How It Works-Amazing Vehicles

Cannons

As a first rate ship of the line, the

Victor y was a three-gundeck

warship with over 100 guns. In fact,

the Victor y was fitted with 104

cannons: 30 x 2.75 ton long pattern 32-

pounders on the gundeck, 28 x 2.5 ton

long 12-pounders on the middle

gundeck, 30 x 1.7 ton short 12-

pounders on the upper gundeck, 12 x

1.7 ton short 12-pounders on the

quarterdeck, and 2 x medium 12-

pounders and 2 x 68-pounder

carronades on the forecastle.

Decks

The HMS Victor y had seven main decks,

including: the hold, orlop, lower gundeck,

middle gundeck, upper gundeck,

quarterdeck and poop deck.

© A lex Pang

A

B

C

D

E

C

C

(A) The hull

The hull was the largest storage area on the ship where up to six months of food

and drink could be stored, as well as any excess supplies.

(B) The orlop

The only other deck below the waterline, the orlop was another storage area and

also habitation deck for certain crew members such as the purser.

(C) The gundecks

Housed the majority of the Victory’s cannons, with a tiered arrangement from

top to bottom (largest cannons on the bottom, smallest on the top). These decks

also housed the majorit y of the crew and Royal Marines, sleeping in hammocks

suspended from battens fixed to overhead beams. The lower gundeck also acted

as mess deck, the space where the crew would live and eat.

(D) The quarterdeck

The ner ve centre of the ship, where its commander dictated its manoeuv res and

actions often under heav y gunfire from rival vessels.

(E) The poop deck

Located at the stern, this short deck takes its name from the Latin word puppis,

which literally means ‘after deck’ or ‘rear deck’. This deck was mainly used for

signalling, but also gave some protection to the man helming the ship’s wheel.

© A lex Pang

© A lex Pang

Masts

The HMS Victor y sported a bowsprit (the

pole extending beyond the ship’s head),

fore mast, main mast, mizzen mast and

main yard. A total of 26 miles (41.9km) of

cordage, as well as 768 elm and ash

blocks, were used to rig the ship.

DID YOU KNOW? HMS Victory cost £63,176 when finished in 1765, the equivalent of roughly £7 million today