HMS Victory: Returning Nelson's flagship to her former glory
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2024
- HMS Victory is undergoing a massive restoration and conservation programme costing around £45m.
Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar is being stripped right back and having all the rotten wood removed.
Forces News was given exclusive access to the ship, preserved for all to enjoy at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, to see the progress that's being made.
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As an American and a fan of military history, I am grateful that the Royal Navy is preserving and keeping HMS Victory afloat for generations to came. Her history should never be forgotten. Thank you!
Well not afloat. She has been in dry dock 102 years.
She is not going to sail ever again, sadly
You don't need to state that you're American
@@raphaelsmithwick4363 it’s internet: he could been Australian for all we know
@@raphaelsmithwick4363 I personally like that he's stated where he's from as it shows that she is famous beyond the UK where her history truly lies.
When I first started work in 1981, I worked with a lovely old chap called Reg Keyte who served on HMS Victory - honestly. He was a gunner on HMS Nelson in the Second World War, was wounded in action and when recovered was confined to shore and so served as Fire Watch on HMS Victory, an important job given the air raids on Portsmouth. Naturally there was much banter at work, such as Reg being asked what Admiral Nelson was really like, all of which was taken in good spirits, as one would expect from a real gent. He would be pleased to know his old ship is being restored.
Do you know if anything happened to the ship for mr. Keyte to get into action, protecting her?
@@exharkhun5605 I don't believe so. I think he had a relatively quiet time on his watch. His injury incurred on HMS Nelson though left him with a permanent limp from an immobile ankle. If I recall correctly he was a gunner on A-turret. I've no idea in which action this occurred.
@@spotontheroad1 Thank you for answering. It's still a lovely little anecdote that connects history to us in our own time. Wishing you the very best.
That's a fantastic story. Here's to you, Reg!
@@exharkhun5605 In 1941 her keel was broken by a 500lb bomb courtesy of the Luftwaffe.
So glad she is being preserved! who cares how much it costs. and still being the oldest ship in the world still commissioned. she is one historical treasure.
It really annoys me when people say the money is being wasted etc. Its paying wages and training apprentices, they spend the money in the economy - its not like PPE contracts where it just goes into an off shore bank account
Wonderful to see the care and science going into the preservation of HMS Victory. She really is a National Treasure.
My dad was one of the shipyard workers who built victory
@@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24you mean restoring this National Treasure.
@@christophermichaelclarence6003 no he was one of the original builders when the ship was new
@@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24 Oh wow. Your father was one of the Original craftmanship of the HMS Victory
So your dad was around in the mid 1700s when this ship was built then,so your agood 300 years old then are ya,yeah rite,ya muppet.
Went on a tour of HMS Victory in 1964/5 - whilst a trainee at HMS Ganges - it is truly wonderful to see the commitment to keeping this priceless history of Great Briton in good shape.
That was about the same time as I went on a tour of HMS Victory. I was a Cadet training to be a weapons artificer at HMS Excellent (Whale Island). Great memories.
The last time I visited her was in the late 1950's and she was still afloat in the dock. She was then the Flagship of The Admiral Commanding Portsmouth and his office Nelson's day cabin. My Father, an Intelligence Officer, a Captain, was visiting him and being the school holidays I was dragged along, not complaining for once. A very well informed CPO gave me an excellent tour of her. Dad had to be assisted into the staff car by his steward having consumed a large quantity of Plymouth several hours later.
@@tonys1636 All the records say she went into drydock on the 12 January 1922, and on the 8 April 1925 she was temporarily refloated within Portsmouth's No. 2 dock, to adjust the supporting cradle so that Victory's waterline would be at the same level with the top of the dry dock consequentially she was not afloat in the 1950's.
As an American, I congratulate the British for preserving this living piece of history. HMS Victory is around 75 yrs older than the USS Constitution, and maintaining these vessels requires a huge investment. At a time when there is a movement to discard our history, it is heartwarming to see this project (much like the effort to preserve the battleship USS Texas).
What movement is discarding history?
@@seanwebb605Progressivism. Or haven't you seen statues being torn down and history being re-written these last several years?
@@suspiciousminds1750 You mean the confederate statues that were erected in response to the civil rights movement? What history is being re-written? I would be surprised to learn that you has much experience as a scholar. More like right wing symbolism. Are you planning on burning any books today?
@@seanwebb605 Columbus' statues are being removed, the Founding Fathers are being trashed as little more than slave owners, Teddy Roosevelt's statue was removed from NYC, even Frederick Douglas and Lincoln statues have been defaced! Perhaps you are not aware so the so-called "1619 Project" by Nikole Hannah-Jones, that states the US was founded solely to protect slavery.
