Santísima Trinidad 1769

    ►The Santísima Trinidad (officially named Santísima Trinidad by Royal Order on 12 March 1768, nicknamed La Real and sometimes confused with the Manila gallion Santísima Trinidad y Nuestra Señora del Buen Fin (1751) was a Spanish first-rate ship of the line of 112 guns, which was increased in 1795-96 to 130 guns by closing in the spar deck between the quarter deck and forecastle, and around 1802 to 140 guns, thus creating what was in effect a continuous fourth gundeck although the extra guns added were actually relatively small. She was the heaviest-armed ship in the world when rebuilt, and bore the most guns of any ship of the line outfitted in the Age of Sail.

Design & Construction

    ► She was built at Havana, Cuba, to a design by Irish naval architect Matthew Mullan (domiciled in Spain under the name Mateo Mullán) and launched in 1769 as an 112-gun three-decker  (some sources say 116 or even 120 guns). She was considerably larger than her British contemporary Victory and somewhat bigger than the French Bretagne. There is no complete plan of the ship in existence, but there are of the 112-gun ship from 1765, from which the original dimensions of the ship may be found. Here, the units of length are the Spanish Burgos foot (27.86 cm) and the SI metre (100 cm), respectively: length = 2132⁄3 (59.53); keel = 1825⁄12 (50.82); beam = 573⁄4 (16.09); draught = 2811⁄12 (8.06).

    ► In 1795, her forecastle was joined to her quarterdeck to create a fourth deck containing a battery of eight pounder guns, giving her a total of 140 guns. Her armament seems to have been quickly reduced to 130 from 136 guns, but she still carried more guns than any other ship of her time. As the only ship with four gun decks, she was reputed to be the largest warship in the world, for which she was nicknamed El Escorial de los mares by the Spanish, until surpassed in sheer size by the new type French 120-gun ships such as the Océan (1790) and Orient (1791).

The weight of the additional guns, so high above her waterline, made her sail poorly, leading to her nickname, El Ponderoso. It was even suggested by some naval officers that she should be restricted to defending the Bay of Cádiz.

Santísima Trinidad remains famous as one of the few four-decker ships of the line ever built. The U.S. Navy constructed the four-deck, 136-gun Pennsylvania and the 120-gun French - Valmy (both with similar flush deck arrangement), and the Royal Navy planned—but did not actually build—the proper 170-gun four-decker Duke of Kent.

Service
 

Figurehead of the Santisima
Trinidad at berth in the
harbour of Málaga

Infante don Pelayo going to rescue
Santisima Trinidad at Battle of Cape
St Vincent on 14 February 1797

   ► In July 1779, Spain declared war on Great Britain, joining France in support of the American colonists in the American War of Independence. Santísima Trinidad became the flagship of the Spanish fleet, taking part in the Franco-Spanish operations in the English Channel in the late summer of that year.

    ► In August 1780 she took part in the capture of 55 ships from a British convoy of 63, escorted by the ship of the line HMS Ramillies and three frigates. In 1782 she was incorporated into the Mediterranean Squadron, participating in the second siege of Gibraltar and she fought in the brief and indecisive Battle of Cape Spartel. In 1795, she was modified by the addition of extra 8-pounder guns on a new deck between her forecastle and quarterdeck.
 
 ► In 1797, she was the flagship of Teniente General José de Córdoba y Ramos, the Spanish commander, at Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February 1797, where she was badly damaged and nearly captured by the British fleet. She was first in action with the British ship Captain (74), commanded by Commodore Nelson, and Culloden (74). She was then attacked by the Blenheim (90), Orion (74), Irresistible (74) and Excellent (74). By now she was severely damaged, having lost all her masts and with half of her crew killed or wounded. She struck her colours, but the British failed to take possession and she was saved by the Infante don Pelayo (74) and Príncipe de Asturias (112). Several days later, Santísima Trinidad was spotted, still damaged, making her way back to Spain, and engaged by the 32-gun frigate HMS Terpsichore under Captain Richard Bowen, but she escaped. She eventually returned to Cadiz for repairs.

    ► Eight years later, commanded by Francisco Javier Uriarte and Rear Admiral Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros, she took part in the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805, as part of the combined Franco-Spanish fleet. Due to her great bulk, her helm was unresponsive in the light winds of the day, contributing to her ineffective service of the combined fleet's cause. Her great size and position immediately ahead of the fleet flagship Bucentaure made her a target for the British fleet, and she came under concentrated attack by several ships. She lost her mast and eventually surrendered to the Neptune, a 98-gun second rate commanded by Captain Thomas Fremantle. She was taken in tow by the 98-gun second rate Prince, but sank in a storm the day after the battle, having been scuttled by her British captors.
    ► It's believed that her wreck was found by coincidence during testing of a new sidescan sonar of the Spanish Navy, in 2009.

