Battleships, Past and Present, #3; HMS Victory Quiz

Answer: Battleship still in commission

HMS Victory, although an 18th century wooden sailing ship, was classified as a First Rate, Ship of the Line ("Line of "Battle Ship" hence "Battleship") for her day. She was built before the age of the ironclads but was protected by as much as two feet of timber! She is still in commission in the Royal Navy and is crewed by active duty sailors.

She is in permanent dry-dock in Portsmouth, England. USS Constitution is also still in commission, in the US Navy, although she is a few years younger and not classified as a battleship.

There are numerous vessels of other classifications that predate HMS Victory but none are battleships.

Answer: HMS Victory Damaged by German Bomb

HMS Victory was indeed damaged by a bomb dropped by a German bomber. The bomb impacted Dry Dock #2 and inflicted minor damage on the historic ship, although the German propaganda machine claimed that she was destroyed. The Admiralty issued a denial to that report.

Answer: The oldest dry-dock in the world

HMS Victory was moved to Dry-Dock #2 in 1922 for refit and has never left. It is the oldest dry-dock in the world. Dry-Dock #2 is not a floating dry dock. Although some of Victory's Cannon are over 200 years old they are far from the oldest, and she does not have elm tree pumps, she has chain pumps.

Answer: Naval School of Telegraphy

HMS Victory, after her active duty service was complete, in 1812, became a Depot Ship, then the Port Admiral's Flag Ship, and in 1889 became the home for the Naval School of Telegraphy until it was moved to the Royal Naval Barracks in 1904. She was far too large and complicated for sail training.

Answer: (100) Total Cannon of different sizes

HMS Victory did indeed have 100 total guns when she was commissioned but by the time Trafalgar rolled around she had been refitted with a total of 104 guns in a significantly different weight of metal mix. Her original Lower Deck guns were brass 42 Pounders and were replaced with iron 32 pounders because of the excessive crew size, slower cycle time, and excessive hot gun recoil on the larger brass guns. Just before Trafalgar, the 32 Pounder Carronades were replaced with right smashersas the 648Pounder Carronades were sometimes called.

The mid and Upper Gun Decks pretty well remained the same during her fighting years with (30) 24 Pounders and (28) 12 Pounders.

Answer: Laid up "in ordinary" naval reserve until 1778

With the end of the Seven Years War, HMS Victory was not needed for the peacetime fleet and was left uncompleted "in ordinary" until her completion was ordered by the Admiralty in 1776. When she was completed and commissioned in 1778, Sir John Lindsay took command of HMS Victory and delivered her to Spithead to serve as Admiral Keppel's Flagship. Horatio Nelson was a boy, "barely breeched", when Victory was launched.

Answer: Third Rates of 74 guns

The Battle of Trafalgar was fairly typical of a British Line of Battle and the make-up of the line was as follows:
First Rates, 3
Second Rates, 4
Third Rates, 20 (16 of which were 74 gun ships)
Fourth Rates, 0 (27 Ships of the Line total)
Frigates, 4 (Frigates are not normally Line of Battle Ships)

Answer: The Spanish Santisima Trinidad of 120 guns

The Spanish "Santisima Trinidad" (full name, Santisima Trinidad y Nuestra Seņora del Buen Fin) was the largest ship at the Battle of Trafalgar. She sank in the famous storm the following day after being virtually destroyed during the battle. The British "Royal Sovereign" of 110 guns was Lord Collingwood's Flagship at Trafalgar and was about the same size as Victory.

The USS Pennsylvania of 120 guns was the only First Rate built for the U.S. Navy but came along in 1836. At any rate, the U.S. was not directly involved in the Napoleonic Wars.

The French "Valmy" of 120 guns was the largest, all-sail, "Line of Battle Ship" ever built, but was a few years late for Trafalgar.

Answer: In the lead of a British line.

Part of the "Nelson Touch" at Trafalgar was the unusual tactic of approaching the French and Spanish line from perpendicular rather than "angling" up along side the enemy line almost parallel. The British formed two lines with Lord Nelson in HMS Victory leading one and Lord Collingwood in HMS Royal Sovereign leading the other.

They cut the enemy line in two places. The result was total chaos in the enemy fleet and a resounding victory for the British. The down side was that the enemy fleet could and did severely batter the lead ships before the line was broken.

Answer: HMS Victory never again served on active duty with the Royal Navy

HMS Victory flew many admirals' flags after Trafalgar, and sailed on numerous campaigns, including two Baltic campaigns under Admiral Sir James Saumarez. Her active career did not end until 1812 when she was moored in Portsmouth Harbor as a depot ship.

The complete victory at Trafalgar, where the British lost no ships to the enemy's 22, was marred by the death of Lord Nelson to a musket ball. HMS Victory was indeed severely damaged and had 59 killed and 102 wounded.