HMD Chatham

In 1613, the dockyard moved downstream to its present site from the original 1547 location, further up the River Medway. A national catastrophe occurred in Spring 1667, when the Dutch under Admiral de Ruyter raided the Medway, burnt the fleet at anchor and captured the English flagship.

During the early 18th Century the focus of British attention shifted from the North Sea to the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The result for Chatham was a change from Main Fleet Base to that of build and repair yard. Chatham was a leader in industrialising naval process towards the latter end of the century, with revolutions in wood cutting, ropemaking and the manufacture of paint.

HMS Victory was built at Chatham between 1759 and 1765. When the Admiralty Board suspended building further sailing ships in 1849, Chatham was ready with steam powered warships.

In Nov 1981, the UK Govt announced that Chatham would close and after supporting the Falklands campaign and some final refits - of which HMS Hermione Seawolf conversion was the last frigate work - the base closed on 31 Mar 1984.

The site is now a tourist attraction as The Historic Dockyard and as well as the usual nauticalia, exhibits include the early steam/sail warship HMS Gannet, CA class destroyer HMS Cavalier (D73), Oberon class submarine HMS Ocelot (S17) and Dragonfly HR.5 WG751.