Cultural Object
H.M.S. Terror (1813 - 1848?)
Royal Navy
- From
- 1813
- To
- 1848?
- Functions
- Antarctic exploration and Ship
- Alternative Names
- Terror, H.M.S. (Also known as)
Summary
H.M.S. Terror was a "Vesuvius" class bomb vessel launched at Topham, United Kingdom, in 1813. She saw service in the American War of 1815; was wrecked off Lisbon in 1828 (and later repaired); and suffered extensive ice damage while in Canadian Arctic waters under the command of George Back 1836 - 1837. In 1839 Terror accompanied H.M.S. Erebus on the British Antarctic Expedition under command of James Clark Ross. Francis Crozier, an experienced polar explorer, commanded Terror. The purpose of the Expedition was to conduct studies in southern hemisphere terrestrial magnetism, meteorology, and oceanography, and determine the location of the south magnetic pole. Other members of the crew included Lt Joseph Kay, who remained in Hobart in charge of the Rossbank Observatory when the Expedition departed in November 1840, and Lt Archibald McMurdo. Scientists on board were Surgeon John Robertson (zoological and geological collections) and Assistant Surgeon David Lyall (botanical collections). 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 and Pacific Oceans through Arctic waters (the Northwest Passage). Crozier again commanded Terror. There were no survivors, and both ships ultimately were crushed by ice and sank. The wreck of Terror was discovered on the sea floor in 2016 in Terror 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 - 5 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
- 2016
- Event - Wreck discovered in Terror Bay, Canada
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- 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
- Fleming, Fergus, Barrow's boys (London: Granta Books, 1889), 489 pp. Details
- Gurney, Alan, The race to the white continent (New York, London: W. W. Norton, 2000), 320 pp. Details
- Pybus, Cassandra, A very secret trade: the dark story of gentlemen collectors in Tasmania (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2024), 318 pp. https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Cassandra-Pybus-Very-Secret-Trade-9781761066344. Pages 157, 158. Details
- Rice, A. L., British oceanographic vessels 1800 - 1950 (London: Ray Society, 1986), 193 pp. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 28 February 2023, Last modified: 2 March 2023