HMS Victory - The Original Fast Battleship
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ก.ค. 2019
- Today we look at the worlds oldest commissioned warship, the first rate ship of the line HMS Victory.
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Pinned post for Q@A :)
Never mind I found your video on her haha
Who would win US Ship of the Line USS Pennsylvania or HMS Victory?
Edit: To clarify I am referring to the 1837 USS Pennsylvania
if both or one of the Yamato class ships had survived the war and gotten into the hands of the americans, what do you think would happen to them? if they made it through the initial post-war period without being scrapped or nuclear bombed, do you think they could have served next to the iowas in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s?
Have you seen the Dan snow documentary Empire of the seas? Its an interesting take that the needs of the navy was a major driver of the development of Britain, politically and industrially. I was wondering your take on that idea?
(Im aware that you can make any case you want regarding history and what drove what, but perhaps you could humour the idea :p)
@@BastuGubbar maintaining a captured ship for 40+ years seems very complicated and costly. Cool question, I'd like input from others.
Your humour is amazing: "The sky is a typical British Grey with occasional patches of Heretical Blue...".
Pure gold.
That's why it's called Earl Grey Tea. I see now.
@@nimitzpro shouldnt you be out being a warship?
@@maggnus87 eh everyone's on about the Gerald R. Ford carriers so I'm just catching a break
@@nimitzpro Still rolling in those Final Countdown royalty checks?
@@nimitzpro haha!
Great ship. A Shipmate and I visited Victory in 1980 when our ship, USS Nimitz, visited Portsmouth. We had a fine Navy tour guide who very professionally described the ship and it's history. One incident, while aboard, was quite funny. Our guide, a young rating, had just finished describing the galley pipes that stuck topside. Another tourist, civilian, then asked what the smoke pipes were for. Without missing a beat and keeping a straight face, our guide calmly told the person that they were the exhaust for the multiple Rolls Royce marine engines that powered the ship. Rule Britannia.
That's funny as heck man.
Britannia waves the rules
@Steve Britannia waves the rules
Nice. Hello and best wishes to you. I love Americans coming to visit the U.K. And enjoying it - it's like your big brother telling you he likes you. Feels good. I hope to tour the us in a camper one day, so much to see
Ah, having fun with the tourists. I had a truly fine docent walk me around Victory years ago. He had been a RN gunner during the Falklands conflict and as things were slow that day, I pretty much was able to monopolize his time and get a "tour within a tour". Too many years ago now in time, but still vivid in memory.
HMS Victory apparently wasn’t satisfied with just winning the Battle of Trafalgar and so here we see her also winning the Battle of Drachinifel’s Skull. Spunky girl, I like her.
A fair fight would be the 'heart of oak' against a 'skull of oak', and I think Drach has given more than adequate proof in the quality of his videos that he doesn't meet the physical requirement for that sobriquet.
Hell of a fight!
"Her hull was painted red, although this has no connection to her going faster, as far as I can discern." I lost it there :D :D :D
ORK reference spotted from Warhammer 40k. Da Red Wuns DO Go Fasta!
Hour long 5 minute guide on Victory? Yes, please!
5min times 11,9i sch =59min isch
15:40 Well no wonder Nelson fell there, some idiot's put a plaque on the floor!
We say no to pay to win 😂😂😂
Nope. That's where he was sniped by the Frenchies.
@@rimmipeepsicles1870 he's joking mate 😊 but yep
You've been watching the carry on film
Carry On Jack!
56:39 HMS Dreadnought passing HMS Victory - what a sight!
I was on a U.S. government ship going through a shipyard period in Portsmouth. The ships master was invited to a tour of the vessel by the crew of HMS Victory who invited me to tag along (we were both retired U.S. Navy) and was treated to a great tour of the Victory, the highlight of our 6 week shipyard repair period. I look forward to returning and visiting the HMS Victory again, along with the Mary Rose museum (it was closed off at the time due to restoration) and HMS Warrior.
I want to see and go aboard the Victory one day.
What would be really cool is a ship exchange: the Constitution spending time in Portsmouth and the Victory in Boston. Even more cool/bad ass would be the ships go to their temporary mooring under their own power.
The Powers-that-be might go for the exchange but i doubt they'd let them sail across the pond under their own power, the risk of losing them would be too great.
@@chrismc410 The Victory is in shape tho, So its possible for the ship to easily do it.
The Constitution on the other hand.
British ships were built to deal with the seas around our Island, Witch are very dangerous, Because of that these ships were built better than most.
The Constitution would probably struggle once it reaches here not saying it was built poorly its just a fact.
It was common in WW2 for US ships to be damaged in our waters while ours were fine.
Quite a lot of US aircraft were lost on to the sea while on carriers in our waters
@@mkgaming5823 Victory is not at all seaworthy, it has been permanently modified and is completely incapable of sailing without a massive reconstruction and renovation effort, including a complete replacement of the timbers that are now bolted with those supports. Constitution is seaworthy, and sails every year on July 4th for a few hours. They would never risk her in a trans-Atlantic voyage, but she does sail to keep in shape.
On her construction, Constitution was a newer, more modern frigate, with a lot of advanced construction techniques borrowing from British and French innovations. She would have had no trouble making the voyage, and would have performed better than most of the Royal Navy, as the bulk of their ships were considerably older.
@@mkgaming5823 victory won't have it's masts up for another 8-10 years and has been fitted to be a tourist attraction, while the USS Constitution is still fully seaworthy and still sails today
Kudos for the red paint reference. Wasnt expecting it, got a chuckle out of me.