"National Socialists" are the book burners, I wasn't aware that Socialists are "right wing."
"I would be surprised to learn that you has much experience as a scholar. "
-I may not be a scholar, but at least I know grammar.
Do some research, learn some proper grammar, and maybe, maybe, you won't embarrass yourself.
Class dismissed.
We're done.
Bye!
"HMS Victory is around 75 yrs older"
Barely 30. 1765 vs 1797
Words cannot describe .. shear Majesty.. of. British Naval History ...
I trained a group of project managers from the dockyard a few years ago, one of whom looked after Victory.
He told me that possibly 15% of the ship is now original, rather like Trigger's Broom.
Compare that to the equally wonderful HMS Tricomalee at Hartlepool where possibly 90% of her may be original timber due to her being constructed of teak. Its great that we still care for these old men o' war, although I do worry about HMS Unicorn at Dundee as her planking is starting to look really bedraggled so she has to be next in the queue for a major restoration.
That's so true Dave.
Worth remembering that all the cells in a human's body are replaced every ~7 year, so you are not physically the same person your once were. Yet, you probably don't consider yourself to also be a Trigger's Broom.
@@DrRusty5Not all cells are replaced though. Most importantly neurons do not duplicate themselves and thus can't regenerate. Which is the reason why diseases like dementia are very hard to treat.
Same as USS Constitution
Bonus: If you go to Portsmouth to visit HMS Victory, you can also visit HMS Warrior (1860 or so) which is an incredible look at technological change. Steel hull with sails. Old and new guns - from the oldest muzzle loaders to breech loaders but fuzed like a muzzle loader to proper fuzeless breech loaders. Very interesting bonus!
As well as Victory and Warrior don't forget Mary Rose and HMS M.33, a WW1 navy ship (a monitor) and HMS Alliance, a submarine, if you visit Portsmouth. In Belfast there is HMS Caroline, the last surviving ship from Battle of Jutland and also SS Nomadic, Titanic's tender.
HMS Victory is important history to all of us and like our USS Constitution needs to be saved/shared with the world. Thank you for restoring HMS Victory. Shalom
Not bothered about your boat tbh..
@@Dave-hu5hr Same
@@Dave-hu5hrWhat a thoroughly rude and ignorant comment from a thoroughly rude and ignorant specimen of a person. Learn some manners if you function as a human being. Manners maketh man!!!
Awesome, a truly terrific day out to go and visit this piece of history and walk the decks Nelson and his sailors walked and fought on and in.
This is the Victory it's the symbol of our land. You can build it in a bottle you can hold it in your hand.
Amen.
One of my ancestors came aboard her with Captain Hardy, and my maternal grandfather served aboard her briefly whilst training in WW1
Not according to her history, he didn’t.
Awesome 18th century technology. Reassuring to hear there's a master shipwright on the job.
Brilliant. What an insight into the work involved to solve the problems found.
I'm wondering if some of that lovely smooth modern jointing makes water penetration around caulking easier or harder
I was on this in 1979 with the Sea cadets from TS Boscowen. I recall the red floor, the reason was to hide the blood from injured sailors.
Worth every penny ....
I visited the victory in the mid '70s when we anchored off of there, I was on the USS Nimitz.
My mum got us abroad your ship on a liberty boat when an officer was stood up on a date and he took us instead.
Been on this ship so many times. It was an always on my list to visit when I went to town. So glad the repairs are getting on.
It's incredible that this historical treasure is still left to rot outside exposed to the elements. It should be a in a large dedicated hall displayed with full rigging.
A ship should never be severed from the sea.
@@SennaAugustus It's been in a dry dock for a century...
Nothing is more iconic of British Naval History than HMS Victory. This amazing vessel has to be the pride of Britian, It s is surrounded by HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose, three different generations of warship. I have visited HMS Victory a number of times, my family served in the navy and came from pompey. My G/G/fathers service record showed him attached to HMS Victory a number of times, I was very proud of that but soon discovered a sailor cannot be adrift without a ship, so when the ships tied up the crews were place on HMS Victory in the payroll, it showed they were infact ashore in Portsmouth HMS Firefly was another account for being ashore payroll entry.
Got the opportunity to visit on Monday Morning and it was a fantastic time to see the ship. Aside from the workers we often had an entire deck to ourselves. Were able to experience the ship in peace and quiet. Very grateful for the opportunity
Happy to see this iconic ship is being looked after so well.
I walk those decks nearly 10 years ago now and was so great full for having that experience so I wish for good work so others can experience the same thing ❤❤
Thank you !
The interview questions are very well designed and the interview itself was very natural, the topic was very interesting as well. Great work by all!
