HMS Victory, Royal Navy museum ship in Portsmouth, England.
HMS Victory is a wooden warship preserved in Portsmouth's naval dockyard, built with three decks of cannons and towering masts that reach skyward. The hull sits in a permanent dry dock, allowing visitors to walk around the lower sections and climb aboard through original hatches.
Launched in 1765, the ship served in several naval campaigns before becoming Admiral Nelson's flagship during the Napoleonic Wars. She entered dry dock in the 1920s for restoration and has remained there ever since.
The ship's original layout reveals how officers and sailors lived in separate worlds, with cramped hammocks for most crew while senior ranks enjoyed private cabins. Visitors can see how naval rituals and discipline shaped every corner of the vessel, from the galley to the gun decks.
Tours take visitors through the gun decks, officer quarters, and the spot where Admiral Nelson was fatally wounded. Stairs and passages are steep and narrow in places, so comfortable footwear is recommended.
The ship remains officially in service with the Royal Navy and serves as the flagship of the First Sea Lord. This makes her the oldest commissioned warship still on the naval register anywhere in the world.
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