HMS
Vanguard at Portsmouth By Ivan Berryman Proud flagship of Admiral nelson at the battle of
the Nile. HMS Vanguard is pictured lying near the entrance of Portsmouth
harbour at sunset in company with another Nile veteran HMS majestic.
vanguard one of fourteen 3rd rate 74,s penned by the famous ship
designer Slade was launched in 1787 and enjoyed a long and eventful
career under numerous Commanding officers. in various roles until
finally being broken up in 1821.
The
Battle of Copenhagen, 2nd April 1801 by Ivan Berryman The
key to Nelsons victories always lay in his meticulous planning and the
Battle of Copenhagen was no exception as he used his fleet to first
destroy the Danish floating defences so that his bomb vessels could be
brought up to bombard the city itself. The Danes eventually
capitulated, but they had fought hard and over 2,000 men had died on
both sides before the end of the battle. In this view, HMS
Elephant, carrying the flag of Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, dominates
the scene as the battle gathers intensity. British ships depicted,
left to right, are the Glatton (54), Elephant (74), Ganges (74) and
Monarch (74).
HMS Captain at the Battle of Cape St
Vincent by
Ivan Berryman Viewed across the damaged stern of the 80-gun San Nicholas, Nelson
drives HMS Captain onto the Spanish vessel in order that she can be
boarded and taken as a prize, the British marines and men scrambling up
the Captains bowsprit to use it as a bridge. The San Nicholas then
fouled the Spanish three decker San Joseph (112), allowing Nelson and his
men to take both ships as prizes in a single manoeuvre. A British
frigate is moving into a supporting position in the middle distance.
The Battle of the Nile, 1798 - The Burning of L
Orient by Ivan Berryman. Nelsons annihilation of the French Fleet at
Aboukir Bay was complete, but for the escape of Admiral Villeneuve who
would again confront his nemesis just seven years later at
Trafalgar. Doubled by the British ships and ravaged by their
relentless gunnery, the French faced utter defeat as the battle raged
into the night. At the centre of the French line lay the massive three
decker L Orient. The British Alexander positioned herself astern
of L Orient and began to fire mercilessly into her fragile stern
galleries. Within a short time, a terrible fire started that raged
through her hull, eventually reaching her powder magazine, causing a
massive explosion that literally blew L Orient to pieces. In this
scene, shortly before the explosion, Alexander can be seen astern of the
burning L Orient, minus her maintop, and trying to move away in the
intense heat. To her port, the British Majestic is also starting
to slip away while, in the foreground, the French Franklin is ablaze and
threatened with being caught in the imminent blast. At the extreme
right of the picture, crews are racing to remove sails from the British
Orion to lessen the risk of fire in the event of L Orients spectacular
demise.
Battle of the Nile
by Ivan Berryman Sunset
over Aboukir Bay on 1st August 1798 as ships of the Royal
Navy, led by Nelson, conduct their ruthless destruction of the anchored
French fleet. Ships shown from left to right. HMS Orion,
Spartiate, Aquilon,
Peuple Souvrain, HMS Defence, HMS Minotaur and HMS Swiftsure
The Battle of Trafalgar, 21st October
1805 by Ivan Berryman One of the most decisive battles in
the history of the Royal Navy, Nelson's defeat of the French fleet took
place on 21st October 1805 off Cape Trafalgar and was conducted with not
a single British ship lost, although few ships escaped severe punishment
and loss of life on both sides was tragically high.
In Ivan's painting, the flagship HMS
Victory finally disengages from the wrecked Redoubtable, while the
Temeraire, having broken from La Fougueux, remains locked with the
French ship. At one point, all four ships had been on board of each
other in line abreast, each firing broadside after broadside into each
other. To the right of the painting, the French Bucentaure lies
helpless, her vulnerable stern having been smashed by Victory's
relentless gunfire.
Frigate
Action off Antigua by Ivan Berryman HMS Boreas
encounters the French Compas