That was a reference? I just thought the red paint meant the ship belonged to the Labour party. (I'm not British, it's just logical that party use red as a symbole.)
@@Ekergaard Warhammer 40k reference. Orks there believe 'Red wunz go fasta'.
@@durhamdavesbg4948 - I actually saw it as a Ferrari reference!
As well as a chuckle I got tea up the nose.
They painted it with go-faster stripes later.
I love your sense of humor.
The French, England's reserve fleet.
@shaun muppet finder Britain wanted to rename the cheese in "honour" of the French navy, however the Swiss objected.
@shaun muppet finder BLEU
Apparently during the 17-800s the french built the better ships, but the British captured them all!
@@Boxghost102 Erm, not at all.
I'd point you towards "Command of the Ocean" www.amazon.co.uk/Command-Ocean-History-Britain-1649-1815/dp/0713994118/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Command+of+the+seas&qid=1586137250&sr=8-1,
which describes the differences between the Spanish/French ship designs and the RN designs.
French and Spanish 1st raters were designed to be impressive to the causal viewer. Nobody expected them to last particularly long and their specs were far more impressive than their seaworthiness. The timbers used were smaller, not well seasoned and of inferior quality. They impressed the people that commissioned them and the general population. But they were relatively fragile. They were not designed to fight, they were designed to flee. And they were captained by commanders who were taught to flee. That's because the raison d'être of these ships was, and always had been, to protect convoys returning home from the colonies. If they could shield the convoy until it had escaped and then flee itself, it had done its job.
OTOH, the RN was designed to fight. That is the reason the RN adopted copper bottoms for all its fighting vessels. The copper meant there was far less drag, so RN ships could sail significantly faster, in real terms, than any other ships in a fleet action. But that also meant that the RN ships had to be able to take punishment, so RN ships were built much more solidly.
I find it interesting that the French/Spanish fleets were designed to flee, not fight, and for the biggest bang for the buck, yet the heavier, more solid RN ships could usually sail faster than their opponents, and that was entirely because of their "expensive" copper bottoms.
But the other significant factor was that the RN expected their ships to fight. So gunnery practice was common (at Trafalgar the RN ships fired at between 2 and 3 times faster than the French/Spanish, and they expected their officers to actively seek battle rather than avoid it.
The RN captured so many ships because that was its raison d'être.
Has to be One of the great descriptions of all time!
I served in HMS Victory for three weeks in 1978 during my Midshipman year at Britannia Royal Naval College. The standard tour guide joke, "This plaque marks the site where Nelson fell; I'm not surprised I tripped over it myself!" You were also not allowed to discuss the relationship between Nelson and Emma Hamilton, and the "Kiss me Hardy/Kismet Hardy" argument. I also had to come up with an audio commentary to go with a selection of slides that would be on sale. Old school!
I recall visiting HMS Victory in the early 90's and the tour guide mentioned the numerous monuments to Viscount Nelson built all over the English speaking world after Trafalgar. One monument not mentioned was Nelsons Pillar in Dublin which was blown up in 1966. At the time of Trafalgar in 1805 a significant proportion of the population of that city were Unionist and a lot of the money needed to build Nelsons Pillar was raised locally. Things had changed radically by 1966.
I think it's mandatory for docents to maintain a supply of jokes about their material. I remember being on a tour of the Surprise (the ship used to film 'Master and Commander') at the San Diego Maritime Museum, and the docent pointed out the main capstan and how it was much larger than would normally be fitted to a ship of that size, but the producer wanted something more visually striking, then pointed out the holes for the capstan poles, stating that you could tell the whether a ship was built in Britain or the US by the shape of the capstan holes -- British-built ships had square capstan holes, while US-built ships had round capstan holes, to reduce the number of decisions an American sailor had to make when inserting the poles.
"Nelson captured the ship almost single-handed..." good one!
I think it was referred to as "Nelson's Patent Bridge for Boarding First Rates"; from HMS Captain Nelson boarded the Spanish 3rd rate "San Nicolas" (80 guns), and having captured it he promptly launched an attack on a the 1st rate "San Nicolas" (112 guns). The latter took one look at who was climbing up its hull and promptly surrendered!
Ship Museum tours with Drach can be a great offshoot video series. Maybe HMS Belfast next?
Since Drach was in Portsmouth I'd say HMS Alliance at the Submarine museum in Gosport would be a good one. I would also say Warrior but a special already exists on her
Would love to see Drach do, at least, all the historic warships in Britain including HMS Warrior, HMS Trincomalee, HMS Gannet (1878) HMS Caroline and HMS Cavalier, etc.
Yes HMS Belfast
@keith moore Speaking of carriers, the news that INS Viraant (ex HMS Hermes) is destined for the scrap yard rather than the plan for her to be bought back by the UK and turned into a museum is very disappointing
@keith moore Unfortunately Museum ships typically require a huge amount of work and investment before they are even seaworthy under their own power, let alone being combat ready. Ill use the USS North Carolina(I know i know im using a US ship as an example) as an example. Just recently(ok not recent, this was 98 they announced this) they finally enacted the plan to dig her out of the silt and mud where she sat for much needed repairs and restoration of the lower decks. What the divers found in checking the hull was very alarming, and meant that the plan to tow her to a ship yard up the coast would have ensured the Battleship a place at the bottom of the atlantic. The Hull was just too thin pretty much all over. Granted im talking about a Ship thats 22 years older than the Hermes, and been on reserver since 1947, and a museum since 1961(last hull work was done in the 50s. So very over due). Even after the current hull work going on right now, BB-55 will not be able to leave the berth(not just because its burried in 25 feet of mud, but the condition is just too poor.)
