Tag Archives: HMS Victory model ship

HMS Victory – The Second Battle of Ushant

by johnk on 12. Apr, 2010 in Model Ship History

In March 1780 the HMS Victory’s hull was reinforced and sheathed by 3,923 sheets of copper underneath of the HMS Victory’s waterline in order to protect against “shipworm”. Shipworm is actually not a worm, but a type of unusual worm-like clam from the Teredo navalis genus. Protection from these “sea termites” was a necessity, as the Teredo Worm is capable of boring into wood structures underneath the water, and eventually destroying them.

On December 2nd, 1781, the ship fell under the command of Captain Henry Cromwell, and bore the flag of Rear Admiral Richard Kempenfelt. Kempenfelt was an established soldier who took part in the capture of Portobelo during the War of Jenkins’ Ear. HMS Victory sailed among eleven other ships of the line, including a 50-gun fourth-rate, and five frigates. These vessels were used to intercept a French convoy sailing from Brest since the tenth of December. However, Cromwell and Kempenfelt were unaware that the French convoy they were to intercept was protected by twenty-one ships of the line commanded by Luc Urbain de Bouexic, comte de Guichen. Kempenfelt ordered a chase against the protected convoy when they were sighted on December 12th, and unknowingly began the Second Battle of Ushant..

Even though Kempenfelt knew that the strengthened protective force surrounding the convoy would overpower his fleet, he used the North Atlantic’s strong gale to his advantage, as it made many of the French fleet return to port. Kempenfelt’s fleet then swept down to capture 15 ships before the French ships could even intervene.

The Second Battle of Ushant was an easy victory for Cromwell, Kempenfelt, and the HMS Victory. Unlike the first battle, there was no confusion or even direct line to line contact. The North Atlantic storms proved to be a risk that the French could not handle, and the winds secured much of the British fleets’ job of attacking the French for them. After the battle, the Opposition in Parliament questioned why such a small force was sent to do battle against the larger French convoy, and ordered an official inquiry into the administration of the Royal Navy. This was the start of the fall of the government of Lord North, which would in turn lead to the Peace of Paris era which ended the American Revolutionary War.

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HMS Victory Construction

by johnk on 09. Apr, 2010 in Model Ship History

The commissioner of Chatham Dockyard began construction on a new first rate ship in December 1758, of which only ten in the 18th century were made. This marked a departure from the Royal Navy’s smaller ships, and the first time two ships were commissioned at the same time.

The as of yet unnamed HMS Victory was based on the plans of the HMS Royal George, a ship three years HMS Victory’s senior at the time. Sir Thomas Slade (Surveyor of the Navy), became the official naval architect on the HMS Victory’s design. Slade conceptualized the HMS Victory to house 100 guns at the very least. The final result yielded a few more guns in total, from 104-106. However, in January 1808, she was reduced to a 98-gun Second rate ship, but then reinstated as a 104-gun First rate 9 years later.

Construction was officially underway on July 23, 1759 in the Old Single Dock, and a name was chosen in October the following year. The ship’s name stems from the Annus Mirabilis, which translates to “Year of Victories”, of 1759. As the name suggests, 1759 was a great year of the Seven Years’ War that saw land and naval battles won in Quebec, Minden, Lagos, and Quiberon Bay. However the name “Victory” was a controversial choice, as the previous HMS Victory was lost at sea in 1744. When the Seven Years’ War ended, the HMS Victory was able to ease in its production. After three years of being covered to “season”, work resumed during the fall of 1763 and was completed on May 7, 1765. HMS Victory used about 6000 trees, such as oak, elm, pine, fir, and Lignum Vitae. The overall cost would come in at £63,176 and 3 shillings, which translates into £7.06 million today. Still having no need for the ship after its construction, the HMS Victory was placed in reserve, with general maintenance, in the River Medway for thirteen years. This incubation of HMS Victory helped testify to the longevity that it would endure when it was finally put into action to join the American War of Independence.

The HMS Victory displayed its threatening demeanor with thirty 12-pounders on the upper deck, twenty-eight 24-pounders on the middle deck, thirty 42-pounders on the lower deck, and twelve 6 pounders on the quarterdeck and forecastle. In spite of this impressive array of weaponry, many of the arms were downgraded in May 1778. For instance, the 42-pounders became 32-pounders. By April 1779, the 42-pounders were again put into place, but subsequently replaced permanently by the 32-pounders in 1803. The 6-pounders were also replaced, but by 12-pounders, in 1782. Two carronade guns capable of firing a 68-pound round shot were implemented in the future. All the armaments of the HMS Victory were made of smooth bore and cast iron.

John Lindsay became the HMS Victory’s first, albeit short lived, captain in March of 1778, but was tasked to helm the HMS Prince George only two months later. Now helmed by Rear Admiral John Campbell (1st Captain) and Captain Jonathan Faulknor (2nd Captain), the HMS Victory was commissioned in May 1778 under the flag of Admiral Keppel.

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