HMS Victory Tall Ship Model
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HMS Victory Tall Ship Model
Special Edition
Dimensions:
60"(long) x 50"(tall) x 15"(wide)
includes masts)
Large Scale Ship
Shipping & Insurance: $
125
Included(Continental U.S. only)
Retail Price:2700.00
Our Price $1650.00
(You Save: %)
Usually ships in 2-3 business days
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Click photos to enlarge detail
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HMS Victory - Battle of Trafalgar
HMS Victory
The HMS Victory stands today as the "world's oldest commissioned warship". Still manned by Officers and Ratings of the Royal Navy, the Victory has seen over 200 years of almost continuous service. A 104-gun First Rate ship designed by Sir Thomas Slade, the Surveyor of the Navy (1755-1771), according to the Establishment of 1745 as the only ship of its class and built in 1759-1765 at the Chatham Dockyard for the Royal Navy.
The Victory was launched on 7th May 1765. The Victory's fame was due to the fact that as dawn near on October 21, 1805, under the British flagship, she took part in the momentous "Battle of Trafalgar", Spain and completely defeated the Franco-Spanish fleet with her powerful canons that can fire half a ton of iron shot more than a mile.
Lord Horatio Nelson
Horatio Nelson was born on September 29, 1758, to Catherine (Suckling) Nelson, the wife of Edmund Nelson, rector of Burnham Thorpe, in the county of Norfolk. Horatio entered the Navy on January 1, 1771, at the early age of only twelve years old. Despite a less than promising beginning to his naval career, the young Nelson stuck it out and worked his way up the ranks and at the age of twenty he "made post," achieving the rank of captain. Several years later Lord Nelson received orders to hoist his flag aboard HMS Victory and patrol the Mediterranean.
Napoleon at War
In order to understand the importance of the battle of Trafalgar, we must first understand the grand strategy of Napoleon. With the onset of the War of the Third Coalition (1805-1807), it was the new French emperor's goal to unite the French Fleets located at Toulon and Brest with Spanish ships from Cartagena and Cádiz. Once this fleet was created in the Atlantic, Bonaparte would possess enough ships to seriously consider an invasion of England.
British Blockade
The year was 1805, British ships had formed a blockade off the coast of Spain in order to protect against attacks by the Franco-Spanish fleet. The French Navy, confined to ports all along the coast of France, was under constant surveillance by the British blockade. The skillful use of frigates by the English allowed every major concentration of French ships to be meticulously observed while at the same time allowing the larger, slower ships of the line ample time to respond to French movement.
Of all Napoleon's foes, only the British remained undefeated and implacable in their opposition. Unlike his other enemies, who he was able to meet in open battle, the English Channel and the Royal Navy protected the English.
Battle at Trafalgar
Napoleon needed to gain control of the English Channel to allow his Grand Armée to cross. To achieve this he ordered the French fleet’s three squadrons blockaded at Brest, Toulon and other ports to break out, meet in West Indies and then return as one fleet to gain control of the Channel.
The French Admiral Villeneuve, able to evade the British blockade, left for the West Indies, only to return after losing his nerve. Under threat of removal of his command for cowardice, Villeneuve’s orders were to try to break into the Mediterranean.
 Nelson’s fleet of 27 ships of the line now waited for Villeneuve’s force to emerge. The fleet was a high peak of fighting efficiency having been at sea blockading the French for almost two years. At the end of September, Nelson revealed his plan to his captains; the fleet would be split into two columns to break through the enemy line and overwhelm the center and rear sections of the enemy’s fleet.
On October 19th a British frigate watching Cadiz spotted the Franco-Spanish fleet leaving harbor. It consisted of 33 ships of the line including the 136 gun Santissima Trinidad, the largest ship in the world.
By dawn on 21 October the British fleet was only 9 miles away from the enemy. At 11:48 the HMS Victory hoisted the famous signal ‘England Expects That Every Man Will Do His Duty’ followed by ‘Engage the enemy more closely’.
The Aftermath
At 1:15 PM, while the H.M.S. Victory was engaging the Redoubtable, Nelson was struck in the spine by a sniper and was carried below to die. However, when he did succumb to his injury at 4:30 PM, he was certain that the English had won the day.
By 5:00 PM, the battle was over and the Franco-Spanish fleet was shattered. Villeneuve himself was captured, and his fleet surrendered some 20 ships to the English fleet. In addition, 14,000 men were lost, half of whom were prisoners of war, while 1,500 British seamen were killed or wounded. Only 11 ships reached Cadiz while no English ship was destroyed.
The battle of Trafalgar can be considered the "most decisive naval battle", both tactically and strategically, in history. It not only eliminated Napoleon's plans to invade England, but had also destroyed French naval power and ensured the dominance of the British navy throughout the world.
HMS Victory Lives on
On 12 January 1922 she was moved into the oldest dry-dock in the world: No. 2 dock at Portsmouth for restoration. 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. Over the last few years the ship has undergone another very extensive restoration to bring her appearance to as close as possible to that which she had at Trafalgar for the bicentenary of the battle in October 2005.
HMS Victory is the only remaining 18th Century warship anywhere in the world and is the oldest serving Royal Navy ship in commission - she remains a fully commissioned ship with her own complement of officers and crew and is the flagship of the Second Sea Lord, Commander in Chief Naval Home Command.
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