7:47 Building so many "capital ships" that you run out of suitable names: only in the Royal Navy.
Nowadays you could rename RN ships of all types 1 per each letter of the alphabet and still have lots of letters left.
RIP the real RN.
Hell, the USN isnt much better. 80 years ago we covered the world with Bethlehem Steel, today we cover the world in shit spewed forth by an over abundance of politicians.....
Considering the RN uses Town and city names (even village names), counties, historical people and kings and Queens, Greek mythology, Roman mythology, Tribes of people, aggressive words, I strongly doubt that they will run out of names.
@@SvenTviking Not all names were considered suitable for a ship of the line in those days, though.
Since “Boaty McBoatface” doesn’t sound like much of a threat.
Forgot to say that the time I first visited victory I was on my way back from the west country and we picked up a guy in period uniform who was going on board. When we arrived the guy went on board. When we boarded later I saw him scrubbing the decks and spoke to him he told me about life on board how hard it was but spoke in what we call first person with a strong West Country accent. After 15 minutes I rejoined the guide he asked me if I was OK as he had seen me talking to myself and pointing to things aloft. I said I was OK I was talking to the guy in period costume over there and he said there's no one there when I turned round he was gone it scared me to death. Many years later my son wrote a story about it and got good marks from his grammer school. We called it late for duty.
I'm not sure if the old ship is haunted but from your account it would seem so. I would guess that enough sailors died aboard the ship that it being haunted by some spirits that died aboard is not far fetched at all. Very interesting story. Thank you for that.
Thanks. A visit to HMS Victory has been on my bucket list for some time, but, unfortunately, looks less and less likely as I get older. Your virtual tour was, therefore, most welcome. The technology in these large sailing ships was phenomenal, and the ability to understand and use this technology to the greatest extent possible allowed the Royal Navy to coordinate movement among the ships in the fleet. And this advantage was maintained to a much greater extent by the RN than was the case for their adversaries. This enabled Nelson and Jervis to fight successfully against larger fleets. Their technical ability and seamanship were recognized by their crews, and thus they were able to lead them to victory using aggressive tactics. That contrasted to the French and Spanish lack of expertise and lack of confidence, which made them less able to resist the British onslaught. Bottom line was that the British crews expected to win, the French and Spanish expected to lose unless they could escape. That alone compensated for the difference in numbers.
Next time you go you should try and get some kind of press access. You're big enough for it.
I bet he could! But then again, it's interesting to see what a regular tour group would see.
I didn't see your comment, I was thinking the same thing.
Is he a particularly large man?
@@RoyalFizzbin Yeah, notice how much taller he was than the ceilings of the decks?
@@nitehawk86 He's tall by 18th century standards, but so are most of us. But the "big enough" comment was a reference to how many subscribers Drach has. He's important enough to ask the Royal Navy for a private media tour.
An ancestor of Richard Hammond was hired to allow the HMS Victory to slip to sea!
And the ship didn’t crash
His blood was used to grease the rails.
Lol
In 2019 I sailed in the English Solent with the French frigate of 12-pdr l'Hermione. We saw in the distance the masts of the HMS Victory. It was a very moving moment!
The bit about hard tack made me chuckle pretty hard “ if worse comes to worse you at least have an impromptu melee weapon” 😂
Thank you for taking me on a tour I'll never get to do (I no longer have the health for the flight).
I got the history bug at age 6 when my parents took me on the U-505. Even as a wee tyke I was amazed that 40+ crew could work in such tight quarters. My son got the bug touring the U.S.S. Pampanito.
For anyone thinking of visiting the ship I highly recommend it, the whole museum is incredible. You have to see the Mary Rose too it's a miracle how it has been preserved and there are hundreds of recovered artefacts on display. Give yourself at least 3 days to see everything properly you won't regret it!
“There’s the ready use ammunition, somewhat less vulnerable to explosion than later types of ammunition”
I nearly spilled my tea. As always, exceedingly brilliant video punctuated by such comments make you by far the most interesting and hilarious channel on TH-cam. I tip my hat, sir.
I was on the USS South Carolina (DLGN 37) when we visited Portsmouth. I was able to tour the HMS Victory back in 1975. There is a lot of history preserved here.
I went to see Victory about 5 years ago. It was the most magnificent ship I've ever been on. Really nice chap on board who told you about what the men and boys who crewed her. I Truly recommend you go see her and HMS Warrior if you ever go to Portsmouth.
Personally I find HMS Warrior more impressive. And I have a soft spot for frigates, so personally I prefer HMS Trincomalee and USS Constitution to HMS Victory. IMO, all are worth visiting if you’re in the appropriate area, along with HMS Unicorn (which never sailed the seas, remaining her whole life in ordinary).
Also if your ever in Portsmouth I'd say after doing the historic dockyard head over to Gosport (other side of the water from the Historic dockyard) and have a look at the Submarine museum.
I have been there on a hollyday trip to england and visited both vessels.
That must have been about 20 years ago. I was still a teen then. And now I feel even older...
@@jerry2357 HMS warrior more impressive lol not many like you about then
@@topbanana4013
Warrior is longer, broader, much greater displacement, with big guns and actually floating. To me, that makes it more impressive.
