Title: HMS Victory in trouble?
MSantor - September 15, 2008 07:23 AM (GMT)
Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory could be put in hands of private company
Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory could be put in the hands of a private company under cost cutting measures being considered by the Ministry of Defence.
What now should England expect every man to do?
Lord Nelson's flagship HMS Victory could be put in the hands of a private company under cost cutting measures being considered by the Ministry of Defence.
What now should England expect every man to do?
| QUOTE |
| By Richard Savill Telegraph Last Updated: 3:03PM BST 12 Sep 2008 The MoD said the 18th century warship could be too expensive to maintain and that her funding was currently under review. This could see her looked after and run by a private firm or a charity to save cash, options which critics said would be a "tragedy". The MoD said that increasing budgetary pressures meant it must review Victory's future like any other ship but insisted it would remain part of the Royal Navy. But a former Commanding Officer of Victory and ex-First Sea Lord said handing the oldest commissioned warship in the world to a private company would "turn it into Disneyland" and make a mockery of Britain's naval heritage. Victory, which was built between 1759 and 1765 and is best known for her role in the Battle of Trafalgar, sits in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Hants. The Battle of Trafalgar was one of the most decisive naval actions in British history as it established Britain's supremacy at sea and freed the country from the long-held fear of invasion from Napoleon's armies. The battle off Cape Trafalgar, in southern Spain, pitched the Royal Navy against the combined fleets of France and Spain. Nelson died after he was shot by a French marksman as he stood on the quarterdeck of HMS Victory. Lt Cdr Michael Cheshire, now retired, who was Commanding Officer of Victory from 1992 to 1998, and was awarded an MBE for his services to the Royal Navy, said: "If they sell her or give her away to charity it will be an absolute tragedy. "This magnificent ship means so much to both naval people and the whole nation. Selling it to a private firm would turn it into Disneyland and would be its ruin. "HMS Victory is the core of the naval base, the core of Portsmouth, and to sell off this icon would indicate the decline of the Royal Navy." HMS Victory costs a minimum of £1.5 million to maintain and run each year, but that figure can rise when major work is needed. About 400,000 people visit her annually, with entrance fees divided up and shared between all the major attractions at the dockyard. The MoD said it was considering whether to allow Victory to be looked after by a private company, a charitable trust similar to the one that looks after the Mary Rose, another government department, or keep the status quo. Lady Taylor, Defence Minister, said HMS Victory would remain part of the Royal Navy. "Nothing will change in that respect," she added. "The objective for this study is the sustainability of HMS Victory as a museum ship and commissioned Royal Navy warship." An MOD spokesman said: "We will not be giving her away or decommissioning the ship. It is currently run by the Navy and retired Navy personnel show the public around the ship. "The consultation is designed to produce a relationship between the Royal Navy and any of the options, without the Royal Navy and the public losing control of the ship." The spokesman said the options would include a company limited by guarantee. Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Alan Massey said: "The review will openly and equally examine all the options available to us to ensure that HMS Victory continues her distinguished naval career in the best possible state." |
saver111 - February 2, 2009 08:07 AM (GMT)
It's predecessor has been found!
HMS Victory (1737-1744)
HMS Victory was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the dimensions of the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Portsmouth Dockyard, and launched on 23 February 1737.[1]
Construction
A small number of the timbers used in the construction of Victory were taken from the remains of the previous HMS Victory, which had caught fire and been burnt to the waterline in February 1721 whilst having weed burned from her bottom (in a process called 'breaming'). Officially a rebuild of the previous vessel, the new Victory was launched in 1737 and became the flagship of the Channel Fleet under Sir John Norris in 1741. She was the last British First Rate to be armed entirely with brass cannon.[citation needed]
Loss of Victory
She was wrecked with the loss of her entire crew whilst returning to England as the flagship of Admiral Sir John Balchen after relieving Sir Charles Hardy, who had been blockaded in the Tagus estuary. As the fleet reached the English Channel on 3 October 1744 it was scattered by a large storm. At around 15:30 on 4 October, the ships accompanying Victory lost sight of her near to the Channel Islands. She is believed to have been wrecked the following day on Black Rock just off the Casquets, with the loss of her entire complement.
Frigates were dispatched across the English Channel to search for her where she had last been seen wallowing on the horizon on 4 October. Eventually, Captain Thomas Grenville of HMS Falkland landed at Guernsey in the Channel Islands to provision and there heard from locals that wreckage and part of a topmast had washed up on the island's shores. Further investigation proved that the wreckage had indeed come from the Victory, which was believed to have run into the Casquets, a group of rocks nearby. Other wreckage was washed up on Jersey and Alderney, whose inhabitants had heard distress guns the night before the wreck but were unable to provide aid in the severe storm. Of the 1,150 sailors aboard Victory, no trace was ever discovered.
