TommyKay Reacts to the HMS Victory in 3D

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]Let's watch the final video, guys. Let's go. There will be night stream. Yeah, >> I just have to do >> five.

[00:00:06]>> Britain is at war with >> respond. No, not yet. Takes time for Germany.

[00:00:10]>> Napoleon Bonapart will soon dominate mainland Europe.

[00:00:15]>> But at sea, Britain's Royal Navy reigns supreme.

[00:00:19]>> No emails.

[00:00:23]ens one of his greatest victories against the Russians and Austrians at Oelitz.

[00:00:29]>> Wait. Okay, I found a storm.

[00:00:32]>> But 6 weeks earlier, off the coast of Spain, the British win a battle of much more lasting strategic significance.

[00:00:41]Off Cape Trafalga, the Royal Navy inflicts a crushing defeat on the combined fleet of France and Spain.

[00:00:49]Enemy losses are devastating.

[00:00:53]British naval superiority will not be seriously challenged again.

[00:00:58]>> I thought the British naval flag is white. Now it's red. For the rest of the war, Britain goes on to play a leading role in Napoleon's eventual defeat. Its greatest contribution, its wooden walls, the Royal Navy.

[00:01:16]Britain is the world's largest power.

[00:01:19]>> With 136 ships of the line and 110,000 men.

[00:01:26]>> Wow.

[00:01:27]>> The Navy protects the homeland from invasion. It allows Britain to project force into Europe with raids and expeditionary forces.

[00:01:35]>> What's the U4, man?

[00:01:37]>> It cuts off enemy trade while protecting Britain's own.

[00:01:42]It isolates and seizes overseas colonies, including the vastly profitable sugar islands of the West Indies. It undermines its enemy economies.

[00:01:53]>> While allowing Britain to use its own financial strength to sustain its allies.

[00:01:59]>> In two decades of war with France, Britain wins a series of naval battles that ensure it can carry out these war-winning strategies effectively.

[00:02:11]Didn't you guys always say in chat that nowadays in 2026 the British Navy has like like six ships or some ship >> among the Royal Navy's most formidable warships.

[00:02:23]>> A first ship of the line.

[00:02:26]>> The most powerful class of warship afloat.

[00:02:30]>> 104 guns.

[00:02:32]>> 820 sounds a little bit more real.

[00:02:36]A single broadside from victory packs more weight of iron than every gun in Wellington's army at Waterloo.

[00:02:48]>> This is Epic History TV's guide to a great Napoleonic warship.

[00:02:53]>> Damn, must be sold to build a thing like this.

[00:03:00]Today, HMS Victory lies in dry dock in Portsmouth on England.

[00:03:05]>> That that thing still exists is re That is so cool, right? As a man, you're just like cool. I feel like a little kid that looks at a ninja. Cool. How cool is that?

[00:03:16]>> A famous visitor attraction and the world commissioned warship.

[00:03:22]the oldest commercial survivor from a vanished world of sailpowered warships and global struggles between Europe's great empires.

[00:03:33]Victory was built to boost British naval power at the height of one of these struggles, the 7 Years War. Construction began at Chattam Royal Dockyard in 1759.

[00:03:47]She was designed by Sir Thomas Slade, the foremost British naval architect of the age.

[00:03:56]Around 6,000 trees went into victory.

[00:04:00]>> Most were British oak, though her lower masts were originally New England pine.

[00:04:06]Her keel was elm. Her upper masts and yards more flexible fur and spruce.

[00:04:13]The result launched in 1765 was soon considered a masterpiece. A ship bristling with firepower with the speed and handling >> to them back then. This must have felt like an aircraft carrier to us nowadays in relation >> a much lighter vessel.

[00:04:30]Victory was not completed in time to take part in the 7 years war.

[00:04:36]She first saw action 13 years later in the American. You can make a flagship, right? I don't remember >> leading the capture of a French convoy off Ashant.

[00:04:46]When the revolutionary wars broke out against France, HMS Victory was the British flagship at the Allied blockade of Tulong.

[00:04:56]Then in 1797, she was Admiral Jarvis's flagship at his great victory over the Spanish at Capes Vincent.

[00:05:06]Victory was by then 32 years old, far beyond her life expectancy of 18 years.

[00:05:13]>> Why? Why would they say that? That the expecties 18. Who says that? Why? What data gives that?

[00:05:20]>> She was briefly threatened with being turned into one of Britain's notorious prison ships.

[00:05:24]>> Oh [ __ ] >> Known as hulks.

[00:05:27]>> No one would have guessed that her greatest still lay ahead of her. because of the last victory was reprieved and began a major three-year refit that cost more than she did to build. Oo, >> she returned to service in 1803 as Vice Admiral Nelson's flagship.

[00:05:48]2 years later, she would lead the British attack at Trafalgar and win her place in naval legend.

[00:06:05]By the Napoleonic, the first rate ship of the line was the world's largest and most sophisticated weapon of war, >> and it needed a huge crew to work efficiently.

[00:06:17]In 1805, Victory's compliment was around 820.

[00:06:22]Every man and boy with his desert oil painter.

[00:06:26]>> Turner. Turner. Yeah. What's his name?

[00:06:28]Turner William Turner ship's captain, naval lieutenants and marine officers, midshipmen, warrant officers, clerks and stewards, petty officers and their mates, sailors of the able, ordinary and land lover variety, Royal Marines, right down to the 31 ships boys.

[00:06:51]Why? When I hear the word ship boys, I see Jeffrey Epstein in front of me.

[00:06:58]Before we examine HMS Victories arrangement and structure, a quick reminder of some common nautical terms.

[00:07:05]The right side of the ship, starboard.

[00:07:08]The left side of the ship, Larard.

[00:07:12]But why? Why not just say right and left? Like, [ __ ] that.

[00:07:15]>> Which only became port in 1844 to reduce confusion.

[00:07:20]The back of the ship her stern, the front her stem. Towards the stern was aft or abaft. Towards the stem was forward or four.

[00:07:33]Victory's middle gun deck is 86 ft long.

[00:07:38]>> The top of her main mast was 205 ft above the water line.

[00:07:42]>> Dude, >> Victory's top speed was 10 knots or 11.5 miles hour. Okay, let's let's speak like normal humans.

[00:07:54]I would say 24.

[00:07:56]Okay. 20 km an hour. Fast for a ship her size. In 1780, she received the latest British naval innovation, copper sheathing for her hull. This protected her timbers from shipworm, barnacles, and weeds. I saw a short on that a long time ago that it's very important with all ships, even modern ships, that you have to always clean their uh belly because it's full of like [ __ ] and if you don't clean it, it like burns into the stuff and Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:08:26]>> Keeping her solid and stable.

[00:08:28]>> Very important.