Excellent, excellent job! You missed an opportunity to point out the flexible ram rods(made of rope) on display on one of the gun decks. They were for use on the guns when the enemy ship was hard along side and the ram rods needed to be flexed into the gun muzzles because the other hull wouldn't allow the regular ram rod to fit! Also, it is almost impossible to over state the genius of Sir Thomas Slade in ship design. One of the greatest (if not the greatest) in the art ever. Ships were still being built to his designs and launched into active service over half a century after his death. And they were highly prized by their captains. Lovely ships, too.
Those are not rammers there would be no need for a flexible rammer as the Gun recoil their full length inboard to give space for the crew to reload then they are pulled back into position before firing
"Occasional Annoying Dutchmen aside"
I think Admiral Micheal De Ruyter would appreciate that title.
"Her hull was painted red, although this has no connection to her going faster as far as I can discern." That's where Ork technology is better, they can discern that red paint goes faster, because of course it does.
Thank you for granting those of us on the other side of the planet ( in my case Australia) great tour of a wonderful piece of naval history
A hearty grog cup clank to that from North America!
in my case, California
Great tour and history. I'm glad the budget slashers of the RN were fended off so the public can experience this important historical place.
*budget slasher politicians
@Jimmy De'Souza the answer has always been the same, cut politicians pay.
Jimmy De'Souza The budget slashers should all be hung. Slowly.
@Jimmy De'Souza Can't agree. Never visited Victory (yet) but I've been on various other historic warships. Looking at a picture or a model, reading some text or even viewing a simulation on a screen doesn't give you the same experience as actually being there walking around the real thing. Not even close. If these ships were not available to view first hand, something would be lost that couldn't be compensated for by a book or a display.
@Jimmy De'Souza No, it isn't meaningless. To experience is the essence of being human. We are not computers. It isn't the sort of 'information' you can boil down to numerical statistics and dry facts and feed into a database, but it is 'information' of a different kind and has a value all of its own. It's a tangible physical connection to the human past that cannot be replicated by mockups. If you don't understand, I guess I won't be able to explain it to you.
The money is relative peanuts. A few million per year? The NHS literally goes through that in minutes and the welfare system even faster. A few million is a rounding error where governmental budgets are concerned.Yes, in my view it's worth spending that relatively tiny amount of money to preserve a piece of our heritage. Again, it's not something you can boil down to numbers. Like art, you either get it or you don't.
I wonder how many men died in battle on board this amazing ship? I My father was dockyard Industrial nurse in the 60s and when some of Victory’s original timbers were cut out by the repairers they were thrown into a skip for dumping. My Dad climbed into the skip a rescued a nice piece with dowel & caulking. I treasure this momento to this day.
I remember visiting Victory during a port call with the US Navy. I loved every moment of it. Having visited Constitution as well it was nice to be able to see the difference between a Frigate and a 1st Rate of the same time period of Naval warfare. Will you be doing a "Tour Video" of Warrior? I know you already did a video on her but it would still be interesting.
I love this ship! Hearts of oak, steady boys steady! The French naval cordiary is near my location, in Rochfort. The rope factory building is immense and well worth a visit. In fact it's also the home of the replica of French frigate 'Hemione' which is well worth a tour. It is an actual sailing vessel and recently visited the USA. Back to victory, the admiral's/captains furniture was stored and towed behind the ship in a tender during battle. Excellent video, it's been years since I visited the old girl, she remains most impressive. Thank you.
I have photo of a 2 year old me on the quarterdeck in 1981 and another when I visited in 2005. Have to plan another trip back. great video. Thanks.
19:36 thank god it's the carpenters' tools, at first I feared it might be the surgeon's :(
There's a difference?
@@williamswenson5315
No, but don't tell anyone aboard
@@Nightdare Visiting Victory was the one of the high points on my first visit to the UK. It was a weekday in March and early as I walked through the gates of the Portsmouth Naval Yard. I recall being completely awed by the view of the ship from dockside. The docent that day, who had been a RN gunner, called down to me and asked if I wanted to tour the ship. It was almost an hour before opening time and I ended up getting a personal tour of her from orlop to quarterdeck. The grin that produced has stayed with me to this day. Thanks for your reply and take care, W
@@williamswenson5315 yeah. Carpenter's tools are cleaner.
@@m0nkEz Very possibly. In the Hornblower series, he is visited by a doctor and a barber. The author's comment through Hornblower is that the barber was cleaner about his person.
I feel like I should applaud.
This is a brilliant video.
A similar treatment of the Warrior would be magnificent.
Spent a very good evening when invited for a drink on board. To my surprise there is a bar on board. A more private tour of the ship followed. On another visit I attend the Victory to visit the USS Iowa on a visit. It was a fantastic sight to see the two Battleships near side by side. A great contrast.
Shouldn't be a surprise actually haha given having a bar on board is actually a traditional Royal Navy requirement as is each man getting a specific ration of rum a day
I am in NZ now, but when at primary school in London in 1979 we went on school camp near some landmark called the Devil's Punch Bowl. We went from there down to see HMS Victory. All I really remember about it was barrels of weevil biscuits complete with live weevils crawling in them. That's what stuck in my mind for some reason.
Thank you sir for your look at this grand old lady. I toured her in 1992 when my ship, USS Nassau (LHA 4) visited after a late winter Arctic exercise. I was a Leading Petty Officer and took a couple of my young seamen along for the visit. Victory at the time had her top masts stepped and yards crossed rather than down as they are at the time of your visit. Where currently there is a brow crossing from the dock ledge to the lower gun deck her hull had been opened, outer sheathing removed from a 20 by 20 foot area allowing a view into the makeup of what is probably the thickest portion of her hull, very thick outer sheathing backed by vertical timbers or frames over another layer of very thick oak planking. All together I think the hull at that point was something approaching FOUR FEET of good seasoned oak. 24 pound shot, even from point blank range wouldn't penetrate that. I wish my photos had turned out.
