and carried below deck.

As the Redoubtable's crew prepared to board HMS Victory, the second ship in the British weather column, HMS Temeraire, emerged from the smoke and poured devastating carronade fire into Redoubtable's starboard side. Its captain, with less than twenty percent of his crew fit for battle, surrendered.

More and more British ships entered the battle, gradually overwhelming the remaining allied ships. Nelson did not die until 4:30 PM, long after the British victory was already secured. Of a crew of 821, Victory suffered 57 dead and 102 wounded; a considerable number for a battle of this kind.

Although he himself perished, Nelson's fleet captured or destroyed 22 enemy ships without any losses. However, some of the captured ships were destroyed after the battle.

Nelson's body was brought home on board his flagship. After lying in state at Greenwich, he was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral on January 9, 1806.

After Trafalgar

HMS Victory herself suffered in the battle, and with forty years of service, she was refitted as a second-rate in 1807. She saw no further combat. After further service in the Baltic and off the coast of Spain, Victory was placed in reserve at Portsmouth in 1812. The ship had caught the public's imagination, and any threat to decommission the ship led to a public outcry. To this end, HMS Victory remains a commissioned ship of the Royal Navy to this day.

In the game

H.M.S. Victory is a powerful force on the table. Apart from an impressive arsenal and fantastic resilience, her inspiring presence grants all friendly ships nearby a bonus when they have to make a skill test. If Nelson is present, this bonus is increased even further!

The box contains a kit of HMS Victory.

The miniature(s) in this set are made of metal and resin components. They are unpainted and need to be assembled. Paints, tools and glue are not included in the box.