Finding of wreck
On 1 February 2009, the Associated Press reported that Odyssey Marine Exploration, based in Tampa, Florida, claimed to have found the wreck in May 2008, and has recovered two of one hundred brass cannons.[2] Other artefacts include 100,000 gold coins.[3] Speculated to be located in international waters, as a military wreck she legally remains the property of the British Government under the laws of marine salvage.[2] The wreck was found "more than 50 miles (80km) from where anybody would have thought it went down", according to Odyssey Marine Exploration CEO Gregg Stemm,[3] and 330 feet deep.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Victory_(1737)
In this photo released Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009 by Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., the Odyssey Explorer's ROV takes a photo of a Bronze cannon on the shipwreck site of HMS Victory bearing the royal crest of King George I, in the English Channel. Odyssey Marine Exploration is looking for the HMS Victory. The ship, a legendary British man-of-war that sank in the English Channel 264 years ago, was carrying 4 tons of gold coins that could be worth considerably more than the treasure that Odyssey raised from a sunken Spanish galleon in 2007, co-founder Greg Stemm said ahead of a news conference set for Monday in London.
(AP Photo/Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.)
Odyssey Explorer's ROV measures the bore hole of a 42-pound bronze cannon on the shipwreck site of HMS Victory, in the English Channel. Odyssey Marine Exploration is looking for the HMS Victory. The ship, a legendary British man-of-war that sank in the English Channel 264 years ago, was carrying 4 tons of gold coins that could be worth considerably more than the treasure that Odyssey raised from a sunken Spanish galleon in 2007, co-founder Greg Stemm said ahead of a news conference set for Monday in London. (AP Photo/Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.)
Odyssey Explorer. (AP Photo/Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.)
Odyssey Explorer's 8-ton Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) ZEUS.
(AP Photo/Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.)
HMS Victory (1737-1744)
HMS Victory was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built to the dimensions of the 1733 proposals of the 1719 Establishment at Portsmouth Dockyard, and launched on 23 February 1737.[1]
Construction
A small number of the timbers used in the construction of Victory were taken from the remains of the previous HMS Victory, which had caught fire and been burnt to the waterline in February 1721 whilst having weed burned from her bottom (in a process called 'breaming'). Officially a rebuild of the previous vessel, the new Victory was launched in 1737 and became the flagship of the Channel Fleet under Sir John Norris in 1741. She was the last British First Rate to be armed entirely with brass cannon.[citation needed]
Loss of Victory
She was wrecked with the loss of her entire crew whilst returning to England as the flagship of Admiral Sir John Balchen after relieving Sir Charles Hardy, who had been blockaded in the Tagus estuary. As the fleet reached the English Channel on 3 October 1744 it was scattered by a large storm. At around 15:30 on 4 October, the ships accompanying Victory lost sight of her near to the Channel Islands. She is believed to have been wrecked the following day on Black Rock just off the Casquets, with the loss of her entire complement.
Frigates were dispatched across the English Channel to search for her where she had last been seen wallowing on the horizon on 4 October. Eventually, Captain Thomas Grenville of HMS Falkland landed at Guernsey in the Channel Islands to provision and there heard from locals that wreckage and part of a topmast had washed up on the island's shores. Further investigation proved that the wreckage had indeed come from the Victory, which was believed to have run into the Casquets, a group of rocks nearby. Other wreckage was washed up on Jersey and Alderney, whose inhabitants had heard distress guns the night before the wreck but were unable to provide aid in the severe storm. Of the 1,150 sailors aboard Victory, no trace was ever discovered.
Finding of wreck
On 1 February 2009, the Associated Press reported that Odyssey Marine Exploration, based in Tampa, Florida, claimed to have found the wreck in May 2008, and has recovered two of one hundred brass cannons.[2] Other artefacts include 100,000 gold coins.[3] Speculated to be located in international waters, as a military wreck she legally remains the property of the British Government under the laws of marine salvage.[2] The wreck was found "more than 50 miles (80km) from where anybody would have thought it went down", according to Odyssey Marine Exploration CEO Gregg Stemm,[3] and 330 feet deep.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Victory_(1737)
In this photo released Sunday, Feb. 1, 2009 by Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., the Odyssey Explorer's ROV takes a photo of a Bronze cannon on the shipwreck site of HMS Victory bearing the royal crest of King George I, in the English Channel. Odyssey Marine Exploration is looking for the HMS Victory. The ship, a legendary British man-of-war that sank in the English Channel 264 years ago, was carrying 4 tons of gold coins that could be worth considerably more than the treasure that Odyssey raised from a sunken Spanish galleon in 2007, co-founder Greg Stemm said ahead of a news conference set for Monday in London.
(AP Photo/Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.)
Odyssey Explorer's ROV measures the bore hole of a 42-pound bronze cannon on the shipwreck site of HMS Victory, in the English Channel. Odyssey Marine Exploration is looking for the HMS Victory. The ship, a legendary British man-of-war that sank in the English Channel 264 years ago, was carrying 4 tons of gold coins that could be worth considerably more than the treasure that Odyssey raised from a sunken Spanish galleon in 2007, co-founder Greg Stemm said ahead of a news conference set for Monday in London. (AP Photo/Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.)
Odyssey Explorer. (AP Photo/Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.)
Odyssey Explorer's 8-ton Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) ZEUS.
(AP Photo/Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.)