A history of life on board HMS Victory, the world's most famous warship.This addition to the best-selling Conway pocket-book range explores Admiral Nelson's fully preserved flagship HMS Victory, the most tangible symbol of the Royal Navy's greatest battle off Cape Trafalgar on October 21st 1805.Peter Goodwin, the leading historian of the sailing man-of-war, explains the workings of the only surviving 'line of battle' ship of the Napoleonic Wars. And, as Victory was engaged in battle for only two per cent of her active service, the book also provides a glimpse into life and work at sea during the other ninety-eight per cent of the time.Drawing from a selection of contemporary documents and records, Goodwin explains the day-to-day running of a three-decker Georgian warship: victualling, organisation, discipline, domestic arrangements and medical care. He answers questions such as: 'What types of wood were used in building Victory?'; 'What was her longest voyage?'; 'How many shots were fired from her guns at Trafalgar?'; 'How many boats did Victory carry?'; 'What was prize money?'; 'What was grog?'; 'When did her career as a fighting ship end?', and 'How many people visit Victory each year?'Illustrated with black and white diagrams of the ship and maps, this is a full history of the world's most famous warship in a highly accessible pocket-book format.

Introduction1 Building the Victory2 Victory's sea service3 Entering the ship and the Georgian Navy4 Manning the ship5 Living in the ship6 Conditions of service7 The Royal Marines8 Learning the ropes9 Ship's boats and boat work10 Anchors aweigh11 Victory's ordnance12 Training the great guns13 The broadside of battle14 'Boarders away'15 Trafalgar (Al-Tarafal-al Aghar)16 Sawbones and sick berth17 Nelson, hero of the VictoryAPPENDICESA1 The Victory's sailing qualitiesA2 Watches, ship's time and daily routine at seaA3 Quantity of shot and gunpowder expended at the Battle of TrafalgarA4 The Victory's battle casualties killed in actionList of primary sourcesIndex