Replica

    ► A full-size representation  of the Santísima Trinidad can be seen and visited in the harbour of Alicante, in Spain. In 2006 a merchant ship was fitted to mimic the appearance of the Santísima Trinidad, therefore not being a true replica. The conversion was begun in Galicia, where the original steel hull was given a first coating of fake wood strakes and erection of the masts. Stern galleries, the deck furniture and the rigging were made in Algeciras. Finally the boat was towed to be moored in the port of Malaga, where she was used as a floating restaurant, nightclub and showroom. The original engine was retained, and the boat is able to cruise around the vicinity of Malaga for recreation purposes.
    ► A non-profit non-governmental Canadian association, the Friends of Santísima Trinidad, is assisting the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, Cuba with the construction of a new 1:25 four-metre-long scale model of La Santísima Trinidad. Interior construction details will be exposed on one side of the vessel, and visitors will be able to use a computer interface and touch screen to take a virtual tour of the ship in Spanish, English, and French. The model will be displayed in the Naval Museum of La Habana, opened in June 2008 at Castillo de la Real Fuerza, the oldest building in Cuba and the oldest stone fortress in the New World.  here

Ship Plans 
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HMS Ajax 1765

HMS Ajax was British Warship/Frigate, build and completed 1765 and released five years late.
It was sailed on his first trip to North America 1786. In one of his trips across the Atlantic it was seriously damaged into a severe storms. Month thereafter with major repairs, it sailed back to the Plymouth where is the first sailed. She served in the Royal Navy until 1805. During her career, she fought alongside the H.M.S. Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar.

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HMS Agamemnon 1781

HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts. She is remembered as being Nelson's favourite ship, and was named after the mythical ancient Greek king Agamemnon, being the first ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.
The future Lord Nelson served as Agamemnon's captain from January 1793 for 3 years and 3 months, during which time she saw considerable service in the Mediterranean. After Nelson's departure, she was involved in the infamous 1797 mutinies at Spithead and the Nore, and in 1801 was present at the first Battle of Copenhagen, but ran aground before being able to enter the action.
Despite Nelson's fondness for the ship, she was frequently in need of repair and refitting, and would likely have been hulked or scrapped in 1802 had war with France not recommenced. She fought at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, as part of Nelson's weather column, where she forced the surrender of the Spanish four-decker Santísima Trinidad. Agamemnon's later career was served in South American waters off Brazil.
Her oft worn-out and poor condition contributed to her being wrecked when in June 1809 she grounded on an uncharted shoal in the mouth of the River Plate, whilst seeking shelter with the rest of her squadron from a storm. All hands and most of the ship's stores were saved, but the condition of the ship's timbers made it impossible to free the ship; her captain was cleared of responsibility for the ship's loss thanks to documents detailing her defects. Recently, the wreck of Agamemnon has been located, and several artefacts have been recovered, including one of her cannons.

Construction
Agamemnon was ordered from the commercial shipbuilder Henry Adams at his Bucklers Hard shipyard on the Beaulieu River on 5 February 1777, to be built to the lines of the Ardent class, as designed by Sir Thomas Slade. Her keel was laid down in May. She was constructed using timber sourced from the surrounding New Forest. The total cost of her construction was £38,303 15s 4d. She was commissioned on 28 March 1781 under Captain Benjamin Caldwell—a full 13 days before her launch on 10 April.
A painting of the launch of Agamemnon by Harold Wyllie depicts blue skies and scores of spectators, despite the Hampshire Chronicle describing the day as being windy with heavy rain, and with few spectators in attendance.
She was named after King Agamemnon, a prominent figure in ancient Greek mythology who participated in the Siege of Troy, and was the first Royal Navy vessel to bear the name. Lord Nelson regarded her as his favourite ship, and to her crew she was known by the affectionate nickname 'Eggs–and–Bacon'. According to an article in The Gentleman's Magazine, her crew renamed her as they did not like the classical names that were in vogue at the Admiralty during this period (the crews of Bellerophon and Polyphemus also 'renamed' their ships, to 'Billy Ruffian' and 'Polly Infamous' respectively, for the same reason).

American Revolutionary War

In November 1781, the Admiralty had received intelligence that a large convoy was preparing to sail from Brest under Admiral de Guichen. The convoy was composed of transports carrying naval supplies for the West Indies and the French fleet in the East Indies. Agamemnon was part of Admiral Richard Kempenfelt's squadron of 18 ships (11 of which mounted 64 or more guns), which he commanded from HMS Victory. Kempenfelt was ordered to intercept the convoy, which he did in the afternoon of 12 December in the Bay of Biscay, approximately 150 miles (241.4 km) south-west of Ushant. With the French naval escort to leeward of the convoy, Kempenfelt attacked immediately, capturing 15 of the transports before nightfall. The rest of the convoy scattered, most returning to Brest; only five transports reached the West Indies.
Early in 1782, she sailed to the West Indies as part of Admiral Sir George Rodney's squadron, with Rear-Admiral Sir Samuel Hood as his second in command. On 9 April, the Battle of the Saintes began with an indecisive skirmish, in which the ships of the vanguard division, under Hood's command, were badly damaged and forced to withdraw to make repairs. On 12 April, Agamemnon took part in the second action, which proved much more decisive. Over the course of the battle, Agamemnon had 2 lieutenants and 14 crewmen killed, and 22 others were wounded.
After the signing of the Treaties of Versailles brought an end to the American Revolutionary War, Agamemnon returned from the West Indies to Chatham, where she was paid off and docked on 29 October 1783 for repairs and to have her copper sheathing replaced. She came out of dock on 4 June 1784, and was subsequently laid up in ordinary.
HMS Agamemnon was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She saw service in the American Revolutionary, French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts. She is remembered as being Nelson's favourite ship, and was named after the mythical ancient Greek king Agamemnon, being the first ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.
The future Lord Nelson served as Agamemnon's captain from January 1793 for 3 years and 3 months, during which time she saw considerable service in the Mediterranean. After Nelson's departure, she was involved in the infamous 1797 mutinies at Spithead and the Nore, and in 1801 was present at the first Battle of Copenhagen, but ran aground before being able to enter the action.
Despite Nelson's fondness for the ship, she was frequently in need of repair and refitting, and would likely have been hulked or scrapped in 1802 had war with France not recommenced. She fought at the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October 1805, as part of Nelson's weather column, where she forced the surrender of the Spanish four-decker Santísima Trinidad. Agamemnon's later career was served in South American waters off Brazil.
Her oft worn-out and poor condition contributed to her being wrecked when in June 1809 she grounded on an uncharted shoal in the mouth of the River Plate, whilst seeking shelter with the rest of her squadron from a storm. All hands and most of the ship's stores were saved, but the condition of the ship's timbers made it impossible to free the ship; her captain was cleared of responsibility for the ship's loss thanks to documents detailing her defects. Recently, the wreck of Agamemnon has been located, and several artefacts have been recovered, including one of her cannons.

