Britain's most famous warship will undergo a multi-million pound make-over to save it for the nation. HMS Victory, which was first launched in 1765, was Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The battle was one of the most decisive  victories for the British against the French and Spanish and confirmed the naval supremacy they had established through the 18th century. A sum of £50million has been set aside to refit HMS Victory, which is Britain's most famous warship . HMS Victory's most famous moment came in the Battle of Trafalgar, when used as Lord Nelson's flagship . The latest round of maintenance work is set to be the largest of its kind on an historic warship. Among the issues include building a new dry dock cradle and making her top deck watertight. Andrew Baines, curator at the National Museum of the Royal Navy and project director of HMS Victory, said it might be the last chance to save the ship. 'We are probably at the last opportunity to truly save the ship and make sure that significant historic material is going to survive in her', he said. The need to restore certain parts of the ship emerged when a £550,000 survey gave the conservation team a clearer picture of her condition. The results of the survey produced 3D images of Victory and even revealed her keel had dropped by half a centimetre a year due to the water damage. It was in 1955 the last conservation project began, but it was not finished until 2002. In 2012, £50million was put aside for the HMS Victory Preservation Trust - £25million each from the Sir Donald Gosling Foundation and Ministry of Defence. During the Battle of Trafalgar, Victory led 27 British ships to triumph over 33 French and Spanish ships . Mr Baines, 33, told the Portsmouth News: 'The last time a large-scale conservation project took place on Victory it took nearly 50 years. 'We are probably at the last opportunity to truly save the ship and make sure significant historic material is going to survive. 'Money isn't an issue, it's just the complexity of Victory.' Although it had been in service for 40 years by the time, HMS Victory's most famous moment came during the Battle of Trafalgar, when it was used as Lord Nelson's flagship. During the battle, Victory led 27 British ships to triumph over 33 from the French and Spanish navy. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost twenty-two ships, without a single British vessel being lost. The battle was seen as confirmation of Britain's naval supremacy - in part due to Nelson's unorthodox tactics. He went against traditional naval convention and divided his smaller force into two columns directed perpendicularly against the larger enemy fleet. The result was a decisive British victory, with the commander of the joint French and Spanish forces, Admiral Villeneuve, captured along with his ship Bucentaure. The battle is widely seen as Britain's greatest naval victory, but during the action Nelson was fatally wounded by a French sniper on the deck of HMS Victory. His body was brought back to England where he was given a state funeral. Nelson's death secured his position as one of Britain's most heroic military figures and numerous monuments, including Nelson's Column in London's Trafalgar Square have been created in his memory. Victory has been in dry dock since 1922 and has seen more than 25 million people walk along her decks. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard wants to keep the warship open to the elements and is hoping to avoid closing her off to the public like the Mary Rose. HMS Victory was launched in 1765 at a cost of £63,176 in modern-day figures - the equivalent to building an aircraft carrier. She was built from 6,000 trees, 90 per cent of which were oak - the equivalent of 100 acres of woodlands. The HMS Victory has 37 sails flown from three masts and it would carry 23 spare sails during battle. The total sail area is 6,510 square yards. Her top speed was 11 knots, or 12mph. HMS Victory first saw battle in 1778 under Admiral Augustus Keppel in the First Battle of Ushant and again two years later in the second Battle of Ushant. She was also called into action in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797 under Admiral Sir John Jervis. For the next two years, she was fitted as a hospital ship. The warship will always be best known for her pivotal role in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar under Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson. The battle was a decisive victory for the British but Nelson was fatally wounded. In 1903, she was unintentionally rammed and severely damaged by HMS Neptune. Repairs were completed in 1928 and she was open to the public. However, in 1941 she was damaged again during a bombing raid. This led to the start of the 'great repair' in 1955, which was finished in 2002. Ownership of the warship was transferred to the National Museum of the Royal Navy in 2012. She continues to be flagship of the Second Sea Lord and is the oldest naval ship still in commission - this means if she was needed the Navy could sail her into battle.
Famous warship HMS Victory will undergo make-over to save it for nation .
Work includes a new dry dock cradle and making top deck watertight .
Launched 250 years ago, was Lord Nelson's flagship at Battle of Trafalgar .
That battle in 1805 was seen as confirmation of Britain's naval supremacy .
