'Precise operation' to remove HMS Victory's masts complete as £42m Big Repair project takes step forward

For the first time since the 1890s, HMS Victory is without all of her masts as specialist teams continue working on a multi-million pound mission to preserve the flagship.

The Big Repair is a ten-year conservation project which involves replacing rotten timber with modern materials, removing all masts to alleviate structural stress, and covering the vessel in a massive, three-storey scaffold "tent" to protect her.

HMS Victory, which is the world’s oldest commissioned warship, was famously Nelson’s flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, and it was on the ship’s quarterdeck that he was fatally shot by a French sniper on October 21 1805.

Victory was first floated out at Chatham in 1765 but by the 1920s was in poor condition and moved to dry dock in Portsmouth, Hampshire, in 1922.

The most recent phase of work has included three nights of work to remove the rear, front and bow masts of Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson’s flagship using a 750-tonne crane, marking a major milestone in a £42 million project.

More than 50 specialists were involved in the removal process and now the masts have been safely removed and lowered, they will be prepared for conservation work to begin before eventually being returned to the ship.

Patrizia Pierazzo, HMS Victory deputy project director, said: “The removal of the mizzen mast and bowsprit was a great success and lessons learnt from the foremast removal earlier in the week really helped the team. This was a precise operation that required input from a wide range of specialists, and we’re very pleased with the outcome.”

The ship’s main mast was removed at the start of the programme in 2021, and now the remaining masts have come down, the project team can move onto the next phase of The Big Repair, including the construction of the huge scaffolding structure which will be in place until the conservation project ends in 2033.

Andrew Baines, executive director of museum operations for NMRN, previously said: “This is a key moment for The Big Repair project - being the first time Victory will have been without all her masts since the early 1890s.”

Visitors will be also able to follow this exciting chapter of the project, with the team set to publish behind-the-scenes films, short reels and progress updates across official channels. Where conditions allow, footage will be released after each night of the works so audiences can track the operation step-by-step.