Perspective painting of a whole hull model. Possibly the most famous warship in the history of the Royal Navy, HMS 'Victory' was the flagship of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Although the British decisively defeated the French and Spanish navies in the engagement, Nelson was fatally wounded by a French sharpshooter. Victory was built at Chatham in 1759-1765 to the design of Sir Thomas Slade, and then rebuilt between 1800 and 1803. At Trafalgar she carried a total of 102 guns. Victory's active career ended in 1812, and since 1922 has been in her present location in Portsmouth dockyard, where she has been restored and attracts some 350,000 visitors a year as a tourist attraction.
