HMS Victory Launched at Chatham

1765

HMS Victory, the warship that would become the most famous vessel in Royal Navy history, was launched at Chatham Dockyard in 1765. Although not built at Portsmouth, Victory's association with the city, and with Portsea specifically, is profound and enduring. The ship was a first-rate ship of the line, carrying 104 guns and requiring a crew of over 800 men. She was designed by Sir Thomas Slade, Senior Surveyor of the Navy, and her construction used timber from around 6,000 trees, predominantly English oak. Victory served as a flagship for several admirals before her most celebrated role as Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. After that battle, Victory returned to Portsmouth and continued in various roles. She was placed in permanent dry dock at Portsmouth in 1922, in the oldest surviving dry dock in the world, No. 2 Dock in the Historic Dockyard. She has remained there ever since, serving as the flagship of the First Sea Lord, a role she retains to this day as the oldest commissioned warship in the world. Victory is the centrepiece of the Historic Dockyard visitor experience and the single most iconic symbol of Portsea's naval heritage. Her presence in the dockyard draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.