Way back in 1979 I met my future wife who was Captains secretary onboard. We married in 1980 and were still here 44years on….happy days!!
Congratulations!
Keep the updates coming 👌🏻😃
So So Happy That This Icon VICTORY Is being Saved
Hearts of Oak. ✌️🏴
Great piece of UK history. I saw her in live only inside (becose reconstruction) and i been very impresed.
I know it would never happen, but imagine seeing the Victory sailing with the Constitution...that would be a sight to behold. To the people doing the restoration of HMS Victory, thank you and keep doing an outstanding job.
amazing works
Good work Len!
Fabulous effort , Thankyou please do a follow up when she is ready .
Toured her in the early 80's. A great memory.
Bet the French and Spanish don't think so!
I went on that ship fifty years ago it was in perfect condition. Huge wood working.
Think of how good the craftsmanship is that this ship even still exists.
For me one of the top ten European monuments.
Amazing
My Grandfather did a painting of this Beautiful Ship. Would love to see Her up close.
Hope you have a sprinkler system on Victory. It worries me that we'll lose it to fire one day, either by accident, neglect, or vandalism.
Learn lessons from Notre-Dame.
Some left wing groups who want it erase British history have already threatened to burn down the ship along with other historical British landmarks. Matter of time unfortunately
I think lessons were learned from the Cutty Sark fire in 2014.
The REAL "HEART OF OAK"!
If you want to see how another English wooden sailing vessel is rebuilt (From the keel up), and see some of the techniques (in miniature) - check out the Tally Ho!
I was thinking about that as I was watching this. That is a great project as well!!
So so very cool
She is beautiful!
Im a scot but found that absolutely moved me!
while scotland is still a part of the UK, you're allowed to be proud of this :)
@gg-ps1vz
Indeed. It's a British ship of the Royal Navy.
One thing that should help that particular kind of damage is that Victory will never again feel the ocean buoying her up as her sails are set and takes her to sea. That is sad. But, considering her importance, I'm very happy that she is being preserved and will be for as long as England can.
Theseus’s ship comes to mind.
I've been to see the HMS Victory 2 times now and wacked my head both times due to how cramped the ship is inside as the average human height was back then was a lot smaller than it is now. Totally worth it as it is something you should take time to see in person if you can.
That's not true! The average height is virtually the same as it is now. Captain Hardy was 6'4"
Average height isn't the reason the headspace is short there's a lot less of a size difference than people think between modern people and those from hundreds of years ago..... odds are the headspace is cramped because making it like that allowed them to fit another deck level inside the ship.
Kakarot64- Spot on! That's the reason, to make as much space as possible, it wasn't a cruise liner!
Lord Nelson said "England knows Lady Hamilton is a virgin. Poke my eye out and cut off my arm if I'm wrong."
Great video! I was surprised that they were expressing measurements in traditional units rather than metric. Perhaps because that’s the way the ship was built?
The problem is restoring and preserving something that was only really designed to last a few years if it was lucky. If Nelson came back to life he would be amazed that anything was left. People forget that stuff built for war is rarely designed to last for that long.
But Victory was already 50 years old at the Battle of Trafalgar. She was built in 1765.
As a kid I was on the SCC Chichester every year on the 11th of November on Sunday we paraded with other units. By Victory she looks naked with out her mast.
Great job and thank you! Any plans to build a mobile enclosure or barrier to improve protection of HMS Victory from the elements once preservation is completed? Especially during cold and severe weather. Seems like a waste of good teak, oak and craftsmanship if the process has to be repeated in 50 or so years.
旗艦ビクトリーと海軍の神様ネルソン提督ですね 残っていると知りませんでした 素晴らしい！
What an inspiring title! The HMS Victory is such a significant piece of naval history, and the restoration of Admiral Nelson's flagship is a fascinating process. It's amazing to think about the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail required to bring such an iconic vessel back to its former glory. The HMS Victory is not only a testament to naval engineering but also a living piece of history that tells so many stories about the past. It's great to see efforts being made to preserve these important historical artifacts for future generations! 🚢⚓🌊
Just a point of interest. HMS Victory is still a commissioned ship of the Royal Navy and therefore is considered to be active, even though she will never leave drydock. Victory still hosts many Naval events, one of which is holding "Courts Marshall", something a sailor doesn't want to face.
I actually built a 1:69th scale replica of HMS Victory, started at the beginning of 2009, finally finished it at the end of 2012. It's fully rigged and painted. I lost count of the number of knots I had too tie, but the end result is brilliant.
All the clove hitches securing the ratlines to the shrouds? Been there, I calculated over over 1500 clove hitches.