French Revolutionary War

Under Nelson
In anticipation of the start of Britain's involvement in the French Revolutionary War after the execution of King Louis XVI, Agamemnon was recommissioned on 31 January 1793. She was placed under the command of Captain Horatio Nelson, and after provisioning joined the fleet lying at anchor at the Nore. She subsequently sailed to join the Mediterranean fleet under Vice-Admiral Hood, which was blockading the French port of Toulon. On 27 August the town of Toulon declared its allegiance to the Royalist Bourbon cause, and Hood's fleet moved in to take control of the naval dockyard and the 30 French ships of the line that were in the harbour. After capturing 19 of the ships, Agamemnon was sent to Naples to ask King Ferdinand IV for reinforcements with which to secure the town; he agreed to provide 4,000 men. When the revolutionary army, commanded by Napoleon Buonaparte, launched its assault against Toulon, the troops proved insufficient to hold it, and they were forced to abandon the town.
In April and May 1794, seamen from Agamemnon, led by Nelson, helped capture the Corsican town of Bastia. The French surrendered on 21 May, after a 40-day siege. After this action, Agamemnon was forced to sail to Gibraltar to undergo urgent repairs, the ship having become very worn out after just 16 months at sea, despite having undergone a fairly extensive refit just prior to being recommissioned. Upon completion of her repairs, Agamemnon returned to Corsica, anchoring south of Calvi on 18 June. After Hood arrived with additional ships, Agamemnon contributed guns and men to the 51-day siege of Calvi, during which time Nelson lost the sight in his right eye when a French shot kicked sand and grit into his face. The town surrendered on 10 August, Agamemnon having lost six men in the engagement. Shortly thereafter the inhabitants of Corsica declared themselves to be subjects of His Majesty King George III
Agamemnon, still with the Mediterranean fleet—now under Vice-Admiral William Hotham, who had superseded Hood in December 1794—participated in the Battle of Genoa when a French fleet, comprising 15 ships of the line, was sighted on 10 March 1795. Three days later, the French having shown no signs that they were willing to give battle, Admiral Hotham ordered a general chase. The French ship Ça Ira lost her fore and main topmasts when she ran into one of the other ships of the French fleet, Victoire, allowing HMS Inconstant to catch up with and engage her. Agamemnon and Captain came up to assist soon after, and continued firing into the 80-gun French ship until the arrival of more French ships led to Admiral Hotham signalling for the British ships to retreat. Ça Ira was captured the following day, along with Censeur, which was towing her, by Captain and Bedford.
On 7 July 1795, whilst in company with a small squadron of frigates, Agamemnon was chased by a French fleet of 22 ships of the line and 6 frigates. Due to adverse winds, Admiral Hotham was unable to come to her aid until the following day, and the French fleet was sighted again on 13 July, off the Hyères Islands. Hotham signalled for his 23 ships of the line to give chase, and in the ensuing Battle of the Hyères Islands, Agamemnon was one of the few Royal Navy ships to engage the enemy fleet. The French ship Alcide struck her colours during the battle, only to catch fire and sink. Many of the other French ships were in a similar condition; Agamemnon and Cumberland were manoeuvring to attack a French 80-gun ship when Admiral Hotham signalled his fleet to retreat, allowing the French to escape into the Gulf of Fréjus. Admiral Hotham was later greatly criticised for calling off the battle, and was relieved as Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean by Admiral Sir John Jervis at the end of the year.
Nelson was promoted to Commodore on 11 March, and on 10 June 1796 transferred his pennant to HMS Captain, Captain John Samuel Smith replacing him as Agamemnon's commander. Having been deemed in great need of repair, the ship then returned to England.