[00:08:30]>> Victory, like all ships of the line, was ship rigged, meaning she had three masts, a for mast, main mast, and mizen mast, and a bow sprit. Each mast was made up of sections.

[00:08:44]The lower mast secured deep >> so that the human being understands all these ropes and where they go and what they do there.

[00:08:51]>> The ship's hold rose up through the decks to the fighting top which served as a platform for sharpshooters in battle. Above it the top mast. Then the cross trees which secured the top gallant mast pronounced to gallant. The cross trees was the lookout's position.

[00:09:10]There being no crow's nest.

[00:09:12]>> Every time you watch any war video, the number one thought I always have is we humans really put a lot of our brain power into the art of war, man. We're a very, very warlike race.

[00:09:22]>> I always think if aliens look at us from afar, they will really define us as super [ __ ] barbarian.

[00:09:27]>> Victories rigging, 26 miles of rope and 786 pulley in all came in two types.

[00:09:35]Standing rigging gave structural support to the masts. For stays and back stays kept them braced for and after. You think aliens would be more like I think if a race survives thousands of years and and advances a lot, they probably will stop warlike behavior.

[00:09:52]>> Secured the masts laterally and their rope steps called rattlins were how you climbed the masts.

[00:09:59]Experienced seaman reached the tops by climbing the futter shrouds. I'm kind of lost now.

[00:10:05]>> Rolling sea. This could mean climbing out over the ocean upside down. So, noviceses were advised to use the lubers's hole.

[00:10:16]The other type of rigging was running rigging used to operate the ship's yards and sails and included haliards, bow lines, and clue lines.

[00:10:28]Victory had 37 sails with which to harness the power of the wind. her only real form of propulsion. They had a total area of 6,500 square yards.

[00:10:41]>> They just needed wind. Without wind, even this thing is worth nothing together.

[00:10:45]>> Nor did more sail necessarily mean more speed.

[00:10:51]Her large square sails included the four course, four top sail pronounced topsel, and four top gallant sail pronounced foragansel.

[00:11:03]On the main mast, the main course, main topsell and main tagansel. The mizen mast carried a four and a half rigged sail known as a spanker or driver as well as mizen topsel and mizen toansel.

[00:11:17]While the bow sprit could carry a variety of four and rigged sails, most commonly at sailing jib.

[00:11:25]>> Another 11 four and half rigged sails known as stacils could also be set.

[00:11:32]Victory's upper deck or weather deck was actually several decks. The folks, waste, quarter deck, and poop deck.

[00:11:43]The folks is a shortened form of forcastle, a term dating back to the Middle Ages when warships carried raised fighting platforms at both ends. The folks all housed the belfry containing the all-important ship's bell rung regularly day and night to mark the change of watch. It also housed two 12pounder guns.

[00:12:05]All guns in this period were described by the weight of one gun needs 10 crew members. What shot they fired? Why? So 12pounders fired a solid iron ball known as round shot that weighed 12 lb about the same as a bowling ball. The folks also mounted two 68 pounder carinades.

[00:12:29]>> The carade was another British innovation. A short large caliber gun fearsome at close quarters but lacking 10 accuracy.

[00:12:41]The beak deck gave access to the bow sprit and the head. Six outdoor toilets for several hundred seaman and marines which >> Oh, wait. How do you [ __ ] in that? So every time they had to go upstairs, climb over the top and then the six people sit next to each other and they [ __ ] right into the ocean. But wouldn't the [ __ ] go onto the front side of the ship?

[00:13:04]>> Straight into the sea below.

[00:13:07]The waste is where four of victories six boats were stowed.

[00:13:12]>> That's why I have to hit the head. Ah.

[00:13:19]Oh.

[00:13:20]>> The large ships carried several boats.

[00:13:23]They were essential for fing men and supplies from ship to ship and ship to shore, for towing or turning the ship in adverse winds, and for launching amphibious attacks.

[00:13:36]the quarter deck.

[00:13:37]>> One thing I really really want to ask is they didn't have no [ __ ] toilet paper. Did everyone just have crusty [ __ ] on their [ __ ] the whole time?

[00:13:46]Like water is scarce. You You need I would probably take a bucket and get out salt water, but the salt might [ __ ] with your [ __ ] a bit. Washable racks. Ah, sponges and water. Okay, cuz I can't believe they let [ __ ] on their ass. They probably did something about it. was HMS Victory and housed a total of 12 12pounder guns.

[00:14:08]From here, the ship was steered using the ship's wheel. This was the responsibility of one of the ships, assisted by his mates.

[00:14:18]>> The ship's wheel was connected by rope to the tiller three decks below, which was in turn connected to the rudder.

[00:14:26]The binnacle, just four of the wheel, contained the ship's magnetic compasses and a lantern by which to see them.

[00:14:33]Cabins for the captain's secretary and the ship.

[00:14:36]>> Here's how they reload a gun.

[00:14:37]>> The crew closed the gunport. Now, reloading. Firstly, burning residue must be cleaned from the barrel, otherwise it might ignite the powder cartridge prematurely. This is done by taking a staff equipped with a wet swab or sponge and running it through the barrel. Some sponges were combined with the ram rod.

[00:14:57]Then the gun is reloaded as per usual.

[00:15:00]Powder shot.

[00:15:08]Wading.

[00:15:09]Why wing?

[00:15:10]>> Prick the powder.

[00:15:13]Pry the touch hole.

[00:15:14]>> What?

[00:15:15]>> Run out the gun. Open the gun port. Now we are ready to fire again. But there's nothing more to shoot at. How do we unload the gun? This is an >> Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.

[00:15:28]>> Master were located either side.

[00:15:31]>> Powder falling out.

[00:15:32]>> Each shared their small room with a 12p pounder gun.

[00:15:37]>> The stern area of the >> I'll never forget we a long time ago we saw a video on the most advanced nuclear submarines ever on Earth on the stream.

[00:15:46]And a lot of these marines, these people, they live right next to Tomok missiles. There's a maybe someone can find the clip. There's a tomahawk missile silo and right next to it you sleep right next to the missile >> auto deck comprised the captain's cabins, a dining room, sleeping cabin, and at the very stern of the ship, his day cabin, all sharing space with four 12pounders.

[00:16:08]>> Guns everywhere.

[00:16:09]>> The captain also had a private toilet known as the quarter gallery.

[00:16:14]>> My man. Dude, the captain had it good, right? So much space.

[00:16:18]>> Above the captain's cabins, the poop deck, which provided good visibility and access to the mizenmast.

[00:16:26]It also housed the signal locker containing the colored flags used to communicate with other ships and shore.

[00:16:34]The Royal Navy's signals code had been recently revised by Admiral How. His system involved 14 flags which could be arranged in various combinations to convey 340 messages.

[00:16:49]For emphasis, a gun might be fired.