Your video tour brought back a lot of memories for me. Frankly I had forgotten about the low overheads (ceilings and deck beams). I'm not a tall man but even I had to duck or crouch in many areas. "How many men in the crew" one of my guys asked. It floored him when I told him "something greater than 600" and the Royal Navy Chief who was our tour guide simply nodded. He was used to our ship, 40,000 tons with 800 sailors in the crew plus up to 2,000 Marines hitching a ride with us.
She's a grand lady Drach, thank you for your extended episode and look inside.
hi i have a question. sry for my eng but why are these floors so small?
@@kaijixpapa178 The designers and shipwrights (builders) were limited by the technology, materials and tools of the day. Her hull is made up of hundreds if not thousands of individual heavy wooden beams and planks, fastened together with wooden pegs (!), iron and copper spikes and bolts. At each and every joint there will be some 'flexing' or movement between the pieces.
The larger you build the ship, the more the sea is going to cause 'flexing' of the hull. Build a wooden hull too large and very quickly the seams will be flexing to the point where they cannot be kept water tight. Victory was a successful design, a good compromise between length, beam (width) and draft … built heavily enough to be able to withstand much of the punishment she was subjected to and carry a heavy load of weaponry … and be able to sail efficiently.
They were trying to design a ship that could carry enough of the heaviest weapons available to be dangerous to an enemy and sturdy enough to take a pounding from similarly armed ships. Victory was one of the largest and most heavily armed British battleships of her era when she was first launched. There were larger and more heavily armed battleships, many built by the French and Spanish ... but they weren't that much larger. Several of those ended up as prizes of the Royal Navy.
@@robertf3479 hi thanks for the reply idk much about this topic. I decided to learn more i am making a small research. For me ( sorry for beeing dumb ) in those times the larger and more cannons means better ship since its wooden vs wooden but i dont think like this anymore. How fast was one ship like this built?
@@kaijixpapa178 How fast was a ship like this built? Assuming the shipyard already had all of the seasoned timber … several years. Victory herself was laid down (construction started) in 1759 and she was launched in 1765. She was also expensive, compared to the national budget of the time she would have taken as large a portion of the budget as a Gerald Ford class carrier WITH air wing does from the US budget.
@@robertf3479 nice 6 years looks ok for such a ship and its size.. i am curious how britain won the opium war tho as i heard the chinese ships where massive in size to any european ones..?
"...ready-use ammunition - somewhat less vulnerable ot explosion than later types..." Droll, very droll.
The early ammunition was solid Iron shot. There was very little shells used in the age of sail. Later shell ammunition was prone to explode when subject to enemy attack, like waht happened to HMS Hood, and the USS Arizona in WW2 and to several british battlecruisers in the battle of Jutland in 1916. Damage limitation and preventing ones own ammo from blowing up on board your own ship is a major consideration in naval warfare.
"England expects that every man will do his duty."
Someone should tell the current government.
Kiss me Hardy
@Joshua Morgan I think the substitution was "expects" instead of "confides". A sad change as one is a demand and the later denotes trust.
For the Rothschilds.
I first went on-board Victory when I was a small boy and I credit this and the other ships at Portsmouth, together with seeing Ted Briggs on 'Blue Peter' discussing Hood a few years later, with my interest in warships and naval history. Thank you for such an in-depth and informative video, which I think may be my new favourite on this already excellent channel.
What a glorious fantasy I just had. A trans-Atlantic sailing race, with a floating, seaworthy Victory anchoring the line on one side and the Constitution, equally seaworthy, serving as the committee boat on the other end. Hell, make it a two way race, with a week allowed the participants at each side to effect any necessary repairs.
31:14 "mostly by removing limbs, because cannibals don't do very nice things.." What?
Oh "canon balls"
Well, both don't exactly do very nice things to life and limb
I think that was on purpose
Wonderful video. I got to visit Portsmouth and Victory for the first time in June 2018. Loved every second of it.
Also, since you brought up HMS Ambuscade, here's a fun fact: Ambuscade was originally captured by the French in a duel with the smaller frigate MNF Bayonnaise. It was a duel that Ambuscade initiated, was one of the few Napoleonic ship duels where boarding decided the battle rather than gunnery, and was the only underdog French victory against the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.
Tougher than your average ship. Painted red, goes fast. Has an excessive amount of Dakka. Notable ork reference by Drachinifel involving aforementioned red paint.
Conclusion: Victory was built by orks.
Speak funny, loot everything not bolted down, brits were orks...
I got to tour this 3 years ago as a school trip and it was AWESOME!
The block (as in block and tackle) making machines you referred to were first introduced by the RN in 1805 the year of Trafalgar. The machine was invented by Marc Brunel, the father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (of Great Britain etc. fame).
I'm told block and tackle is still used to solve all manners problems aboard ship to this day
There was a really good series on the block making machinery published in the Model Engineer magazine in the 1960s.
@@chrismc410 I mean, it's not only use on ships to be fair. :p Pretty common way to raise loads.
The fact that the title still says "5 minutes (more or less)" makes me me chuckle
and WW1, WW2.
Nearest order of magnitude.