Mutiny and the Baltic
In May 1797, whilst under the command of Captain Robert Fancourt, Agamemnon was involved in the Nore mutiny. On 29 May, the North Sea squadron lying in the Yarmouth Roads was ordered to sea. Only three ships, Adamant, Agamemnon and Glatton, obeyed the signal, but Agamemnon's crew later mutinied, and sailed the ship back to Yarmouth Roads. The ship was then taken to join the main mutiny at the Nore anchorage, along with Ardent, Isis and Leopard, arriving on 7 June. After a blockade of London was formed by the mutineers, several ships began to desert the wider mutiny, in many cases being fired upon by the remaining ships. Order was eventually restored aboard Agamemnon when the loyal seamen and marines forcibly ejected the hard-line mutineers from the ship. Captain Fancourt was able to secure a pardon for the remaining ship's company.
On 18 March 1799, Agamemnon was damaged when she ran onto the Penmarks Rocks. With the assistance of the crews from two sloops and troops from Pendennis Castle at the pumps, the crew managed to stop the water level in the hold rising any further, and the ship made for Plymouth for repairs. Movement caused the leak to gain on the men at the pumps once more, and when she was off Penlee Point, Agamemnon fired a gun for assistance. HMS Clyde escorted her into Falmouth on 25 March, and she was then lashed to a sheer hulk to prevent her sinking.
In response to developments in the Baltic in 1801 that threatened to deprive Britain of much-needed naval supplies, Agamemnon was sent as part of a fleet under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker and Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson to attack the Danish at Copenhagen. On 2 April, Agamemnon was part of Nelson's division that fought the Battle of Copenhagen. Agamemnon was positioned second in the line after HMS Edgar, and after passing down the Outer Channel, she grounded whilst attempting to round the southern tip of the Middle Ground shoal. While the battle raged around her Agamemnon, along with Bellona and Russell, both of which had also run aground, flew signals of distress. The three stranded ships were eventually pulled off the Middle Ground in the night of 3 April.
After the Treaty of Amiens concluded the Revolutionary War, Agamemnon was laid up at Chatham in 1802.

Napoleonic Wars
Agamemnon's general condition in 1802 was so poor that, had hostilities with France not recommenced, she would likely have been hulked or broken up. Instead, after Britain's entry into the Napoleonic Wars, she was brought out of ordinary in 1804, recommissioned under Captain John Harvey on 31 July, and went to join the Channel fleet under Admiral William Cornwallis.
Agamemnon was part of Vice-Admiral Robert Calder's fleet cruising off Cape Finisterre on 22 July 1805, when the combined Franco-Spanish fleet from the West Indies was sighted to windward. The British ships formed into line of battle, with Agamemnon fifth in the line, and engaged Admiral Villeneuve's fleet in hazy conditions with light winds. Agamemnon had three men wounded in the Battle of Cape Finisterre, and lost her mizzen topmast and the foresail yard. By nightfall, Calder's fleet had become scattered, and he signalled for the action to be discontinued.

Battle of Trafalgar
On 17 September 1805, after completing a small refit of his ship in Portsmouth, Captain Harvey was superseded in command of Agamemnon by Captain Sir Edward Berry, who had previously commanded Nelson's flagship, HMS Vanguard, at the Battle of the Nile. On 3 October she departed Spithead to join Vice-Admiral Nelson's fleet blockading Villeneuve's combined fleet in Cádiz. En route, Agamemnon fell in with a French squadron, consisting of six ships of the line and several smaller vessels, which gave chase. Succeeding in evading the French, Agamemnon joined the blockading squadron on 13 October, and when Nelson laid eyes on the approaching ship he reportedly exclaimed: "Here comes that damned fool Berry! Now we shall have a battle!" In misty conditions on 20 October, Agamemnon captured a large American merchant brig, which she then took in tow. Not long after, HMS Euryalus signalled to Agamemnon that she was sailing straight towards an enemy fleet of 30 ships—Villeneuve's fleet had left port.
On 21 October 1805 Agamemnon fought in the Battle of Trafalgar. Agamemnon was positioned eighth in Nelson's weather column, with Orion ahead and Minotaur astern. Once engaged, she was firing both batteries, eventually pounding the great Spanish four-decker Santísima Trinidad until that ship was dismasted and, with 216 of her complement dead, struck her colours. Before Berry could take possession of the prize, the enemy van division began bearing down on the British line, having previously been cut off from the battle by Nelson's line-breaking tactics. With Nelson already dying below decks on Victory, Captain of the Fleet Thomas Hardy ordered Agamemnon and several other ships to intercept them. Three of the enemy ships broke off and ran for Cádiz; after briefly engaging Intrépide the British ships moved to try and cut off the fleeing ships. Over the course of the battle, Agamemnon suffered just two fatalities, and eight men were wounded.
Following the battle, Agamemnon, despite taking on three feet of water in her hold each hour, took Colossus under tow to Gibraltar. After carrying out repairs, the ship rejoined Vice-Admiral Collingwood's squadron, which had resumed the blockade of Cádiz.