[00:16:55]At night, signaling was by pre-agreed combinations of gunfire, colored lanterns, and rockets.

[00:17:06]How beautiful the night skare must have been back then. No, no pollution and stuff. If you're just on the ocean and you see the [ __ ] Milky Way, bro.

[00:17:15]>> A Napoleonic ship of the line was in essence a giant floating gun battery designed to pulverize enemy warships and shore installations.

[00:17:31]Victory's three largest decks were all about her guns. as indicated by their name. The upper, middle, and lower gun deck.

[00:17:42]The upper gun deck housed 30 12pounder guns, 15 on each side. Forward in the round houses was the head for junior officers. Rank bringing slightly more privacy and comfort. The sick bay was located in the forward area of the upper gun deck as it got more fresh air and sunlight than the lower deck. You guys know the video game Ubot, right? Imagine a game with this. That would be a great idea for video game. Like you you have an ancient ship like this and you have a side view and you have to control everything and stuff.

[00:18:16]>> That would be a sick game from the rest of the deck by canvas partitions.

[00:18:21]>> The surge nicknamed lobly boys for the soup they fed to patients also slept here in their hammocks.

[00:18:29]>> The lolly boys. HMS Victory was a first rate ship of the line defined as one that carried 100 guns or more.

[00:18:38]They were the most powerful vessels afloat and so admirals often chose them as their flagships, the command vessels for a fleet or squadron. Several renowned British admirals took victory as their flagship and various times including Earl How and St. Vincent. The most famous of course was Vicount Nelson.

[00:19:01]An admiral required his own suitably grand quarters located in the stern section of the upper gun. The [ __ ] rich, huh? The [ __ ] rich get richer.

[00:19:11]Excuse me, bro. Occupies like 20% of the ship, bro.

[00:19:16]>> These comprised an anti- room and a dining room, which also served as a meeting room.

[00:19:22]>> You [ __ ] In the sleeping cabin, the admiral usually slept in a suspended cot. But Nelson preferred a campaign bed like this one, easier to get in and out of with only one arm.

[00:19:36]>> At the very stern lay the admiral's day cabin, which served as >> Imagine a game where you see a ship from the side and it's multiplayer and you have a captain and then chat is like the gunners and [ __ ] >> Office and private.

[00:19:49]>> Be cool, man.

[00:19:51]The admiral would spend much of his day here, submerged in the meetings, paperwork, and administration required in the running of a fleet.

[00:20:01]The admiral's cabins, like all cabins on the gun decks and quarter deck, were formed by removable wooden panels. This meant when a ship is veryction before battle investment to build a ship, rapidly dismantled and carried.

[00:20:16]>> I've seen the terror. The terror is a very good TV show about ships. It's a terrible TV show in story how suddenly the [ __ ] werewolves are attacking and all that dumb [ __ ] But in the beginning, it is a very good TV showing ancient ships like that with furniture and personal items down into the hold.

[00:20:33]The purpose of this was to allow the gun crews to work their guns without obstruction.

[00:20:39]The middle gun deck housed 28 24 pounder guns.

[00:20:43]>> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:20:45]>> Heavier guns were lower. Imagine you're standing next to that thing and it shoots. They all must have ear problems.

[00:20:51]How do you need 12 people for one gun?

[00:20:53]You got to be [ __ ] me. I do it with two people from Chip for greater stability.

[00:20:57]>> What the [ __ ] You need 12 people for that.

[00:20:59]>> The ship's galley, a kitchen, and giant iron stove was where the ship's cook and his mates prepared meals for the crew.

[00:21:09]The stern section was known as the ward room, where commissioned officers dined and slept.

[00:21:16]At night, around 300 sailors and marines slept on this deck.

[00:21:20]>> [ __ ] that. The >> hammocks strung up between the guns.

[00:21:25]>> What a shitty way to sleep.

[00:21:26]>> Below was the lower gun deck. This housed the victo's heaviest guns. Her 30 L. Can you believe that a gun like this was operated by 14 people?

[00:21:39]>> That's crazy, right?

[00:21:42]>> Uh oh. I have to stop soon. Oh, yeah.

[00:21:44]No. 10 more minutes, right? 10.

[00:21:48]>> Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. I have to end soon. I have some [ __ ] to do. I >> pounders and at night more than half the crew around 460 men slept here.

[00:22:00]>> I slept in the army with six men in one room. I tell you, it is terrible. The farting, some dude is stroking off, someone is coughing.

[00:22:10]this plan of >> in a way if you think about it right one of the greatest things you can achieve in life compared to our ancestors is privacy privacy is such an important thing to have we take it very for granted nowadays right but privacy is a good good thing >> HMS Bedford a contemporary third rate ship of the line shows how crowded it could be below decks jeez this far down in the ship gun ports were usually kept shut because they were close to of the water line. With little fresh air and so many men living down here, the smells of the lower gun deck could be notoriously challenging.

[00:22:50]The stern area, separated by canvas screens, was known as the gun room. This was where warrant officers dined with screened off sleeping quarters for the master.

[00:23:00]>> Dude, I would spend my entire life just to rank up, just to get a little bit of privacy. Just try to rank up no matter what.

[00:23:09]They shared the gun room with the ship's tiller, a large wooden beam connecting the ship's rudder to the ship's wheel via a series of ropes and pulleys.

[00:23:19]The tiller is not currently in situ, but the strip of canvas marks its position.

[00:23:26]The beam would swing through the room when the ship turned, so anyone dining in the gun room was wise to mind their head.

[00:23:34]Below the lower gun deck was the orop deck, a warren of small cabins and stores beneath the water line only by lanterns.

[00:23:45]The forward section contains store rooms and cabins for the bosen and carpenter.

[00:23:53]The more open area by the main mast was known as the cockpit for and aft. The midshipman birthed and messed here, but in battle it became the surgeon's operating theater.

[00:24:05]>> Oh [ __ ] >> At the battle of Trafalgar, after Vice Admiral Nelson was shot on the quarter deck by a French sharpshooter, he was carried down to the Orop.

[00:24:18]Victory's surgeon was unable to save him. And this is where he died.

[00:24:22]>> You can actually go there. You can go into the room where he died. Is that [ __ ] cool, dude? Off the aft cockpit lay a series of cramped compartments, including personal store rooms for the captain and first lieutenant, the steward's room for issuing rations brought up from the hold, the surgeon's cabin and his dispensary, and various other cabins and store rooms.

[00:24:48]Forward and aft hanging magazines held ready-made cartridges for the guns sent up from the main magazine.

[00:24:57]The allop deck was surrounded by a passage known as the carpenters's walk, which gave the carpenter and his mates easy access to the ship's hull to plug any leaks at the very bottom. Imagine this this massive Goliath sinking, water rising.

[00:25:14]That's like a [ __ ] nightmare for me.

