Moving along into yet again a different navy we come to Victory. I will be totally honest, I thought there was only one HMS Victory. I should have known the Royal Navy would have had more than one ship using this name over the years. With that said we shall now take a look at the word and the ships that have used this name.

The word Victory come to us from the Latin root, victoria. Etymology of the word is as follows:Middle English victory, victorie from Old French vi1torie from Latin victōria from victor (“victor”). Displaced native Middle English siȝe, sye (“victory”) (from Old English siġe (“victory”)), Old English sigor (“victory, triumph”). All of that is useful when you finally pass all the tests and get on Jeopardy.

Its use was originally applied only in terms of military actions. Then the next logical progression was into personal achievements. The Latin form of the word replaced other forms of the word from the 14 century on. This included the Gothic sigis and Old High German sigu. Both of these are common roots in Germanic names, Sigibert, Sigurd. Mythological victory was shown in terms of the Greek God Nike, the Roman God Victoria. It was also seen as good over evil.

OK, now onto the ships all of the following were ships named Victory in the Royal Navy, HMS Victory 1569, HMS Victory 1620, HMS Victory 1675, HMS Victory 1737, HMS Victory 1764, and HMS Victory 1765.

HMS Victory 1569 was a 42 gun ship originally listed as Great Christopher. She was broken up in 1608.

HMS Victory 1629 was a 42 gun great ship launched at the Deptford shipyard. It took another seven years before Victory was actually commissioned. She launched an attack against La Rochelle that same year, but it was aborted. During the First Anglo-Dutch War she took part in the Battles of Dover (May 1652), Dungeness(November 1652),Portland(February 1653), the Gabbard(June 1653), and Texel(July 1653). He guns would be increased to 60 by 1660. In 1665 she was placed in Ordinary (reserve) status and in 1666 was rebuilt to carry 82 guns as a second rate ship of the line. She then took part in the Four Day’s Battle of 1666. In July of the same year she was in the St. James’s Day fight. During the Third Dutch War she again saw action during the Battles of Solebay(May 1672), Schooneveld (May and June 1673), and Texel(August 1673). By 1685 he guns were reduced to 80. HMS Victory was broken up at Woolrich Dockyard in 1691.

HMS Victory (1695) was actually built as HMS Royal James in 1675. She was a 100 gun first rate ship of the line at the Portsmouth shipyard. She was renamed HMS Victory in 1691 after the previous Victory was condemned and broken up. She served as the flag ship for Admiral Sir John Ashby during the Battle of Barfleur, May19-24 1692. She underwent rebuilding in 1694 to 1695. Her name was briefly changed to HMS Royal George in 1714 after the Hanoverians came to the throne. She was renamed again to HMS Victory in 1715. An accidental fire partly destroyed her in 1721 which caused her to be broken up.

HMS Victory (1733) was built as a 100 gun first rate ship of the line at the Portsmouth Dockyard. She was built to the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment. A few timbers of the previous Victory were used in her construction. The new ship was officially a rebuild of the previous ship, using new guidelines. She was also the last British first rate ship to be armed entirely with Bronze cannon. Her construction may have led to her premature sinking. She was a high sided ship with a shallow draft. This was believed to caused make her leewardly, or pushes downwind more than normal when the wind on a quarter or to beam. While returning from blockade duty she ran into a large storm October 3, 1744. On October 4 other ships in her company lost sight of her, she was lost with all hands. For 260 years it was believed she went down on Black Rock off the Casquets. Her wreck was located in 2008 43 miles from where she was originally thought to have sank. The wreck remains property of the British Government under marine salvage laws. So far only two of the ships 100 cannon have been raised.

HMS Victory (1764) was a small 8 gun schooner launched in 1764. She spent her service in Canada and was burnt in 1768.

HMS Victory (1765) is hands down one of the most famous ships of all time. She took part in the Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic wars. She served as Admiral Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, flagship at Ushant. Admiral John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, flagship at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. Then she served as flagship to Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. She serves today as the flagship for the Second Sea Lord. She is the oldest warship in commission in the world. She was commanded by some of the greatest names in naval history and took part in some of the most important battles in naval history.

Victory had her keel laid July 23, 1759. The dock where she was built is not named in honor of her. Her name was not chosen until 1760. It was to commemorate the Annus Mirabilis of 1759, Year of Victories. A standard practice of the time after the frame was constructed was to allow it to season for several months. Due to the end of the French and Indian War, Seven Years War, Victory was left in this state for three years. After she was finished in 1763 she was placed in ordinary, roofed over, dismasted and moored in the River Medway for 13 years.

When France joined the Revolutionary War, American War for Independence, she was finally commissioned and put to sea for war. She took part in two smaller battles before entering into the Battle of Cape St. Vincent in 1796. Victory played a major role in the battle while viciously attacking the Spanish ship Principe de Asturias. In December 1798 Victory was deemed unfit to serve as a warship and ordered converted to a hospital ship. However after the loss of HMS Impregnable it was decided to recondition Victory. When work was finally finished she was a better and stronger ship than before. She was also painted in the now familiar black and yellow as seen today. She left port with a new Captain and Admiral on board. The Admiral was Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson.

The ship and her most famous commander were together and headed to possibly the greatest Naval Battle in history. The Battle of Trafalgar took place October 20, 1805. Just prior to the battle Nelson had the signal “England Expects that every man will do his duty” hoisted. During the battle England lost her greatest Naval hero and gained a national treasure. Nelson was felled by a snipers bullet and Victory was severely damaged. Victory took Nelson’s body back to England and underwent repairs.

HMS Victory is now in dry dock and is currently the oldest commissioned warship in the world. It has been told she was saved by the wife of First Sea Lord Thomas Hardy. He told her he had just signed orders to bake the ship broken up. She forced him back to his office to rescind the order. The page from that days log book was torn out.

HMS Victory may very well be the last ship to carry this name fro England. She holds a special place in many people’s hearts. May she continue to have fair winds and following seas.



Image source-----Wikipedia