Sunday, August 11, 2013

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY - HMS FURY was bilged in Prince Regent Inlet, and abandoned, 25 August 1825 on Summerset Island

HMS Fury was a Hecla-class bomb vessel of the British Royal Navy.

Last known position: 72.7817059N -92.0053482W (FURY Beach)

The ship was ordered on 5 June 1813 from the yard of Mrs Mary Ross at Rochester, Kent, laid down in September, and launched on 4 April 1814.
Fury saw service at the Bombardment of Algiers on 27 August 1816, under the command of Constantine Richard Moorsom.
The ship was then converted to an Arctic exploration ship, and made two journeys to the Arctic under the command of William Edward Parry. Both voyages were made in company with her sister shipHecla.
Her first Arctic journey in 1821 was Parry's second in search of the Northwest Passage. The farthest point on this trip, the perpetually frozen strait between Foxe Basin and the Gulf of Boothia, was named after the two ships: Fury and Hecla Strait.
On her second Arctic trip, Fury was commanded by Henry Parkyns Hoppner while Parry, in overall command of the expedition, moved to Hecla. This voyage was disastrous for the Fury. She was damaged by ice while overwintering and was abandoned on 25 August 1825 at what has since been called Fury Beach on Somerset Island. Her stores were unloaded onto the beach and came to the rescue of John Ross (Arctic explorer) when he lost his ship on his 1829 expedition.
General characteristics
Class & type:Hecla-class bomb vessel
Tons burthen:372 194 tons bm
Length:105 ft (32.0 m) (overall)
86 ft 1.25 in (26.2 m) (keel)
Beam:28 ft 6 in (8.7 m)
Depth of hold:13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)
Propulsion:Sails
Sail plan:Full rigged
Complement:67
Armament:10 × 24-pounder carronades
2 × 6-pounder guns
1 × 13-inch (330 mm) mortar
1 × 10-inch (250 mm) mortar
Fury and Hecla sailed with William Edward Parry on his explorations in search of the Northwest Passage, with Fury being lost to ice on the second. Meteor was renamed Beacon and used as a survey ship, while Aetna and Thunder were both used as survey ships. Sulphur was also used as a survey ship, at one time being commanded by Edward Belcher who later commanded an expedition in search of John Franklin (though not in Sulphur). Erebus was one of two ships commanded byJames Clark Ross during his exploration of Antarctica and by Franklin on his ill-fated search for the Northwest Passage. The other was the Vesuvius-class bomb vessel Terror. Both ships were lost during this last voyage.












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