NELSON’S FLAGSHIP

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 15 October 1927, Page 9

NELSON’S FLAGSHIP

PRESERVED IN DRY DOCK

If T is rather difficult to believe that the modern battleship when laid up has a very - short life in comparison with the craft of a

century ago. Yet such is the case, for corrosion limits the life of an iron ship and virtually settles her fate, unless it, can be found possible to preserve her in dry dock. Nelson’s flagship the Victory, which fought, in the memorable battles of Ushant, Brest, Gibraltar, Toulon, and St. Vincent, as well as Trafalgar, is preserved in dry dock at Portsmouth, where she is open to inspection by visitors. To-day, October 15, it will be 122 years since the battle of Trafalgar was fought, and the Victory was nearly 40 years old when she played her part in that historic engagement. Seven years after Trafalgar she was paid off, and since 1825 she lias been continuously at Portsmouth. It was in January, 1921, when this w-ooden ship was over .150 years old, that public attention in England was drawn to the fact, that she was in danger of sinking at her moorings, owing to the decay of her timbers below the water line. An iron ship would have corroded in less than a quarter of the time.

When it was realised that the Victory was in danger of sinking, she was placed in dry dock at Portsmouth, and was closed to public inspection while extensive repairs were carried out. These repairs occupied four A r ears, for great care was taken to restore her to the exact, condition in which she engaged in the battle of Trafalgar. Her decks have been cleared for action, with all her guns run out. Researches among the achieves of the Admiralty suggest that at Trafalgar her armament, consisted of 30 long 32-pounders on the lower dack,'2B long 24-pounders on the middle deck, 30 long 12pounders on the main deck, 12 short 12-pound-ers on the quarter deck, and two long 12-pound-ers and 68-pounder carronades in the forecastle. Eight of the 32-pounders on the lower deck have remained in their places for over a hundred years, and the others have been replaced by models- The vessel is 226 feet 6 inches long from figure-head lo taffrail, 186 feet on the gun deck, and 52 feet in beam. Her displacement is 2162 tons. She is a small thing in comparison with the latest British battle cruisers, of the Hood class, of 42,000 tons, 860 feet long, ,104 feet in beam, and a speed of 31 knots, and carrying eight 15-inch guns, throwing shells weighing over a ton.

The desire for accuracy is restoring the Victory to her original state has been observed to such an extent that the paint work is not, only of the same colour, but is made in the same way as the paint used in the navy in the days of the Napoleonic wars. Information as to the way in which paint was mixed in those days was ob.tain.e.fLa t—the -Adm ivaltv- from -logs t»f ~vn riovts ships which fought at Trafalgar. It was dis-

THE VICTORY AT PORTSMOUTH

covered that the bulkheads in the wardroom cabins on the Victory were the original canvas bulkheads used in war time, but they had been so heavily coated Avith successive layers of paint, that they resembled wood panelling. The Victory as she lies in dock at, Portsmouth, has been raised to a .level which enables visitors to see her graceful lines. Shipbuilders contend that to appreciate fully the beauty of line of a gracefully built ship, it is necessary to be able to look upwards at her hull, as one looks at a statue on a pedestal.

A comparison betAveen tlie casualties at Trafalgar and those at Jutland shows that iron ships and big explosh T e shells have greatly increased the fatalities in na\ r al engagements. In the days of Avooden ships the Avounded outnumbered the killed by three to one; but at Jutland these results Avere reversed, the killed outnumbering the Avounded by riiore than ten to one. The explanation of the hea\ r y mortality in modern naval engagements is that Avhereas wooden ships continued afloat after haA'ing been disabled and put out of action, modern iron ships sink rapidly, and carry their crews below Avith them. There is seldom time during an engagement to launch boats to pick up survivors of sunken ships. And the explosiA r e shells fired by modern Avarships cause far greater casualties than the cannon balls fired from muzzle loaders in the days of Avoodeu ships.

At Trafalgar there were 33 British ships engaged with a total complement of 17,772, and tlie casualties in the engagement, which lasted five hours, were. 449 killed and 1242 wounded. At the battle of the Nile 218 were killed on British ships and 678 wounded; arid at Camperdown the casualties were 203 killed and 622 wounded. At Jutland there were 40 British ships engaged, with a total complement - of about 60,000 officers and men, and the casualties were 6097 killed and 510 wounded. This is the greatest loss over sustained by a British fleet in action. Three battle cruisers, three cruisers and eight destroyers were sunk, and in each case the great majority of the crew perished. The three battle cruisers Indefatigable, Queen Mary and Invincible were hit by salvoes of shells in turrets, which set fire to the ammunition in the turrets. The flash from the explosion of the shells which were ready for loading, passed down the hoists into the magazines, which then exploded, and shattered the ships. There were over 3300 officers and men on these three battle cruisers, and less than 30 were saved- The cruiser Black Prince, which carried a complement of 856, sank with all hands; and with a few exceptions all of the crew of 902 oh hoard the cruiser Defence perished when the ship went down. Very few of the crews of the eight destroyers that were sunk were saved.