On 7 May 1765 the HMS Victory was floated out of Chatham’s Royal Dockyard. She would become the most famous ships in the British Royal Navy and achieve everlasting fame as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson in Britain’s greatest ever naval victory, the defeat of the French and Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar.
The ongoing battle for domination of the seas has been one of immeasurable devastation and technological innovation. Wooden hulls were encased in iron, sails replaced by some of the most powerful engines ever built, and cannons outgunned by missiles capable of toppling empires. From the most deadly submarines ever seen to the infamous destroyers of the Second World War, this episode is the story of what it takes to rule the waves.
Spanish Armada captain Francisco de Cuéllar was shipwrecked off the Sligo coast in September 1588. He spent seven months in war-torn Ireland, trying to escape death and marriage before eventually making his way to Madrid. Cuéllar wrote an account of his amazing adventures.
Casablanca is so iconic that we don’t need to introduce Humphrey Bogart anymore. Find out more about the Classical Hollywood actor.