[00:25:16]Like with Titanic [ __ ] like this sinking slowly and you're looking, oh, there's water down there. The ship lay the hold around 50,000 cub feet holding provisions for up to 6 months at sea.

[00:25:29]It was lined with 257 tons of iron ballast to keep the ship stable.

[00:25:35]This was covered by 200 tons of shingle, additional ballast which provided a stable bed for the ship's 150gal water casks. These alone wouldn't water run stale? How does water not run stale? How does that work? weighed roughly 300 tons at the start of a voyage.

[00:25:55]Other barrels contained 50 tons of salt beef, 50 of pork, and 45 tons of ship's biscuit.

[00:26:03]>> Various store rooms.

[00:26:04]>> They put 400 tons of [ __ ] there to keep it stable. That's interesting.

[00:26:08]>> Below contained items such as flour, spirits, tar, and paint.

[00:26:14]>> The shot locker contained 100 tons of iron shot.

[00:26:19]>> Wait, wait, wait, wait. I don't trust chat. You guys are all yapping. One sec.

[00:26:22]I'm doing this.

[00:26:23]Um, how did they um how did water not get stale on Napoleon era warships?

[00:26:38]Well, it did get stale and blah blah blah. It was actually one of the biggest everyday problems. There you go. I [ __ ] knew that. What a genius. There wasn't any match solution. Instead they relied on a mix of storage methods addatives and coping strategies. Uh fresh water was stored in wooden barrels. Uh algae and bacteria grew inside. Wood leeched flavors into the water. Heat and motion accelerated spoilage. After a few weeks the water could smell foul, turn slimy and be just bad. What they will do? Sailors often drank weak beer instead of straight water. Alcohol made it safer because um it [ __ ] up the bacteria. The Royal Navy even issued a daily beer.

[00:27:15]This is why we're we have so much alkalism DNA, man. Mixing with grock.

[00:27:19]Later on in voyages, water was often mixed with rum to make gro. This didn't fully purify, but improved it. Vinegar, citrus, barrel maintenance, resupplying, rationing. Yeah, we'll probably try to catch rain water a lot.

[00:27:35]In practice, it was green, thick, and full of lavi. It did go stale regularly.

[00:27:42]Bah.

[00:27:44]>> Last but not least, >> the most vulnerable part of the ship, the Grand Magazine, holding up to 35 tons of gunpowder, >> 784 barrels.

[00:27:54]>> Holy [ __ ] >> A fire here would cause an explosion that obliterated the ship.

[00:28:03]>> Or if water got in, the gunpowder would be useless in battle. Therefore, elaborate precautions were taken to keep the magazine safe, including fire doors, fire retardant plaster walls, copper sheathing to avoid sparks and keep out moisture and rats. The forward section of the magazine was the filling room.

[00:28:26]Here, loose gunpowder was scooped from this powder bin into cloth bags to make cartridges for the guns. Lanterns were kept safely behind glass in an adjacent light room.

[00:28:40]Until required, ready cartridges were stored in racks on either side of the filling room.

[00:28:49]In an age before steam or electrical power, all the ship's heavy lifting had to be done by manpower.

[00:28:57]Mechanical assistance came from two capston, the main capston and jer capston.

[00:29:04]These were effectively giant winches which extended vertically through the middle and lower gun decks.

[00:29:12]To turn them, bars were inserted into the captain head with up to 10 men pushing each bar.

[00:29:19]>> Okay, I'm now slowly getting why they needed 800 people >> using both decks. This meant 260 men were working the capston for the heaviest jobs.

[00:29:29]The main anchor or hoisting a gun.

[00:29:30]>> Now I'm getting it.

[00:29:31]>> The work was often accompanied by a fiddler, a shanty and the stamp of feet.

[00:29:37]>> Yeah. Yeah.

[00:29:39]>> Victory carried seven anchors in total.

[00:29:42]>> Why?

[00:29:43]>> The heaviest, the best bower anchor weighed 4 tons and was rigged at the starboard bow.

[00:29:48]>> Jesus.

[00:29:49]>> The small bower anchor >> I have to go. Lisa's calling me. I had to call this yesterday.

[00:29:53]>> Side was only slightly smaller. And yeah, last night I was watching a movie.

[00:29:57]I never really watch movies. I was watching a master and commander. And if you really want to understand like old ships like this, this is a great movie.

[00:30:03]Even though their ship had only like 27 guns or some [ __ ] It was actually a small small ship, but there were so many people working on it. And it really helps you uh understand like I I I really struggled with the scale of it all. It really helps you understand how they live, how it's all built up and [ __ ] That was a goddamn good movie.

[00:30:20]Fictional story though. I was googling around a bit. Fictional story even though the HMS Surprise was real, but cool [ __ ] man. It's for free on YouTube.

[00:30:27]>> Sheet, catch, and stream anchors served as spares. So, you actually need more than one anchor. What? 4.4 tons, man.

[00:30:38]>> And for keeping the ship stationary in small harbors or rough weather.

[00:30:43]>> Watch the water movie. One day.

[00:30:44]>> All wooden ships leak at sea.

[00:30:47]>> Watch the terror. The terror is amazing about ships, but once it becomes supernatural and the monster attacks, I turn off instantly. I was like, "No way I'm watching that." That was so >> before holes are split by cannonballs or hidden reefs.

[00:31:03]Victory had four crank operated chain pumps which could pump water out of the ship at approximately 1,300 gallons per >> That is actually pretty impressive.

[00:31:13]>> 1300 jerry cans worth.

[00:31:15]>> Here's how ankle works. Everybody knows how an anchor works, right? It goes down and then >> of the ocean.

[00:31:21]>> 6 minutes is too hard for me. Too hot. I need a 7second short.

[00:31:25]>> She also had two elm pumps for pumping sea water into the ship for washing and putting out fires.

[00:31:33]>> Ah, these guys were good engineers, huh?

[00:31:36]>> In the late 18th century, HMS Victory and ships like her were the most sophisticated and advanced machines in the world.

[00:31:46]Massive floating batteries that could remain at sea for 6 months or more and traverse the globe.

[00:31:53]>> That's mind-blowing. There's the scene of Master and Commander where there's no more wind, so they're standing still in the middle of the ocean. They just chill there and nothing happens. It doesn't rain. They're all going a bit insane and stuff. Here's an 11second short how anchors work.

[00:32:05]>> Here's how a ship's anchor works. After the anchor drops to the seabed, the ship moves back slightly. This movement makes the anchor's arms dig into the seabed, creating resistance that stops the ship from drifting away. Here's how it >> No [ __ ] >> But her advantage came less from numbers or better ship design than the qualities of the men who sailed them. Why do they always say her to the ships? Why are these ships she's? Cuz otherwise it would be gay. We are on the he we're on on the great the great he we're inside of him with a lot of men a lot of seammen bold and experienced commanders disciplined and eager crews all full of confidence and accustomed to victory.