Later career

At the beginning of 1806, Agamemnon was with Vice-Admiral Duckworth's squadron in the West Indies, pursuing a French fleet carrying troops to Santo Domingo. On 6 February 1806, the two squadrons clashed in the Battle of San Domingo; Agamemnon assisted Duckworth's flagship Superb in driving the French Vice-Admiral Leissègues' flagship Impérial onto the shore where she was wrecked. In October, Agamemnon escorted a convoy on her return to Britain.
In 1807 Agamemnon was part of Admiral James Gambier's fleet sent to take control of the Danish fleet before it could fall into French hands. She participated in the second Battle of Copenhagen, and as in the first in 1801, ran aground. After she had come free, Agamemnon landed guns and shot in Kjörge Bay to form part of a battery being established there to command the city. Firing commenced on 2 September, and lasted until the Danes surrendered on 7 September. In November, Agamemnon joined the blockading squadron off Lisbon.

Loss
In February 1808, Agamemnon sailed with Rear-Admiral Sir Sidney Smith's flagship Foudroyant to Brazil, where they joined another squadron. At Rio de Janeiro it was discovered that Agamemnon was again quite worn out, with seams in her planking opening and some of her framing bolts broken. In October, Agamemnon and Monarch anchored in Maldonado Bay, in the mouth of the River Plate. They had been escorting the merchant vessel Maria, which had carried the surgeon Dr. James Paroissien to Montevideo where he was tasked with exposing a plot against King John VI of Portugal, who was in exile in Brazil. Whilst there, Monarch ran aground, requiring Agamemnon's assistance to get her off. After learning that Paroissien had been imprisoned, the two ships put to sea, but were forced to return to Maldonado Bay when they encountered bad weather. After the ships returned to Rio in January 1809, the ship was fully surveyed by the carpenter, who drew up an extensive list of her defects.
On 16 June 1809 Agamemnon, along with the rest of the squadron (which was now under the command of Rear-Admiral Michael de Courcy), put in to Maldonado Bay for the third and final time, to shelter from a storm. While working her way between Gorriti Island and the shore, Agamemnon struck an uncharted shoal. Captain Jonas Rose attempted to use the ship's boats, together with the stream and kedge anchors, to pull the ship off, but to no avail. The ship had dropped anchor on the shoal just previously, and it was discovered that she had run onto it when she grounded, the anchor having pierced the hull. On 17 June, with the ship listing heavily to starboard, Agamemnon's stores and all her crew were taken off by boats from other vessels in the squadron, and the following day Captain Rose and his officers left the ship.
The court-martial for the loss of Agamemnon was held at Rio de Janeiro on 22 July 1809, aboard HMS Bedford. It was found that the ship might have been saved if she had not been in such poor general condition, and Captain Rose was honourably acquitted.

Legacy
In 1993 the wreck was located north of Gorriti Island in Maldonado Bay. Expeditions led by Mensun Bound have documented the remains and recovered a number of artefacts, including a seal bearing the name 'Nelson,' and one of Agamemnon's 24-pounder guns from her main gundeck.
The historical novelist Patrick O'Brian selected Agamemnon as one of the ships on which Jack Aubrey served as lieutenant, before the events of Master and Commander, the first novel in his Aubrey–Maturin series. Agamemnon has also been the subject of at least two paintings by the British artist Geoff Hunt, currently the president of the Royal Society of Marine Artists.
To mark the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, in 2005 the Woodland Trust planted 33 woods named after Royal Navy ships that fought in the battle: one each for the 27 ships of the line, and six others for the frigates and smaller support craft. Agamemnon wood was planted in November 2005 on the Beaulieu Estate in Hampshire, near Agamemnon's birthplace, Buckler's Hard.
After the wreck of Agamemnon in 1809, the name was only reused by the Royal Navy for three other ships: the 91-gun second rate steam ship of the line Agamemnon of 1852, the Ajax-class battleship Agamemnon in 1879, and the Lord Nelson-class battleship Agamemnon of 1906.
Agamemnon Channel in the Sunshine Coast region of British Columbia, at the mouth of Jervis Inlet between Nelson Island and the Sechelt Peninsula, was named for the Agamemnon (Nelson Island being named for Lord Nelson) by Captain George Henry Richards of HMS Plumper in 1860.

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HMS Bellona 1760

HMS Bellona was a 74-gun Bellona-class third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. Designed by Sir Thomas Slade, she was a prototype for the iconic 74-gun ships of the latter part of the 18th century. Bellona was built at Chatham,[1] starting on 10 May 1758, launched on 19 February 1760, and commissioned three days later. She was the second ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name, and saw service in the Seven Years' War, American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.



Bellona left to join the squadron blockading Brest (this being the Seven Years' War) on 8 April 1760. She was later detached to patrol off the Tagus River in Spain, and on 13 August, while sailing with the frigate Brilliant, she sighted the French 74-gun ship Courageux in company with two frigates. The British ships pursued, and after 14 hours, caught up with the French ships and engaged, the Brilliant attacking the frigates, and Bellona taking on the Courageux. The frigates eventually got away, but the Courageux struck her colours, and was later repaired and taken into the Royal Navy.

In 1762 Bellona was paid off and did not see action again until 1780, during the American Revolutionary War. She was coppered at this time, one of the first British ships to receive the hull-protecting layer. Until 1783 she cruised in the North Sea and the West Indies, and participated in reliefs of Gibraltar.

