HMS Victory - Upper Gun Deck

Here we can see the upper gun deck of HMS Victory (underneath her 'little boats') as it appeared in circa 1794:

Along both sides, a single row of 12-pounder cannons was present, together with the gun crews that operated them. The gun crews themselves, would both 'live and sleep' in the spaces between the cannons (especially of lower gun decks). The other gun decks were similar (in terms of layout) - although the middle gun deck was equipped with 24-pounder cannons, and the lower gun deck was equipped with 32-pounder cannons. The heavier calibre cannons were located closer to the waterline - to improve the stability of HMS Victory. This was a lesson 'learned the hard way' as ships of the line that were 'too top heavy' were notoriously unstable (such as the Mary Rose). In any case, the armament of HMS Victory 'tended to vary' both depending upon the century and 'which admiral/captain' was in command. For example, some admirals preferred the 42-pounder cannon to the 32-pounder cannon. Whilst the 42-pounder cannon featured more 'hitting power', it also featured a slower 'loading time' - because the cannonball weighed more, and was 'harder to lift' for the gun crews. The material used to construct the cannons also varied 'depending upon the century' - with early cannons being made of brass, and later cannons being made of iron (which were also equipped with 'more modern' firing mechanisms).