[00:33:02]At the height of the Napoleonic Wars, around 145,000 men, that's so many Royal Navy.

[00:33:10]>> That's a lot.

[00:33:10]>> A number comparable to the European field armies of the period.

[00:33:16]>> Ships of the line like HMS Victory required huge crews, not so much to sail her as to man her heavy.

[00:33:24]>> They are referred to as she's primarily due to the century old Maritime tradition, personifying vessels as protective maternal figures that care for their crew. Yet they always had like male names. Maybe this is why transgender porn is more and more watched now statistically.

[00:33:37]>> Guns.

[00:33:39]>> Maybe it all connects.

[00:33:41]>> At the battle of Trfalga in 1805, she had 820 men aboard.

[00:33:47]>> So yesterday I was watching Master Commander and it had 240 men on board.

[00:33:54]25% of this and it already felt like a lot. Maybe I have like a scene for you real quick. It already felt so crowded.

[00:34:06]Like like look how many men. It's so crowded.

[00:34:12]That's 240.

[00:34:16]>> I can't imagine 800 men.

[00:34:19]Can't imagine it, man. This doesn't go into my brain. Little short of her full complement of 850.

[00:34:26]Just 15 of these men were commissioned officers. One admiral commanding the fleet, one captain in command of the ship, nine naval lieutenants, and four Royal Marine officers.

[00:34:40]You say left tenant, you don't say lieutenant.

[00:34:45]Aren't the Americans saying lieutenant?

[00:34:46]Lieutenant Dan, but there's also a left tenant. I don't understand that ship.

[00:34:50]and the senior warrant officers including the ship's master in charge of navigation. The gunner responsible for the ship's guns, small arms, powder and shot. The bosan responsible for sails and rigging and who with his mates over >> left tenant is British lieutenant America. Okay.

[00:35:08]>> For all work on deck.

[00:35:11]Two ship's carpenters responsible for keeping the ship afloat and making repairs. the purser in charge of ship's provisions, a surgeon for the crew's physical welfare, and a chaplain for their spiritual.

[00:35:27]Victory also had 21 midshipman.

[00:35:30]>> So many officers, some of whom began their naval careers.

[00:35:34]>> It must have been some some gay sex, right?

[00:35:37]>> They served a six-year apprenticehip at sea, >> learning seammanship, sail handling, navigation. Yeah, these are like little boys uh helping out and especially master and commander, you they are a big role.

[00:35:49]>> Mathematics and trigonometry.

[00:35:51]They'd then be qualified to sit the left tenants exam, a rigorous assessment by a board of naval captains.

[00:35:59]Further promotion to commander, then captain would depend on merit and crucially social and political connections.

[00:36:08]The process could be hugely frustrating for those without in.

[00:36:12]>> What is wrong with bro's nose? Bro, the [ __ ] influential friends as satarized in this cartoon by the famous illustrator George Krookshank.

[00:36:22]Some naval officers came from aristocratic families.

[00:36:25]>> People want to get banned, >> but most were from what today we'd call the middle classes.

[00:36:32]HMS Victory carried 43 clerks, orderlys, stewards, and servants to assist the officers.

[00:36:39]69 junior warrant officers, petty officers, and their mates held various specialist roles such as coxin, armorer, and how did we reach a point in human society where a very nice number of 69 is not even meta anymore. 67 would have been better. I was just thinking if two of them will die it will be have more mean potential than 69. That's the level we reached in society. 67 is better than 69 now.

[00:37:07]>> Salem maker.

[00:37:08]>> It's ridiculous.

[00:37:09]>> There were 212 able seaman the veteran sailors.

[00:37:14]193 ordinary seaman with at least a year's service.

[00:37:20]87 landsmen. Mostly new recruits only good for his name is Vim. Vim Atkins.

[00:37:27]That's his name.

[00:37:29]Hauling on ropes.

[00:37:32]142 Royal Marine non-commissioned officers and privates. Soldiers who fought at sea, led amphibious landings and enforced discipline.

[00:37:42]>> William, but all the others are written out fully.

[00:37:44]>> And 31 ships boys, many of them orphans plucked from destitution, >> now destined for a life at sea.

[00:37:54]There was probably a lot of >> each man was assigned.

[00:37:57]>> I'm going to sound like such a a feminist and this is obviously data we don't have. There was probably some stuff going on on the ship >> for every maneuver.

[00:38:03]>> Probably >> top men were the fittest, bravest sailors who handled the sails high above deck.

[00:38:08]>> Great seeing a master and commander.

[00:38:10]These guys are [ __ ] man. There's like a storm and they have to go up there and put the sails in and stuff. Oh, not good.

[00:38:16]>> Folks men were knowledgeable veterans who handled anchors and bow sprit sails.

[00:38:22]The waisters in the ship's waist and after guard on the quarter deck and poop were for hauling on ropes.

[00:38:30]The crew was organized into two halves.

[00:38:33]The Larboard watch and starboard watch.

[00:38:36]>> They took many off duty except for emergencies when all hands were called on deck.

[00:38:42]>> They were further organized into divisions, each commanded by a lieutenant responsible for his men's welfare and conduct.

[00:38:51]You've been promoted to victory like that of most British warships was surprisingly cosmopolitan.

[00:38:58]>> Most were from Britain and Ireland, but about 10% were foreigners, including Americans, Italians, Dutch, Maltese, and West Indians.

[00:39:10]About half were volunteers.

[00:39:13]The rest had been impressed, meaning they'd been forced into military service by the Navy's notorious press. They also talk about this in the in the movie estate. A lot of them were just carpenters, normal people, and they were forced to be on the ship >> and work on it.

[00:39:28]>> These naval recruitment parties scoured ports and passing ships for British sailors, all of whom were considered fair game for compulsory.

[00:39:37]>> That's [ __ ] up, dude.

[00:39:38]>> The process was not always entirely peaceful.

[00:39:45]>> Navy press gangs were feared and despised by civilians. They were known to seize men who were not sailors or even British, though most were later released if they could prove their identity. And there were limits.

[00:40:00]Contrary to popular myth, the Navy did not press vagrants, nor did it accept criminals convicted of serious crimes.

[00:40:16]There are stories how they passed out drunk and woke up on a ship >> out of a ship like victory. The captain had to know his crew and his ship.

[00:40:24]>> What a what a welloiled machine of so many [ __ ] coming together.

[00:40:29]>> Every vessel has its own best point of sailing relative to the wind.

[00:40:35]>> HMS Victories was one or two points off her stern.