Bellona was once again paid off, recommissioned briefly in 1789 in expectation of war with Russia, but didn't get into action again until 1793, when she went to the West Indies. In 1801 she was in the Battle of Copenhagen, participating despite having grounded on a shoal. She continued to serve in the North Sea and Bay of Biscay until 1814, when she paid off for the last time and was broken up,[1] having served in the navy for over 50 years, an unusually long time for one of the old wooden ships.

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HMS Victory 1765

    ► HMS Victory is a 104-gun first rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. She was also Keppel's flagship at Ushant 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 continues to be flagship of the Second Sea Lord and is the oldest naval ship still in commission.

Construction
 

    ► 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.

    ► The outline plans arrived in June 1759 and were based on HMS Royal George which had been launched at Woolwich Dockyard in 1756. The naval architect chosen to design the ship was Sir Thomas Slade who, at the time, was the appointed Surveyor of the Navy. She was designed to carry at least 100 guns and was established with that number of guns; in practice, her armament varied from 104 to 106 guns and carronades. In January 1808 the Victory was reduced to a 98-gun Second rate, but was reclassed as a 104-gun First Rate in February 1817.

    ► The keel was laid on 23 July 1759 in the Old Single Dock (since renamed No. 2 Dock and now Victory Dock), and the name was finally chosen in October 1760. It was to commemorate the Annus Mirabilis or Year of Victories, of 1759. In that year of the Seven Years' War, land victories had been won at Quebec, Minden and naval battles had been won at Lagos and Quiberon Bay. There were some doubts whether this was a suitable name since the previous first-rate Victory had been lost with all on board in 1744.

    ► Once the frame had been constructed, it was normal to cover the ship up and leave it for several months to season. However, the end of the Seven Years' War meant that she remained in this condition for nearly three years, which helped her subsequent longevity. Work restarted in autumn 1763 and she was finally launched on 7 May 1765, having cost £63,176 and 3 shillings (present day £7.06 million) and used around 6000 trees, 90% of which were oak and the remainder elm, pine and fir, as well as a small quantity of Lignum Vitae.

    ► Because there was no immediate use for her, she was placed in ordinary—in reserve, roofed over, dismasted and placed under general maintenance—moored in the River Medway for 13 years until France joined the American War of Independence.

    ► In March 1778, John Lindsay was appointed her first captain, but he was transferred to captain HMS Prince George in May 1778 when Admiral the Honourable Augustus Keppel decided to raise his flag in Victory. She was commissioned in May 1778 under the command of Rear Admiral John Campbell (1st Captain) and Captain Jonathan Faulknor (2nd Captain), with the flag of Admiral Keppel.

    ► The Victory was armed with smooth bore, cast iron cannon. Initially she carried thirty 42-pounders (19 kg) on her lower deck, twenty-eight 24-pounders (11 kg) on her middle deck, and thirty 12-pounders (5 kg) on her upper deck, together with twelve 6-pounders on her quarterdeck and forecastle. In May 1778, the 42-pounders were replaced by 32-pounders (15 kg), but the 42-pounders were reinstated in April 1779; eventually, in 1803, the 42-pounders were permanently replaced by 32-pounders. In 1782, all the 6-pounders were replaced by 12-pounders. Later, she also carried two carronade guns, firing 68-lb (31 kg) round shot.

First battle of Ushant

    ► Keppel put to sea from Spithead on 9 July 1778, with a force of thirty ships of the line and, on 23 July, sighted a French fleet of twenty-nine ships 100 miles (160 km) west of Ushant. The French Admiral, Louis Guillouet, comte d'Orvilliers, who had orders to avoid battle, was cut off from Brest but retained the weather gage. Two of his ships escaped into port leaving him with twenty-seven. The two fleets manoeuvred during shifting winds and a heavy rain squall until a battle became inevitable with the British more or less in column and the French in some confusion. However, the French managed to pass along the British line with their most advanced ships. At about a quarter to twelve Victory opened fire on the Bretagne of 110 guns, which was being followed by the Ville de Paris of 90 guns. The British van escaped with little loss but Sir Hugh Palliser's rear division suffered considerably. Keppel made the signal to follow the French but Palliser did not conform and the action was not resumed. Keppel was court martialled and cleared and Palliser criticised by an inquiry before the affair turned into a political argument.

Second battle of Ushant

    ► In March 1780 Victory's hull was sheathed with 3,923 sheets of copper below the waterline to protect it against shipworm. On 2 December 1781 the ship, now commanded by Captain Henry Cromwell and bearing the flag of Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt, sailed with eleven other ships of the line, a 50-gun fourth-rate, and five frigates, to intercept a French convoy that had sailed from Brest on 10 December. Not knowing that the convoy was protected by twenty-one ships of the line under the command of Luc Urbain de Bouexic, comte de Guichen, Kempenfelt ordered a chase when they were sighted on 12 December and began the battle. When he noted the French superiority he contented himself with capturing fifteen sail of the convoy. The French were dispersed in a gale and forced to return home.