NOOOOOOOOO!!!! WE WERE THERE AT THE SAME TIME AND I DID NOT SEE YOU!!! By the way, if you want to have a 360° Victory Walkthrough, PM me ;)
I’m from Texas and I have been on the Victory, I was a great experience
Brilliant. Just got back to Oz after being home in the UK for past 6 weeks. The youngest child was wide awake in the middle of the night and so I got up to amuse her while mum slept. Went to study and logged on to TH-cam as you do when looking for a diversion, and lo and behold a suggestion for the Victory came up. We had been aboard her right at the end of May, so a few days prior to your good self! My 2 yr old and I enjoyed your tour of the old girl. Well done!
What an outstanding effort , i would never have guessed you were in your early 30`s with the talent you demonstrate in every video . I dont imagine ill ever see that ship in person so i deeply appreciate you putting this together . Cheers from Canada
Been to see Victory twice and honestly it feels almost like a religious experience. There's a real feel of history as if like a cathedral.
I’m sad to say our own USS Constitution probably wouldn’t measure up (to be fair, she *is* a much smaller ship than Victory), but I can kind of understand what you’re getting at. If I’m ever fortunate enough to pay USS Texas a visit, I imagine I’d feel something similar.
HMS Victory was front-and-center for Trafalgar, the battle that cemented Britain’s place among the great nations; in a similar fashion, Texas was there through both World Wars and saw almost the entirety of the USA’s rise to being a world power. They’re both ships with immense historical importance to their respective homelands.
@@willrogers3793 I understand the Texas is in a poor state with much work required ,sad for such a great ship and the last of it's kind.
I hope the effort to save her continues
In 1999 a 12 year old not yet colonel with an allergy to subtlety stepped into the teak decking of USS North Carolina. While the Bofors were distracting the sight of a gun almost as big as I was started a love of cannons and other related big boom producing objects......
You now get a ticket that allows you to visit as many times as you like for a year!Thank you for your tour .It was as good as visiting with a guide.
Thanks a lot for doing this video. It's no wonder men had to be shanghaied into naval service. I can't imagine the noise and smells below deck as try to get in you hammock in rough seas, hoping you don't get tossed out tonight. Even if you you are securely in your hammock, the snoring and other guy tramping up and down the deck must have made sound sleeping a hit and miss thing. I rather doubt the meals were much to look forward to either. The stories of having to pick maggots out of the meat would do me in.
Agreed, guess people were just built tougher back then
@@1IbramGaunt I guess so. I suppose conditions back home for many of the sailors from working class families wasn't much better, and at least they knew they'd get food and shelter. Still, people back then could stand privation better than we softies today. Not having the internet available would kill many.
@@sarjim4381 yep, oh don't get me wrong life at sea in the Royal Navy was no picnic but at least you knew you'd GET food, and it might not have exactly been gourmet fare or a particularly varied diet but at least it was something both officers and ordinary sailors for the most part shared in common (yeah the officers would get better food for a while after a re-supply like fresh meat, bread and vegetables but this would soon go off or run out, then it was back to the salted-meat and ship's biscuit/hard-tack everyone else was already living off). As for the harsh discipline and brutal punishments at least everyone knew the rules, everyone knew exactly where they stood and orders were carried out obediently, quickly, thoroughly and efficiently by all aboard as a result, which tended to be more than you can say for their opposite numbers on the French and Spanish ships lol
@@sarjim4381 as for modern Millenial-types they wouldn't last five minutes back then
@@sarjim4381 as for the living conditions aboard, wouldn't have been that bad once you got used to it I don't think, everyone after all was quite literally in the same boat after all (groan haha) and it'd certainly make you get on well with the men you spent the time living and working in such close proximity with out of sheer necessity; your crew would basically become your family, to all intents and purposes, and the ship would become your home
I have a sort of family confession to make...Sometime in 1922 my paternal grandfather paid a visit to Portsmouth Dockyard and presumably during the restoration work, quietly and nefariously made off with a small piece of timber from the above-named flagship...it stares accusingly at me now as I sit at my keyboard...I do hope Her Majesty doesn't want it back, as it makes a very handy paperweight...
I wouldn't worry about it. They used to sell pieces of timber from the ship in the gift shop!
16:50
Just firing out of the equivalent of your bedroom window. So badass.
these were called stern chasers
I can't stop watching your videos... perhaps due to an addiction to inane information acquisition. So much detail and backstory. I usually watch them before bed, and at 51 years, I have the same feeling as I did when my father would read bedtime stories.
Grew up a few miles away. Spent the 80s, growing up, going to the "Navy Days" every August bank-holiday weekend. Utterly glorious for any ship/naval/military/general nerd.
So sad we don't have Navy days like that any longer. 😔
She's being restored to "technically seaworthy condition"?
Oh, my... They're on the wrong side of the pond from each other, but how I would LOVE to see HMS Victory go for a short sail with USS Constitution...
According to one of the officials aboard the aim is to get over into a shape such that if they plugged the ventilation/exit back up the would float perfectly fine if the dock breaches.
There is no way she would float now. Her seams are far too shot. She'd need total re-caulking, and her bottomside planking as completely dried out. She'd leak like a colander. If they really were serious, they'd have to cover her entire bottom with something completely water proof, like Fiberglas, and that might do. This the RN really should do, as the stresses would be greatly reduced and she'd likely last much, much longer.
@@normanbraslow7902 they did the periodically anyway back in the day. No big deal
top banana , I don't believe the Victory has floated in decades. It's too late now without extensive work on her underwater. No ship like her way back then when built was out of the water that long, and once launched, thy were not put in dry dock. There were none.
