Cultural Object
H.M.S. Erebus (1826 - 1848?)
Royal Navy
- From
- 1826
- To
- 1848?
- Functions
- Antarctic exploration and Ship
- Alternative Names
- Erebus, H.M.S. (Also known as)
Summary
H.M.S. Erebus was a "Hecla" class bomb vessel launched at Pembroke Dock, United Kingdom, in 1826. She was in service in the Mediterranean between 1828 and 1830. In 1839 she was chosen, with H.M.S. Terror, for the British Antarctic Expedition under the command of James Clark Ross, an experienced polar explorer. The purpose of the Expedition was to conduct studies in southern hemisphere terrestrial magnetism; determine the location of the south magnetic pole; conduct a program of meteorological, physical and oceanographic observations; and collect biological and geological specimens. Scientific personnel on board included Robert McCormick (Surgeon) and Joseph Hooker (Assistant Surgeon). After what was considered a successful expedition, Erebus and Terror returned to the United Kingdom in September 1843. Both ships were refitted and sailed in May 1845 under command of John Franklin, for an ill-fated attempt to discover a passage between the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans through Arctic waters (the Northwest Passage). There were no survivors, and both ships ultimately were crushed by ice and sank. The wreck of Erebus was discovered on the sea floor in September 2014 in Wilmot and Crampion Bay, Canada. Mounts Erebus and Terror, named by Ross, were the first active volcanoes discovered in Antarctica.
Details
Chronology
- 19 September 1839
- Event - Departed from Chatham, United Kingdom
- 16 August 1840 - 12 November 1840
- Event - At Hobart Town, Van Diemens Land
- 6 April 1841 - 7 July 1841
- Event - At Hobart Town, Van Diemens Land
- 14 July 1841 - 4 August 1841
- Event - At Port Jackson, New South Wales
- 18 August 1841 - 23 November 1841
- Event - At Bay of Islands, New Zealand
- 4 September 1843
- Event - Arrived at Folkestone, United Kingdom
- May 1845
- Event - Departed from Chatham, United Kingdom
- April 1848
- Event - Abandoned in ice, Victoria Strait, Canada
- September 2014
- Event - Wreck discovered in Wilmot and Crampion Bay, Canada
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Palin, Michael, Erebus: the story of a ship (London: Arrow Books, 2018), 334 pp. Details
- Ross, J. C., A voyage of discovery and research in the southern and Antarctic regions during the years 1839 - 1843, vol. 1-2 (London: Murray, 1847). Details
- Ross, M. J., Ross in the Antarctic: the voyages of James Clark Ross in Her Majesty's ships Erebus and Terror 1839-43 (Whitby, U.K.: Caedmon of Whitby Press, 1982), 276 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Campbell, R. J., 'The voyage of HMS Erebus and Terror to the southern and Antarctic regions 1839 - 1843: the journal of Sergeant William Keating, HMS Terror', Polar record, 46 (2) (2010), 180-4. Details
- Debenham, Frank, 'The Erebus and Terror at Hobart', Polar record, 3 (1941), 468-75. Details
- Savours, Ann, 'Two unpublished accounts of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1839 - 1843', Polar record, 10 (69) (1961), 587-604. Details
See also
Helen Cohn
Created: 28 February 2023