Can never be an active ship when locked forever in a drydock. The commission is honorary for a relic converted into a building, with out the sea she is no longer an active ship at all.
@@charlesmaurer6214 I guess you are American?
The act of commission is different over here as it is something awarded by the Monarch. Also the fact it is in a drydock and still has access to open water is different to certain museum ships that are forever landlocked, Victory could, theoretically, still go to sea when made seaworthy.
The other thing that makes it different is that it is the flagship of the Second Sea Lord/Commander in Chief Naval Home Command and is, therefore, still manned by Officers and Ratings of the Royal Navy just as any RN Commissioned warship.
Great Job Money well Spent 👍🇬🇧
I was advised when I visited the ship in the summer that they were using French oak for some of the repairs - not sure Nelson would have approved!
Actually, he probably would have - there was a widely held belief in the Royal Navy back in those days that French built battleships sailed better than British ones.
I have a pocket knife that has scales made from oak from the Victory.
I'm revisiting a book about The Battle of Trafalgar. Both the Royal Navy and French Navy used captured ships, Gallic names were in common use for British ships and vice versa. Some French (and Spanish?) sailors served abroad HMS Victory. It's a bit confusing for my one grey cell but fascinating all the same😊
In 2002 I clearly noticed dry rot in forward sections of HMS Victory on the starboard and port sides. Naturally I thought that others would have noticed and had plans to rectify the problems, so it was much to my surprise that years later the issues were recognised. It makes you wonder!!
Chances are they have to prioritise what they fix, there’s probably a big list somewhere. Almost like hospital triage.
If they try to do everything at once the thing will be covered in scaffolding for years
Wow how many trees did it take to build this originally and to now maintain? And I need a wood-shop like that!
What about putting a structure around it like a hanger, project sea and sky on the dome inside but protect it from weather for the rest of time
Great idea but would sadly cost far too much.
I thought the same, something traditional , similar to the old victorian railway terminals with the arched glass roofs and the sides could be build to be inkeeping with the other dock buildings.
@@AtheistOrphan healer than a rebuild every 25 years or so…. I bet a public fundraiser could be used to supplement the costs . Good thing for the king to chip in for
Have the premiere soccer clubs donate to it also
Looks like an application of "The ship of Theseus". Eventually there will be nothing left of the original Victory.
Perhaps once completed put her inside a large weatherproof pavilion? Then you just repair the pavilion as required.
Even your cells and atoms ate eventually replaced till not one bit of you is original. Doesn't mean your any less you
Nice
I look forward to the day when Victory, Constitution, and all of those old sailing ships go on a worldwide tour together...
🤔
I would sit beside all of that old wood and ponder what stories it could tell us.
Is the "tent" build around it for making sure the weather can't come in while the hull is open? Or do the caulking compounds need it? Or is it for the workers (not less important, I can't imagine you'd do your best work while standing on scaffolding in a February hailstorm)?
Great work preserving her and speaking for all my countrymen, we promise not to sail on over (again) and burn and sink all of your ships (again). Really. No worries. ❤😘
Maybe it’s time Victory has a building constructed around her. I appreciate that would make it harder to see her in all her splendid glory!
Probably the best thing to do at this point, especially if they let it rot to this point before doing any repairs.
no
Just a skeleton structure with the roof above it with some pannels to let in light would reduce weathering an rot to a fraction over time. She stopped being an active ship the day she was sealed forever in that drydock. Historical artifact yes, active ship not unless she can sail.
Good to see the old girl getting readied to become the front line of our naval defences once again
Like Trigger's broom.
I was going to say that too.
@@VanderlyndenJengold me too!
When your car breaks down do you replace parts?
How long will the hull stay in good condition once it's fully restored?
The way our Navy is going we might need that to be operational 😂😂
❤❤
for the record the futtocks of a ship in the old days were built with whole timber, if not jigsaw puzzle jointed timber. this new approach of laminating comparatively thin timber together with glue wont give it anywhere near the same amount of strength it used to, plus laminated timber is more prone to weakness. so really this restoration isn't meant to make her seaworthy again, just pretty. another video series by sampson boat co. is building another famous sailing boat called the "Tally Ho!" using the proper method of using gigantic logs of teak, purpleheart, oak, etc. all of which are insanely expensive when they're whole like this and not laminated like what is being done with HMS Victory, and compared to the Victory, its a genuine pleasure to what Tally Ho built the proper way as she was meant to be.
Thank you for addressing the issue of using laminated timber. I was wondering and scrolled through the comments to find if someone knowledgeable had something to say about that.