Britain's most famous warship will undergo a multi-million pound make-over to save it for the nation. HMS Victory, which was first launched in 1765, was Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The battle was one of the most decisive  victories for the British against the French and Spanish and confirmed the naval supremacy they had established through the 18th century. A sum of £50million has been set aside to refit HMS Victory, which is Britain's most famous warship . HMS Victory's most famous moment came in the Battle of Trafalgar, when used as Lord Nelson's flagship . The latest round of maintenance work is set to be the largest of its kind on an historic warship. Among the issues include building a new dry dock cradle and making her top deck watertight. Andrew Baines, curator at the National Museum of the Royal Navy and project director of HMS Victory, said it might be the last chance to save the ship. 'We are probably at the last opportunity to truly save the ship and make sure that significant historic material is going to survive in her', he said. The need to restore certain parts of the ship emerged when a £550,000 survey gave the conservation team a clearer picture of her condition. The results of the survey produced 3D images of Victory and even revealed her keel had dropped by half a centimetre a year due to the water damage. It was in 1955 the last conservation project began, but it was not finished until 2002. In 2012, £50million was put aside for the HMS Victory Preservation Trust - £25million each from the Sir Donald Gosling Foundation and Ministry of Defence. During the Battle of Trafalgar, Victory led 27 British ships to triumph over 33 French and Spanish ships . Mr Baines, 33, told the Portsmouth News: 'The last time a large-scale conservation project took place on Victory it took nearly 50 years. 'We are probably at the last opportunity to truly save the ship and make sure significant historic material is going to survive. 'Money isn't an issue, it's just the complexity of Victory.' Although it had been in service for 40 years by the time, HMS Victory's most famous moment came during the Battle of Trafalgar, when it was used as Lord Nelson's flagship. During the battle, Victory led 27 British ships to triumph over 33 from the French and Spanish navy. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost twenty-two ships, without a single British vessel being lost. The battle was seen as confirmation of Britain's naval supremacy - in part due to Nelson's unorthodox tactics. He went against traditional naval convention and divided his smaller force into two columns directed perpendicularly against the larger enemy fleet. The result was a decisive British victory, with the commander of the joint French and Spanish forces, Admiral Villeneuve, captured along with his ship Bucentaure. The battle is widely seen as Britain's greatest naval victory, but during the action Nelson was fatally wounded by a French sniper on the deck of HMS Victory. His body was brought back to England where he was given a state funeral. Nelson's death secured his position as one of Britain's most heroic military figures and numerous monuments, including Nelson's Column in London's Trafalgar Square have been created in his memory. Victory has been in dry dock since 1922 and has seen more than 25 million people walk along her decks. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard wants to keep the warship open to the elements and is hoping to avoid closing her off to the public like the Mary Rose. HMS Victory was launched in 1765 at a cost of £63,176 in modern-day figures - the equivalent to building an aircraft carrier. She was built from 6,000 trees, 90 per cent of which were oak - the equivalent of 100 acres of woodlands. The HMS Victory has 37 sails flown from three masts and it would carry 23 spare sails during battle. The total sail area is 6,510 square yards. Her top speed was 11 knots, or 12mph. HMS Victory first saw battle in 1778 under Admiral Augustus Keppel in the First Battle of Ushant and again two years later in the second Battle of Ushant. She was also called into action in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797 under Admiral Sir John Jervis. For the next two years, she was fitted as a hospital ship. The warship will always be best known for her pivotal role in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar under Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson. The battle was a decisive victory for the British but Nelson was fatally wounded. In 1903, she was unintentionally rammed and severely damaged by HMS Neptune. Repairs were completed in 1928 and she was open to the public. However, in 1941 she was damaged again during a bombing raid. This led to the start of the 'great repair' in 1955, which was finished in 2002. Ownership of the warship was transferred to the National Museum of the Royal Navy in 2012. She continues to be flagship of the Second Sea Lord and is the oldest naval ship still in commission - this means if she was needed the Navy could sail her into battle.
Britain's most famous warship will undergo a multi-million pound make-over to save it for the 1765, was Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The battle was one most famous warship . HMS Victory's most famous include building a new dry dock cradle and making her top deck watertight. Andrew Baines, curator battle was seen as confirmation of Britain's