[00:40:39]This means she made her best speed around 10 knots sailing in these directions. Also very cool in the movie yesterday. How what are knots? They like drive and then they put like uh a rope in the water and then they do something and then they pull out the rope and see how many knots and like 10 knots is 10 knots. You know what I mean? The knots comes from the rope. The knots in the rope.

[00:41:06]But large ships do not sail in a straight line due to leeway, the effect of the wind pushing the ship's hull sideways. This was something the helmsman steering the ship at the ship's wheel, had to correct for.

[00:41:22]The officer of the watch, usually a lieutenant, was responsible for the ship when on duty and ordered which sails to set and take in. He would summon the captain if the situation required it.

[00:41:37]In strong winds, victory might sail under topsil alone, perhaps with a jib and flying jib.

[00:41:48]In lighter winds, >> it is how fast the knots are pulled in the water. Okay, I don't know.

[00:41:54]>> Would crowd on sail adding courses to royals almost creepy in a way.

[00:42:05]She might even run out the stunzel booms to set studding sails pronounced stunils.

[00:42:13]This was known as sailing large.

[00:42:17]But if the wind picked up, stunils and royals had to be brought in quickly.

[00:42:21]>> Why?

[00:42:22]>> As spars and sails could be damaged or torn away by a sudden strong gust.

[00:42:28]>> Hornblower. I'd never heard of that in my life. No sailing ship can sail directly into the wind.

[00:42:33]Victory's closest point of sail was six points off the wind.

[00:42:37]>> Ah, that's interesting.

[00:42:38]>> Was known as sailing.

[00:42:39]>> There's a thing called sailing school, right? Where you get a license and it's probably very, very deep [ __ ] to learn how to sail.

[00:42:45]>> Close holes.

[00:42:45]>> It's probably its own little science.

[00:42:47]Well, it is its own little science.

[00:42:48]>> There were two methods of sailing against the wind.

[00:42:51]>> Explain that to me.

[00:42:52]>> The first was tacking.

[00:42:54]This zigzag approach required precise sail handling and could strain spars and rigging.

[00:43:01]The alternative was wearing ship, an easier maneuver to perform but slower as it meant going the long way around.

[00:43:15]And I'm not going to say it out loud cuz you guys will think I'm [ __ ] but they can't just make 200 people row a bit. No, no, no, no. Right.

[00:43:24]>> Curring a large warship like Victor was also a complex operation.

[00:43:31]>> The sea's depth was discovered by casting the lead, literally throwing a lead weight tied to a rope into the sea.

[00:43:39]The rope clearly marked every fathom or 6 ft.

[00:43:45]The preferred depth for anchoring was 40 fathoms or less, though it was possible in deeper water.

[00:43:53]First, the ship reduced speed by taking in sail.

[00:43:58]When the ship came to a halt, the anchor was let go with a marker boy attached.

[00:44:05]As current and backed sails began to drive the ship sternwards, the anchor cable was run out using three times the length needed to reach the sea bottom.

[00:44:20]It was the weight of this giant cable as much as the anchor that kept the ship in position.

[00:44:27]>> Wow.

[00:44:28]>> Depending on weather, tide, and sea bottom, it might be necessary to set several of Victory's anchors to keep the ship safely mowed.

[00:44:38]>> Can't they just swim and pull the >> A less well-known inshore maneuver was kging. This was a way to drag the ship against wind or tide >> actually doing it >> using an empower alone.

[00:44:51]The lighter K.

[00:44:53]>> WHAT? YOU'RE OH, YOU GOT [ __ ] NOW, HUH? MR. You morons.

[00:44:59]>> Anchor was carried in a ship's boat, rode out ahead of the ship, and let go.

[00:45:06]>> Well, it's not exactly what I mean, but you know, >> the crew then turned the capston to haul the ship towards the anchor.

[00:45:14]This exhausting process was repeated as many times as necessary to move the ship into position.

[00:45:22]Another version of this was warping in which ropes were attached to a fixed object like a strong tree on shore and the ship hauled towards it.

[00:45:43]They warp on an island fight. This is such a good movie video, man. The first consideration was always the direction and strength of the wind.

[00:45:53]A ship upwind or to windward had the advantage and was said to have the weather gauge. She could choose if and when to initiate battle.

[00:46:04]While the ship to lured had to struggle into the wind to reach her adversary.

[00:46:10]Ships of all nations sometimes flew a false flag that of another nation to hide their identity.

[00:46:18]This you never knew practice, >> but to fire on an enemy without first hoisting your true colors was an unpardonable crime.

[00:46:27]>> Oh, back then they gave a [ __ ] about that.

[00:46:29]>> When about to engage the enemy, the captain would order, beat to quarters.

[00:46:36]>> I'm telling you guys, watch all of this was in the movie yesterday. Watch Master and Commander. Perfect movie showing all of this.

[00:46:42]>> The Marines drums. The ship was cleared for action.

[00:46:48]All temporary cabins on gun decks were taken to the hold so gun crews could work without obstruction.

[00:46:56]The sick bay was cleared away and all its patients carried down to the Olop deck.

[00:47:02]The galley stove was put out to reduce the risk of fire and ammunition was moved up from the magazines to the gun decks.

[00:47:12]The ship's boats were launched and towed behind the ship. Here they were less likely to be smashed to splinters by enemy fire.

[00:47:20]>> Clever.

[00:47:20]>> And were immediately ready for any emergency.

[00:47:23]>> True.

[00:47:26]>> Never saw that before.

[00:47:27]>> Poured on the deck for traction while splinter netting was put up above the decks to protect men from any falling spars or bullies shot down by enemy fire.

[00:47:39]Every man then took up his station for battle.

[00:47:43]Captain and officers in full uniform on the quarter deck.

[00:47:48]>> Topmen are lofted, ready to trim sail.

[00:47:51]>> Sharpshooters on the fighting tops.

[00:47:54]Carpenters crew on the orop deck ready to plug holes below the waterline.

[00:48:00]Gunner's mates in the magazine filling extra cartridges. The surgeon in the cockpit ready to receive casualties.

[00:48:09]For 3/4 of the crew, battle stations meant the gun decks. Manning one of the ship's 104 guns.

[00:48:19]It was a huge amount of firepower for the age and made her one of the most heavily armed warships in the world.

[00:48:25]>> That's four times the one in the in the movie, man.

[00:48:28]>> Cannon were the 32 pounders of the lower gun deck.

[00:48:32]>> At range, these guns could punch.

[00:48:35]>> What would you want to do on this ship of solid?

[00:48:37]>> I think I would be like to be a sharpshooter. be up in that nest and just I would like to be shock shooter.

[00:48:44]>> Heavy bridge.

[00:48:44]>> I will try to kill officers.

[00:48:45]>> Hold each gun in place.

[00:48:47]>> Otherwise, recoil would have sent four tons of gun and carriage flying across the deck after every shot.