Battle of Cape St. Vincent(1797)

    ► In 1796 Captain Robert Calder (First Captain) and Captain George Grey (Second Captain) commanded Victory under Admiral Sir John Jervis's flag. Sir John Jervis sailed from the Tagus on 18 January 1797; after being reinforced on 6 February by five ships from England his fleet consisted of fifteen sail of the line and six frigates. On 14 February the Portuguese frigate Carlotta, commanded by a Scotsman named Campbell with a Portuguese commission, brought news that a Spanish fleet was close. Jervis manoeuvred to intercept, and the battle was joined. Principe de Asturias , leading the Spanish leeward division, tried to break through the British line ahead or astern of Victory, but Victory poured such a tremendous fire into her, followed by several raking broadsides (that is, a ripple broadside delivered to the stern of the enemy axially), that the whole Spanish division wore round and bore up. Horatio Nelson, in HMS Captain (primarily), also played a decisive role in this action.

Reconstruction

     

► In February 1798 Victory was stationed at Chatham under the command of Lieutenant J. Rickman. On 8 December, unfit for service as a warship, she was ordered to be converted to a hospital ship to hold wounded French and Spanish prisoners of war. In 1799, Rickman was relieved by Lieutenant J. Busbridge.

    ► However, on 8 October 1799 HMS Impregnable was lost off Chichester, having run aground on her way back to Portsmouth after escorting a convoy to Lisbon. She could not be refloated and so was stripped and dismantled. Now short of a first rate, the Admiralty decided to recondition Victory. Work started in 1800 but as it proceeded an increasing number of defects were found and the repairs developed into a very extensive reconstruction. The original estimate was £23,500 but the final cost was £70,933.

    ► Extra gun ports were added, taking her from 100 guns to 104, and her magazine lined with copper. Her figurehead was replaced along with her masts and the paint scheme changed from red to the black and yellow seen today. Her gun ports were originally yellow to match the hull but later repainted black, giving a pattern later called the "Nelson chequer", which was adopted by all Royal Navy ships after the Battle of Trafalgar. The work was completed on 11 April 1803 and the ship left for Portsmouth on 14 May under her new captain, Samuel Sutton

     Nelson and Trafalgar

 
   ► Vice-Admiral Nelson hoisted his flag in Victory on 16 May 1803 with Samuel Sutton as his flag    captain and sailed to assume command in the Mediterranean on 20 May. Nelson transferred to the faster frigate Amphion on 23 May.

   On 28 May, Captain Sutton captured the French Embuscade of 32 guns, bound for Rochefort from San Domingo. Victory rejoined Lord Nelson off Toulon on 30 May when Captain Sutton exchanged commands with the captain of Amphion, Thomas Masterman Hardy.

    ► Victory was passing the island of Toro on 4 April 1805, when HMS Phoebe brought the news that the French fleet under Pierre-Charles Villeneuve had escaped from Toulon. While Nelson made for Sicily to see if the French were heading for Egypt, Villeneuve was entering Cádiz to link up with the Spanish fleet. On 7 May Nelson reached Gibraltar and received his first definite news. The British fleet completed their stores in Lagos Bay, Portugal on 10 May, and two days later sailed westward with ten ships and three frigates in pursuit of the combined Franco-Spanish fleet of 17 ships. They arrived in the West Indies to find that the enemy was sailing back to Europe where Napoleon Bonaparte was waiting for them with his invasion forces at Boulogne.

    ► The Franco-Spanish fleet was involved in the indecisive Battle of Cape Finisterre in fog off Ferrol with Admiral Sir Robert Calder's squadron on 22 July before taking refuge in Vigo and Ferrol to land wounded and abandon three damaged ships. Calder on 14 August and Nelson on 15 August joined Admiral Cornwallis's Channel Fleet off Ushant. Nelson continued to England in Victory leaving his Mediterranean fleet with Cornwallis who detached twenty of his thirty-three ships of the line and sent them under Calder to find the combined fleet at Ferrol. On 19 August came the worrying news that the enemy had sailed from there, followed by relief when they arrived in Cádiz two days later. On the evening of Saturday, 28 September, Lord Nelson joined Lord Collingwood's fleet off Cádiz, quietly, so that his presence would not be known.
Nelson's famous signal, "England expects that every man will do his duty", flying from Victory on the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar.


     ► When Admiral Villeneuve learned that he was to be removed from command he took his ships to sea on the morning of 19 October, first sailing south towards the Mediterranean but then turning north towards the British fleet, beginning the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson had already made his plans: to break the enemy line some two or three ships ahead of their Commander in Chief in the centre and achieve victory before the van could come to their aid. Fitful winds made it a slow business. For five hours after Nelson's last manoeuvring signal the two columns of British ships slowly approached the French line before Royal Sovereign, leading the lee column, was able to open fire on Fougueux. Twenty five minutes later Victory broke the line between Bucentaure and Redoutable firing a treble shotted broadside into the stern of the former from a range of a few yards. At 25 minutes past one Nelson was shot, the fatal musket ball entering his left shoulder and lodging in his spine. He died at half past four. Such killing had taken place on Victory's quarter deck that Redoutable attempted to board her, but they were thwarted by the arrival of Eliab Harvey in the 98-gun HMS Temeraire, whose broadside devastated the French ship. Nelson's last order was for the fleet to anchor, but this was countermanded by Vice Admiral Collingwood. Victory lost 57 killed and 102 wounded. 

 After Trafalgar

Final years afloat

    ► Victory took Nelson's body to England where, after lying in state at Greenwich, he was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral on 6 January 1806.