@@normanbraslow7902 what is real in the ship you see now? not much if i remember rightly in the early 80s or late 70s they replaced the masks with fibre glass ones. nothing is impossible. its the old question of money, anything war related the money is not there. would be nice to see and not impossible , ship has gain more damage out of water then in it . it was also rammed in the rear all of that was re built . i think les then 20% is original even less probably 10
"A technicly sea worthy state"
I desire a navel review with the victory at its head, and Queen Elizabeth at the helm.
😁
Her Majesty is pretty badass despite her rather advanced age. She could pull it off.
@@RaderizDorret I could swear I saw her in a photo shooting a bazooka not too long ago. :)
When we went around the rating told of all the horrible punishments that were meeted out. Flogging, Keel hauling etc. Then he said--but that's all over, worse punishment they have now is to make you a tour guide on Victory!
Absolutely beautiful, makes you incredibly proud to be British and proud to have not only produced such an awesome ship but to have preserved her for over two centuries. Fantastic video, my favourite so far 😊
Two and a half centuries! Amazing isn't it?
decorating yourself with someone else's feathers, YOU didn't build her, fight her or preserve her. The fact that you were coincidently born in the UK gives you no claim to the efforts of others who are now long dead and were probably poorly treated into the bargain, be proud of your own efforts
@@albundy9597 oh well EXCUUUSE ME!!! If this was a video about the USS Constitution, the comments would be full of Americans saying the exact same things about 'their' ship. OF COURSE I didn't fucking personally build her you idiot, doesn't mean I can't be proud of my country, it's history and of her
@@albundy9597 oh shut up you prat !
@@keithrose6931 As you please
I see a Drachinifel extended video, I like before I watch.
Same
Excellent. When I went as a child I was most impressed by the dark red paint in the surgeons' quarters on the orlop deck. thirty years later, I painted my sitting room a similar colour, despite some opposition from my family who didn't feel the need to be 'below decks on HMS Victory'... Imagine my surprise, taking my two boys over the ship last year, to find there is no trace of the red paint! It's now magnolia - by coincidence the colour my wife wanted for the sitting room. I feel betrayed...
"Historical accuracy" based on the research of British Naval Museum historians sometimes does trump our childhood memories. The old black and yellow exterior hull paint now has a slightly "pinkish" tone to it.
I miss going aboard HMS Victory and listening to the docents/guides who were former Royal Navy persons, since replaced by electronic talking voices; very 21 st century "hi-tech," but not quite the same....Go figure.....
I cannot thank you enough for this wonderful tour of HMS Victory. I have been enthralled with British men o' war of sail since reading Patrick O'Brian's series years ago. You have brought that enthrallment to life just as Mr O'Brian installed it back then.
Red ones go fast!!!!! Definetly had a few orks abroad
Scrolled until I found someone else who caught this. Also the "Heretical blue sky" : )
@5:02 Gotta watch for those annoying Dutchmen, sailing up the Medway and taking-a-prize/burning first rates!
well ,if your coast defence is so bad , dont blame the dutch :)
it is not like royal navy was forbiddn to do the same 😂😂😂
Those sneaking Dutch.
Historically, the equivalent of the Taranto Raid, and arguably more devastating.
Although the Anglo-Dutch Wars were probably the high point for the Dutch Republic, who seemed to gradually decline afterwards.
Recommend N.A.M. Rodger’s volume “Command of the Ocean” which covers this period in excellent detail.
@Tickey Horseman ... what?
Britain even had a Dutch king now they are German.
Great tour. Thank you from the other side of the world.
USS Constitution still floats and occasionally sails. Neither fires their original cannons in the same way as in olden days, just a salute powder bang. All jokes aside, I love BOTH ships, they are amazing artifacts of the past! Thanks Mate! Cheers.
Blessed be the timbers of that great lady! HMS Victory one of the few Ships of the Line to completely forget she was a first rate and try to act like a frigate... and succeed.
11:14 Yeah I heard that painting your machine red makes it go 3 times faster
@Heyward Shepherd no wonder Ferraris can overtake the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird
Toured both Victory and Warrior with my ex RN brother about 3 years ago. Had a wonderful time. They have preserved both ships so well for our enjoyment. I really enjoyed the full story of the ship though. Much appreciated Drac.
Great video with excellent narration of Victory's history...living just along the coast at Shoreham I've been lucky to have visited her a number of times over the years the first time being on a school trip in 75, then on the lower gun deck, the 32 pound cannonballs used to be stacked and the young ratings giving the tour took great delight letting twelve-year-old boys pick one up and "rush" the length of the gun with it. Of course, this was well before over-eager safety zealots took the fun out of life...but even then I remember parts of the ship being closed for repairs.
Anyone who gets the chance to visit Portsmouth should certainly put a few hours aside for a trip to the historic dockyards, not only do get to see Victory but also the "newish" Mary Rose exhibit.
I was sent to HMS Victory after graduating the Royal Naval College. It was before the tour guides were civilianised. I remember it with great fondness. The script for the tour on the gundeck talked of the daily rum ration thusly..."here the men were served their daily ration of rum. The men were entitled to 8 PINTS OF BEER or 2 PINTS OF SPIRITS or fortified wine. But drunkenness was - and still is - an offence in the Royal Navy". True story.