[00:48:55]Each gun had a crew of between 10 and 14, which was divided in half if the ship needed to fire on both sides. Each crew was led by a gun captain. He was responsible for aiming the gun, his crew shifting its massive weight with hand spikes, crowbars, and wedges.

[00:49:15]When he was on target, the gun captain either applied a slow match to the touch hole or, as seen here, pulled a lanyard attached to a gun lock to fire the gun.

[00:49:34]To reload, one man first blocked the vent with his thumb or a stopper to prevent sparks getting into the barrel during loading.

[00:49:42]>> Oh yeah, that makes sense.

[00:49:43]>> The barrel was then sponged to >> Wonder how they figured that out.

[00:49:46]Someone must have died down the line.

[00:49:48]Inventing to block that. One man had to die to figure that out. All the best to him.

[00:49:54]>> Embers and wormed to remove debris.

[00:49:59]A gunpowder cartridge was inserted at the muzzle and rammed home with a ram rod, followed by the shot and then a wad to keep everything in place.

[00:50:16]The gun was run out into firing position and a pricker inserted into the vent to prick the cartridge and spill the gunpowder. Ah, the gun capturing so much powder from his powder horn to the vent and priming pan. The gun was now primed, ready to fire again.

[00:50:37]>> This process took an experienced British gun crew around 90 seconds. And they were generally faster and more accurate than their adversaries.

[00:50:47]As a battle wore on, the firing rate would fall dramatically due to exhaustion and casualties.

[00:50:55]Conditions on a gun deck during battle must have been horrendous. Noise, smoke, sweat, and gruesome wounds caused by short flying wooden splinters and accidents. That was something I was a little bit mad about yesterday in Master Commander. So in the final battle, the British hero ship Russell Crow, they're boarding a French ship and he says, "The French have double our soldiers." Yet in the end, they take it easily and only seven people die. In the end, they're like, "Oh, we lost seven men, guys."

[00:51:25]Come on. They have double your soldiers and you lost only seven. Jesus.

[00:51:30]I mean, the French, okay, but battles usually began with a broadside. A ship firing all guns on one side in quick succession.

[00:51:41]For greater impact, the first broadside could be doubleshotted. Every gun loaded with two rounds.

[00:51:49]Oh. To guarantee penetration of an enemy ship's hull, the range should be less than 500 yd.

[00:51:59]Many captains preferred extreme close range to fight yard to yard arm.

[00:52:09]That must have been so chaotic. The >> deadliest maneuver was to rake the enemy to fire a broadside into their stem or stern. But if you look at modern tanks, wouldn't it have been better to design a ship like this? So that way when the bullet comes, there's ricochet effect.

[00:52:27]They should have made the ships like this more, you know, like tanks. Ricochet.

[00:52:38]>> They actually did that with early >> ships way the length of the ship, >> dealing death and mayhem as it went.

[00:52:47]>> French ships tended to fire high on the uproll.

[00:52:50]>> They actually did that on the first battle and rigging to immobilize the enemy.

[00:52:55]>> British ships aimed low for the hull trying to knock out guns and crew.

[00:53:03]At long range, a mile or more, round shot could be skipped across the sea.

[00:53:08]>> Oh, that's far.

[00:53:09]>> Like skimming pebbles across a >> roundshot, a solid iron ball, was the most commonly used type of ammunition.

[00:53:20]>> How many of these are on the ocean bed today?

[00:53:22]>> Specialist ammunition such as barsh shot, also known as gym started, dude.

[00:53:27]Chain shot was used to target masts and rigging.

[00:53:34]At close range, grapeshot and canister, both packed with multiple smaller projectiles, turned a gun or caronade into a giant shotgun and were used to wreak havoc on an enemy deck.

[00:53:48]Yes, indeed, the museum text me back.

[00:53:50]They're very open for it. They asked me to uh explain much more what I'm trying to do, but it looks like if I play my cards right, we might be able to stream in the Battle of Nations um museum. It looks pretty good if I'm doing it well in adult by boarding an enemy warship.

[00:54:05]>> They're like uh they want to inform themselves, which is pretty understandable.

[00:54:09]>> With musketss, >> check the French tiger ironclad.

[00:54:16]>> There you go. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I to I totally designed it. Doesn't really look like my design. and half pikes. The enemy ship was bound tight by grappling hooks. And after a shower of grenades and stinkpots, an early form of tear gas.

[00:54:31]>> That must have been swarm across to the >> That must have been a very gruesome sight, man.

[00:54:36]>> Enemy deck.

[00:54:37]>> I will try stand. We'll see. I'm actually going to try that.

[00:54:40]>> Aggression, momentum counted more than tactics.

[00:54:45]>> That's interesting. Probably true. There wasn't many tactics. It was just straight up [ __ ] murder.

[00:54:50]>> Just shock troopers.

[00:54:51]>> Battles were usually over quickly.

[00:54:54]>> Yeah, that [ __ ] probably was just combat at sea was relatively rare.

[00:55:13]Great fleet actions such as Dfalgar and the Nile were rarer still. Just a handful of days spread across 20 years of war. That makes these battles so extra, huh?

[00:55:25]>> Weeks and months often lay between any encounter with the enemy.

[00:55:28]>> And that's the thing about war. Jawhead, the movie with Jake Gyllenhaal, talked about this a lot, right? That even nowadays, war is very boring. I think most soldiers in the history of the human race, it was 90% just sitting around waiting. Then life at sea was by naval routine.

[00:55:44]>> Boring thing in a wave >> and the passage of time marked by the ship >> until it's not anymore.

[00:55:49]>> The naval day began at noon determined by the officer's observation of the sun with their sextants.

[00:55:57]The moment the sun reached its highest point was noon.

[00:56:02]The ship's hourglass was turned and the bell rg times to mark the beginning of the afternoon watch.

[00:56:11]Half an hour later, as determined by a halfhour sandlass, the bell was rung once.

[00:56:17]A half hour later, it was rung twice.

[00:56:19]>> That's how they knew the time. This also shows you why we're getting dumber. We have all of this on our phone now. I could never check how late it is with the sun and and the hourglass and so on. just get folks.

[00:56:32]>> So, five bells in the afternoon watch was 2:30 p.m.

[00:56:37]Eight bells meant the start of a new watch, sending half the crew below deck to rest or do other tasks and bringing the other half on duty. There were seven watches in all, though the first and second dog watches were only 2 hours long. This meant the two halves of the crew switched their routine each day and one half wasn't always stuck with the same night watches.

[00:57:03]>> So very >> officers slept in a hanging cot.

[00:57:07]For everyone else, bed was a hammock strung up from the ship's beams.

[00:57:11]>> [ __ ] >> Most of the men slept on the middle or lower gun decks, their hammocks suspended between the guns just 16 in apart.