As an 80 year old semi retired shipwright, it brings home the problem of the lack of training in this country, that an icon of our maritime history is in the hands of foreign boat builders. It seems that France in particular, have taken over maritime history, and the training of a new generation of shipbuilders, while in Britain this skill has been deemed to be in danger of being lost.
It would be amazing if they actually restored Victory to sea worthy condition and put her back out to sea like USS Constitution.
Easier to build a replica
How about building a weatherproof structure around HMS Victory, limit the damage?
Wouldn't it be better and more long term cost effective to construct a dome or building over her, to protect her from the elements, like how they did with the Vasa?
And take Amundsen's
'Fram' as another example.
Only big problem: 'Victory' has its masts.
Of course the original frames were not laminated with resin........
its a shame we didnt save more of our iconic ships!!!!..... HMS Warspite should have been saved as the national hero that she was! and also HMS Vanguard, the last battleship EVER built! two amazing pieces of British naval history gone :(
These people are so clever.
As others have said here - it's about time a permanent protective structure was built around her.
The Wasa is housed inside a protective building in Sweden.
It would save money in the long run - £45m today - how much will similar repairs cost 50 years from now?
As long as it's in dry dock the British can tell themselves it's a serviceable ship that has the USS Constitution beat on age and pooh pooh the distinction that the USS Constitution still can and does sail. In a museum, there are a dozen older ships on display.
Triggers broom springs to mind 🤔
Ship of Theseus?
probably gonna need a bit more than 7 minutes on this ...could you be so kind to do a lengthy multi part series that spans the restorations entirety.....down to the smallest of details ? :)
I do wonder how much of Victory is stll original...is it still the same ship? Interesting idea...
Considering all of the rebuilds since its original construction and return from battles I don't imagine much is original. Not what will be visible to the public.
I wonder how long laminated wood will last compared to the original solid timbers?
surely traditional methods have worked this long, why not replicate those🤷♂
@@joncawte6150 No oak trees left that are large enough to make such a large curved piece. Most of the woodlands are gone and built over and it would take hundreds of years to grow an oak to that size
@@toekneekerching9543 The US Navy actually has an forest for that purpose, to maintain USS Constitution.
The USS Constitution not only looks good but sails too!
When on Victory in 1976 . Made when Great Britain ruled the world's seas and oceans . 🏴🇬🇧
I hope it will be returned to its original state. When I first saw it forty years ago it was a serving naval ship and everything was in order as a regular warship should be with the guides naval ratings. I'm afraid 18 months ago I thought it was a bit of a mess with people wandering round a half deserted museum. I suppose the Navy handed it over to a trust to save money.
This old ship has had 17 new heads and 14 new handles..
They should repair her well enough to be sea worthy again, then we could have USS Constitution and HMS Victory sail together.
Better hurry up, Navy is gonna need her come September!
Why ?
@@matthewrose6275
Additional hull for providing taxi services to small boats crossing the channel.
When you do something, do it right. How can you use laminated futtocks when they did not do that when the ship was built? Use historically correct procedures!
An 'ancient ship'? Ah yes, those descriptions of her sailing into battle alongside Roman triremes...
Ancient just means very old. There's no defined period
350 years is ancient
I doubt that she will ever be refloated despite the additional strain of being in a dry dock. A ships hull is designed to be evenly supported by water so they do not collapse in on themselves by spreading outward from weight above the waterline. Extensive engineering required to prevent this so may never get her full masts and yards back. They increase the strain from the wind.
I had not realized the effects of dry docking before. Since the drydock is water tight perhaps they could flood the drydock with recirculating fresh water that would not deteriorate the ship. Regardless you present good to know information. The American ship USS Constitution is almost the same and is floating, every several years it makes a trip around the harbour.
@@jamesdoyle5405 Salt water acts as a preservative, fresh water rots timber faster. She rotted from the inside from the humidity of thousands of visitors over the years as little dry air circulation on the lower decks and not as salt laden as when at sea. I can imagine that the decks have been scrubbed with fresh water over the years in dry dock not seawater. A hose easier than buckets, installing a seawater pump on the dockside should be simple. If the Dock is ever flooded then a salt water UV purification system as in salt water swimming pools could be installed to kill the harmful bacteria.
@tonys1636 Good suggestions and good to know. My observations were based on the ship wrecks on the bottom of the Great Lakes which had been pristine until recently. Now those wrecks are threatened by zebra mussels. Was it the cold that had preserved them?
Only 17% of what you see is original, she underwent a lot of repairs after Trafalagar, and since being dry docked is collapsing under her own weight.
Only 20% is still original 😢
6.03 Hood in the background...
…and here was me thinking ‘futtock’ was a Monty Python invention 🤓