    ► Victory bore many Admirals' flags after Trafalgar, and sailed on numerous expeditions, including two Baltic campaigns under Admiral Sir James Saumarez. Finally her active career ended on 7 November 1812, when she was moored in Portsmouth Harbour off Gosport and used as a depot ship.

    ► It is said that when Thomas Hardy was First Sea Lord he told his wife, on returning home, that he had just signed an order for Victory to be broken up she burst into tears and sent him straight back to his office to rescind the order. Though this story may be apocryphal, the page of the duty log containing the orders for that day has been torn out.

    ► In 1889, Victory was fitted up as a Naval School of Telegraphy. She soon became a proper Signal School, and signal ratings from ships paying off were sent to Victory, instead of the barracks, for a two-month training course. The School remained on Victory until 1904, when training was transferred temporarily to HMS Hercules, and in 1906 the whole School was moved to a permanent establishment at the Chatham Royal Naval Barracks.

    ► As the years passed by Victory slowly deteriorated at her moorings. By 1921 she was in very poor condition, and a campaign to save her was started with the Save the Victory Fund under the aegis of the Society for Nautical Research. The outcome of the campaign was that the British Government agreed to restore and preserve her to commemorate Nelson, the Battle of Trafalgar and the Royal Navy's supremacy before, during, and after the Napoleonic period.

In dry dock

    ► On 12 January 1922 she was moved into No. 2 dock, the first drydock in Europe and the oldest surviving, at Portsmouth for restoration - her condition having deteriorating to the extent that she could no longer safely remain afloat. During the initial restoration period from 1922 to 1929, a considerable amount of structural repair work was carried out above the waterline and, mainly, above the middle deck. In 1928 King George V was able to unveil a tablet celebrating the completion of the work, although restoration and maintenance still continued under the supervision of the Society for Nautical Research.

    ► In 1941, Victory sustained some damage from a bomb dropped by the Luftwaffe into her dry dock, causing damage to the hull. On one occasion German radio propaganda claimed that the ship had been destroyed by a bomb, and the Admiralty had to issue a denial. Very few structural repairs were carried out in the period between 1929 and 1950. In the early 1950s, a detailed structural survey was completed. From that survey, it was apparent that the lower structure in the vicinity of the keel and extending up both port and starboard to beyond the turn of the bilge, was in very poor condition. Repairs were put in hand and completed in 1964. The wood used to carry out some of the restoration was teak in the case of the timbers internal and external planking, and oak for the keelson, riders in the hold, beams and pillars. After 1964, some repair of a belt extending around the ship which contained a fair proportion of decayed wood was carried out using Iroko hardwood.

    ► Listed as part of the National Historic Fleet, Core Collection, in the early 21st century the ship underwent another very extensive restoration for the bicentenary of the battle in October 2005 to bring her appearance as close as possible to that which she had at Trafalgar. Replicas of items including mess bowls, beakers and tankards in the 'Marines' Mess', and a toothbrush, shaving brush and wash bowl in 'Hardy's Cabin' are on display.

    ► Victory's foretopsail was severely damaged during the battle of Trafalgar, perforated by upwards of 90 cannonballs and other projectiles. It was replaced after the battle but was preserved, and eventually came to be displayed in the Royal Naval Museum. The sail is laid out across a large chamber, illuminated by alternating lowlight projectors.

Current status

   
    ► HMS Victory is still in commission as the flagship of the Second Sea Lord in his role as Commander in Chief of the Royal Navy's Home Command (CINCNAVHOME). She is the oldest commissioned warship in the world, although the USS Constitution, launched 30 years later, is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat. Victory attracts around 350,000 visitors per year in her role as a museum ship.
    ► The westernmost entrance to the Royal Navy's facility in Portsmouth, HMS Nelson, is known as Victory Gate.
    ► The current and 99th commanding officer is Lt-Cdr DJ 'Oscar' Whild Royal Navy, who assumed command on 1 September 2008.
    ► Of the living descendants of the Trafalgar ship's company, the most active (although not the most senior, as several of Nelson's direct descendants are still alive) is James Smith-Hardy, who only discovered he was descended from Sir Thomas Hardy in October 2005

Future support arrangements

    ► In June 2009 Defence Equipment & Support, DE&S issued a request for Expressions of Interest to private industry for the future support arrangements for HMS Victory. DE&S aims to award a single 9-year project management contract in time for planned works to commence in April 2010 through to April 2019. The sum total value of the contract award is indicated to be worth between £15 million and £30 million spread over the life of the contract. The contract is to be funded from the British defence budget.

    ► However due to restructuring within DE&S (responsibility for HMS Victory transferring from Minehunter Patrol & Hydrographic IPT to Surface Combat Directorate), the contract competition was subsequently placed on hold.

    ► In June 2010, DE&S Surface Combat Directorate re-issued the Expression of Interest to private industry. The terms remain unchanged although DE&S now aims to award the contract in time for works to commence in April 2011.

    ► After some 40 years, significant repairs to the hull are now required, the deterioration being worse on the Starboard side than the Port. It is anticipated that the majority of manufactured hull planking will be issued as Ministry Supplied Material (MSM) to the successful contractor. Whilst the contractor will not, for the most part, be expected to employ authentic methods and skills, whenever it is practical authentic materials will be used.

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