History buffs and Anglophiles, take note! CNN is reporting that the world's oldest commissioned warship, the HMS Victory, is set to undergo a $25 million revamp.
It will be the most extensive restoration to the Victory in more than 200 years, when she underwent repairs following the Battle of Trafalgar. The ship was commissioned in 1778 and served for three decades. She is the only surviving warship from the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic wars, although it's for the Battle of Trafalgar for which she is most well-known. Lord Nelson died below deck, and English sailors today still honor his memory with "Nelson's Rum."
We hear that the renovations will include re-planking the exterior hull, and that repairs will be made to the masts and work will be carried out on the interior.