[00:57:22]But as most ships operated a two watch system, half the crew on duty while the other half slept, about half the hammocks were empty at any given time.

[00:57:34]In normal conditions, only part of the watch was required to sail the ship. The rest carried out various tasks, not least cleaning the ship, scrubbing decks, polishing brass, and painting woodwork. This was a matter of maintenance and hygiene, as well as collective pride in their ship's appearance.

[00:57:55]The crew were fed three times daily, though only dinner at noon.

[00:57:59]>> That's also something that my brain can't really comprehend how they are 6 months on sea and they have enough food and enough water for everything.

[00:58:05]>> Was a hot meal.

[00:58:06]>> That blows my mind a bit.

[00:58:08]They organized themselves into messes of about eight men, each taking his turn to fetch cooked food from the galley, which was eaten at a table suspended between the guns.

[00:58:20]Naval food wasn't fancy, but it was sufficient even for men engaged in long hours of hard labor. They probably ate better than some peasants, man. And apart from the ship's substantial stores of salted beef, pork, and ship's biscuit, the ship took on fresh meat, including livestock, fresh vegetables, and water at every possible opportunity.

[00:58:44]Most of the crew probably ate better at sea than they would have in civilian life.

[00:58:49]>> That's interesting, huh?

[00:58:53]>> As well as the daily routine dictated by the ship's bell, there were weekly rituals. I have a weird question that Chad will totally know. When imagine you are taken from your house and you have to surf on this ship, let's say 3 years, 2 years, 3 years, you come home to England and you did your service. What's their benefits? Would the government give you a benefit?

[00:59:14]Was there any benefits for serving on this? Do we have any knowledge about that? I mean, how would you guys know?

[00:59:18]Somebody has to Google that.

[00:59:22]They got paid, but you were alive and you got paid.

[00:59:28]But like a pension or anything like a metal clothes and hammocks washed and hung out to dry once a week, weather permitting.

[00:59:39]>> You know what? I'm interested. I'm going to I'm going to do that. I'm interested.

[00:59:44]U when a regular sailor did his duty on a ship in the Napoleonic era.

[00:59:55]and then came home as a civilian after years of service. What knowledge do we have? What benefits he had after this service?

[01:00:18]Kind of a weird question. I don't know if CHP can handle that.

[01:00:23]very few guaranteed benefits and what existed varied a lot by country. For example, in the Royal Navy which employed hundreds of thousands of sailors, there were some formal provisions pay every years. Sailors were often paid irregularly during service.

[01:00:34]So when discharged, they might receive accumulated wages. This could be substantial lump of some, but many had already drawn advances and owned depers.

[01:00:43]Price money. If a sailor had served on a ship that captured new vessels, he could receive a share of the proceeds. It makes sense how like pirates were made where some people felt um [ __ ] by the government and they were like let's be a pirate man. [ __ ] this. Greenwich Hospital pensions though. Greenwich Hospital disabled or longerving sailors could receive small pension admissions to this hospital. However, usually need injury, disability or whatever. Some sailors received small annuals depends without living living at this hospital.

[01:01:10]Uh-huh. There was no universal retirement plan. A healthy sailor with average service might receive nothing.

[01:01:16]blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

[01:01:19]Yeah, you probably just got nothing, man. Just like American veterans.

[01:01:23]>> Gunnery practice by divisions.

[01:01:28]>> This is not a 50-minute video. I think I can't watch that.

[01:01:31]>> Exactly. If you'd like to be a pirate, you need understand it is a business.

[01:01:35]You can't have a crew.

[01:01:36]>> Oh, how pirates roll. Okay. Later, later. Later. and on Sundays a church service led by the ship's chaplain if there was one or the captain. This was followed at least once a month by a public reading of the articles of war, the regulations that governed conduct and discipline at sea. The articles listed 36 offenses from drunkenness to theft, mutiny, cowardice, and striking an officer.

[01:02:05]Half of these were punishable by death.

[01:02:07]>> You can't even [ __ ] cases it was the only sentence allowed.

[01:02:15]British discipline at sea was notoriously severe.

[01:02:19]Crimes for which a sailor was not hanged would usually lead to a flogging with the catinetales.

[01:02:27]Drunkenness was the most common offense, not unconnected to the Navy's daily allowance of a gallon of beer per man in home waters, or half a pint of rum or other spirits overseas.

[01:02:40]This mixed four parts water to one part spirits with lemon or lime juice added to prevent scurvy was the famous Navy grog.

[01:02:52]>> Any man drunk or asleep on duty might get 12 lashes. Yeah.

[01:02:57]>> Delivered by a bosen's mate in front of the assembled crew.

[01:03:00]>> Yeah.

[01:03:01]>> Serious crimes such as desertion might result in 200 lashes or more. A punishment so severe it sometimes killed >> 200 is probably GG men.

[01:03:12]>> Some naval captains were ferocious tyrants, but most knew that harsh punishment was best used sparingly.

[01:03:22]British sailors did not expect an easy life, but did expect to be treated fairly and with dignity. If not, there could be trouble.

[01:03:33]In 1797, the Royal Navy experienced a large-scale mutiny at Spithead, affecting 16 ships of the line.

[01:03:42]>> Wo!

[01:03:44]It was effectively a strike for better pay, as sailors hadn't had a pay rise in more than a century. The mutiny was settled without violence and the sailors largely got what they wanted.

[01:03:56]>> That [ __ ] actually works. What?

[01:03:59]A second mutiny at the no made more radical demands with some crews threatening to defect to France.

[01:04:06]>> Literally today's problem.

[01:04:07]>> This time the authorities were determined to set an example and hanged 29 ring leaders.

[01:04:19]Despite hard discipline and service, the British Navy produced crews that were experienced and able. Bound together by long service at sea.

[01:04:30]Men that bold commanders knew they could rely on, the British Navy, well-manned, well resourced, and backed by a powerful economy, was able to secure complete naval dominance during the Napoleonic Wars.

[01:04:52]It would prove a crucial factor in Napoleon's defeat.

[01:05:02]>> HMS Victory having >> They had a picture from that. Wow. And that thing still exists. You can visit it in in England.

[01:05:08]>> Played her part.

[01:05:09]>> Crazy.

[01:05:10]>> Was placed in the naval reserve at the end of the war.

[01:05:14]Narrowly escaping the breaker's yard, she became the flagship of the Port Admiral of Portsmouth on England's south coast and later flagship of the Royal Navy's commanderin-chief.

[01:05:27]After a major refit, Victory began a new life as a museum ship, opening to the public in 1928.

[01:05:38]Today she is undergoing another major conservation project to deal with the many challenges faced by a 250year-old wooden sailing ship.

[01:05:49]>> It will ensure her survival far into the future >> as a unique memorial to this dramatic age of naval warfare.