It was against the rules to hoard and consume the ration later in one go to bring on drunkeness. Impairment from alcohol is a relative thing, most sailors were involved in heavy manual labour and only a tiny minority would be engaged in skilled tasks requiring very delicate hand eye coordination and fine judgement. This contrasts sharply with modern machinery and war practices where everything is automated and no alcohol could be drunk on duty. In an age where man was the machine a high calorie diet was essential and alcohol was a large part of that diet. There was little or no heating on those warships and most sailors needed a high alcohol consumption to stay alive.
@@jgdooley2003 thankyou for the reply. The men did in fact have plenty to eat the problem was the lack of fresh food. Pound for pound, beer provides way less calories than ie meat. They absolutely did not need alcohol to stay alive, it was in fact killing them slowly in the same way that excessive alcohol leads to ill health and early death in everyone else because the laws of nature do not change simply because you are on a wooden ship. Another myth is that the alcohol kept them warm on a cold ship. It did not. Alcohol increases blood flow to the extremities, therefore warmer hands give the illusion of warmth when in fact body heat is being lost.
I was on Belfast today and its amazing how much easier it was to get around on the old sail ships, i was always scraping my back in hatches going down ladders, my size 11 feet allowed barely a third of a foot on the steps and then due to her refis there were crazy things like corridors suddenly doing a 45 degree turn, or my favourite a diagonal ladder to squeeze past a pipe.
First, I would like to say that I really enjoy your videos. Second, in 1989, I had the privilege and honor to have toured the HMS Victory while the ship I was assigned to, the USS Preble DDG-46, was making a port visit in Portsmouth. To have seen and stood where Admiral Lord Nelson had fallen was indeed an honor! Many of the traditions that the U. S. Navy has, are traditions adopted from the Royal Navy. To tour the HMS Victory is a memory that I will carry with me for the remainder of my life. I also got to see the remains of the HMS Mary Rose while in Portsmouth. Another fascinating ship with a fascinating history.
Dammit now I have to watch Master & Commander again, thanks
A great ship known world wide and respected by friend and foe alike! Long may she live!
#362 Good Morning, Drachinifel. Happy 4th of July! Thank You for a detailed tour of this mighty ship. The Royal Navy always improved each new vessel from experience of military action. Resulting in the modern HMS Queen Elizabeth, Attack Aircraft Carrier. Again, Thank You for the presentation.
Drachinifel - great story on how you got engaged as a naval historian. Congrats and thanks.
Wonderful video. I like the ending where you tie it all in with your love for Naval Ships. For me it is the Battleship Texas. Born and raised in Texas the USS Texas represents many things for our state. Being the last Dreadnought as well as serving in both World Wars is a true testament to her power. I have been wanting to see Texas since I was a child but it took over 25 years to get to her. In the meantime I have had 5 low back surgeries and 3 hip surgeries and my mobility is severely challenged. But the day finally came in April of 2018 that I was able to walk aboard Texas. No pain or injuries were going to keep me off that ship. I went up or down every ladder that would possibly hold me. I spent most of the day on her decks and took hundreds of pictures. I spent days in bed afterwards not being able to move from going all over the ship. I didn't care. And if I ever get back to her I'll do it all over again. I just hope our state will understand what a tremendous treasure Texas is and will finally Dry Dock her once and for all. She is rotting away in her birth and needs to be saved. God Bless Texas.
´´Expensive dock gates been attacked by the worlds biggest hamster´` gave a me a good laugh
It looks so still and peaceful. I can't even begin to imagine the conditions and sensory overload on one of those gun decks mid battle. All the while, pitching and turning, at the mercy of an even far greater force, just below your feet. And then, to take a hit... Witnessing and experiencing the effect of tens of pounds of iron impacting wood and flesh, at high velocity, would leave _emotional_ scars on the survivors as profound as the _physical_ wounds on the slain. Very evocative.
Its interesting to be there and then realising this ship was there during one the most important naval battles in British history.
Its not much of a stretch to say this ship is important to world history yet alone one countries
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful review. I have visited the ship twice in my life & your review taught me things I never knew. Thank you.
I can't wait for the AQUAHOLIC review!
“The sky is a typical British grey with occasional patch’s of heretical blue” what a sentence 😂
So the reason you love naval history was seeing The Victory. I was born in Portsmouth and seeing Victory and Warrior all my life it's also the exact reason I love naval history. You really really did this ship justice 🤙🏼
Bravo, Drach. You're going from strength to strength, and the material is fantastic 👍
I want to express my gratitude for the body of work Drachinifel has presented here on TH-cam. This video of HMS Victory is 'for now' a good substitute to my life list desire to stand on her deck. -Veteran '66-68
She's a snip at £2B worth every £,S and D. This brings back memories of when I went to visit Portsmouth and all the historic vessels there.
Small point of CC if I may, the Spanish "Z" in Cadiz, Jerez ect. Is correctly pronounced as an English "TH", I never knew until I lived out there for a year and a half but thought it would be worth passing on! New to the channel and loving the wealth of information presented! ☺️
beautiful ship. art really. so incredible the amount of planning,care and detail that went into war vessels. so fortunate that she still exists for us to see IRL and not just in paintings to get the true sense of scale and grandeur.
Thanks for the tour, we certainly appreciate this look at a true classic and one of the finest vessels to ever grace the waves.
It's great that this amazing ship has been preserved.
A 59-minute guide!
I believe you mean a 5 min guide, more or less. ^^
5 minutes, by an order of magnitude.
Thanks for the tour, Mate. I saw HMS Victory from a distance when I was in Portsmouth three years ago. My time was short, so I was unable to go on board at the time. Thank you for bringing me aboard.