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The remains of a 300-year-old warship are to be raised from the sea bed, according to reports. The wreck of HMS Victory, a predecessor of Nelson's famous flagship, was found near the Channel Islands in 2008. The British warship, which went down in a storm in 1744 killing more than 1,000 sailors, could contain gold coins worth an estimated £500m. The Sunday Times says the Maritime Heritage Foundation is set to manage the wreck's raising.

Florida deep-sea explorers who found $500 million in sunken treasure two years ago say they have discovered another prized shipwreck: A legendary British man-of-war that sank in the English Channel 264 years ago. Odyssey Marine Exploration hasn't found any gold this time, but it's looking for an even bigger jackpot. The company's research indicates the HMS Victory was carrying 4 tons of gold coins that could be worth considerably more than the treasure that Odyssey raised from a sunken Spanish galleon in 2007, co-founder Greg Stemm said ahead of a news conference set for Monday in London. So far, Odyssey...

With the sun setting over this faded port city, Queen Elizabeth II lit a beacon Friday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, in which Britain's Royal Navy defeated the French and Spanish fleets and cemented its naval supremacy for the next century. Bells tolled aboard British vessels around the world and wreaths were laid at the site of the decisive battle just off Cape Trafalgar in southwestern Spain. In the nearby port of Cadiz, descendants of sailors who fought in the battle joined military leaders to pay homage to the 7,000 who died in the fighting....

French company leading contender to build British warships: report LONDON (AFP) Aug 22, 2004 The struggling French company Alstom is one of five candidates to manage the construction of two new aircraft carriers for Britain's Royal Navy, a newspaper reported Sunday. Alstom faced bankruptcy last year and was only saved by intervention by the French government.