HMS Terror

The Design, Fitting and Voyages of the Polar Discovery Ship

Matthew Betts

• Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9781526783141
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military & Maritime History
• Index: History

In the summer of 1845, Sir John Franklin and a crew of 134 men entered Lancaster Sound on board HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in search of a Northwest Passage. The sturdy former bomb ships were substantially strengthened and fitted with the latest technologies for polar service and, at the time, were the most advanced sailing vessels developed for Polar exploration. Both ships, but especially HMS Terror, had already proven their capabilities in the Arctic and Antarctic. With such sophisticated, rugged, and successful vessels, victory over the Northwest Passage seemed inevitable, yet the entire crew vanished, and the ships were never seen again by Europeans. Finally, in 2014, the wreck of HMS Erebus was discovered by Parks Canada. Two years later, the wreck of HMS Terror was found, sitting upright, in near pristine condition. The extraordinarily well-preserved state and location of the ships, so far south of their last reported position, raises questions about the role they played in the tragedy. Did the extraordinary capabilities of the ships in fact contribute to the disaster? Never before has the Franklin Mystery been comprehensively examined through the lens of its sailing technology. This book documents the history, design, modification, and fitting of HMS Terror, one of the world's most successful polar exploration vessels. Part historical narrative and part technical design manual, this book provides, for the first time, a complete account of Terror's unique career, as well as an assessment of her sailing abilities in polar conditions, a record of her design specifications, and a full set of accurate plans of her final 1845 configuration.Based on meticulous historical research, the book details the ship's every bolt and belaying pin, and ends with the discovery and identification of the wreck in 2016, explaining how the successes and ice-worthiness of Terror may have contributed to the Franklin disaster itself. It is an ideal reference for those interested in the Franklin Mystery, in polar exploration, the Royal Navy, and in ship design and modelling.

PART ONE

The History of HMS Terror, 1812–1848

CHAPTER ONE

His Majesty’s Bomb Ship Terror, 1813–1828

AS TENSIONS GREW between Great Britain and the United States during the autumn and winter of 1811/12, the Royal Navy quickly realised that its fleet of bomb ships was inadequate to fight both the French, with whom the British had been at war since 1803, and Americans simultaneously. On 30 March 1812, as military conflict with America became increasingly likely, directions were given by the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty to design a new class of ‘bomb vessel’ (also called mortar vessels, bomb ships, or simply, ‘bombs’). Drafts were quickly developed and delivered on 20 May, yet the Americans declared war precisely thirty days later on 18 June, before construction of any of the much-needed ships got underway. Faced with a rapidly evolving military situation, Admiral John Borlase Warren1 arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in September to take charge of the Royal Navy’s North America Station. Despite his speedy deployment, the admiral nonetheless arrived prepared: anticipating the importance naval strength would play in the looming conflict, he had requested additional bomb ships before he even left British waters, ‘in case it is decided to annoy the coast of America’.2

Sir Henry Peake’s new bomb ship: the Vesuvius class

Henry Peake, then master shipwright and Surveyor of the Navy, took on the task of designing this new 1812 class of vessel. Though he could not have expected it, one of these bomb ships was destined for fame, but not as a vessel of war. In fact, what he imagined over fifty-two days in the spring of 1812 was to become one of the greatest polar survey vessels ever built, with a deserved reputation as one of the toughest wooden sailing vessels of all time. While Peake undoubtedly knew that previous iterations of Royal Navy bomb vessels had been used for Arctic survey work, he would not live to see the significant achievements of a ship of his design in the pack ice of both poles. It is therefore ironic that his design was initially considered flawed: Terror and her Vesuvius-class sister ships were plagued with stability problems that would not be resolved, at least in Terror’s case, until the final years of her career.

Peake’s sole concern in 1812 was creating a new type of floating siege engine, a modern design for an empire whose vast reach was straining the capabilities and capacity of its fleet. Extant bomb vessels tended to be small, with shallow draughts of 10–13ft which allowed them to stand in close to shore, increasing their effective range. But these shallow-draught designs, some mimicking the lines of small frigates, had necessarily compromised hold capacities, so that each bomb ship required a tender to carry much of its ordnance. This created obvious logistical problems in transport, staging for battle, and especially when expending and restocking ordnance during an engagement.

The Admiralty required the new bombs to have a degree of self-sufficiency, so Peake settled on a hybrid vessel design which incorporated several important qualities borrowed from merchant ships. Merchant conversions were a long-time staple of the bomb fleet, and the qualities of these conversions were well understood by Peake. For example, the famous three-masted Discovery (1789), converted to a bomb in 1798, shared many qualities of the later purpose-built bombs. However, while their deeper and more spacious holds allowed them to carry far more ordnance, these benefits came at a cost in sailing ability. Merchant ships tended to be slow and were sometimes unstable, traits uncharacteristic of most Royal Navy vessels of similar tonnage.

Peake had never designed a bomb vessel, but few shipwrights of his era had. However, his design of the Cherokee class of small cruisers was an unparalleled triumph, with the ships being versatile, quick and weatherly. In fact, they were some of the most successful Royal Navy vessels of the early nineteenth century, and more than a hundred were built. The cruisers were easily modified and saw significant use as surveying and charting vessels, being the perfect size and rig (many were converted from two-masted to three-masted vessels) for demanding nearshore work. HMS Beagle is by far the most famous vessel of the Cherokee class and her discovery service under Captain Robert Fitzroy’s command would have been notable, even if Charles Darwin had not served as naturalist on her 1831 expedition. Indeed, as will be outlined in later chapters, Beagle played a tangential role in reconstructing the history of Terror, as records of the former’s fittings were of specific utility.

Unsurprisingly, Peake’s Vesuvius-class bombs mimicked the cruisers he was accustomed to designing, especially in their topside configuration.3 However, unlike the Cherokee cruisers, Peake’s new bombs were much larger and had hull forms characteristic of merchant vessels, with very bluff bows, limited tumblehome and full lines. The 1812 order required four vessels and like all bomb ships their names were chosen to inspire dread in their enemies. Terror, Belzebub, Vesuvius and Fury were all designated for the Vesuvius class, but in the end only three vessels were constructed, with the name Fury saved for the subsequent, and slightly improved, Hecla class, also designed by Peake. Contemporary plans in the collection of the National Maritime Museum show that these Vesuvius-class ships were designed with identical specifications. However, when completed, Terror was built slightly larger than Belzebub (by mere inches), though it is unknown if this was intentional, or owing to the vagaries of wooden ship construction. Fortuitously, the contemporary contract survives for Belzebub, allowing Terror’s initial design and scantlings to be reconstructed in minute detail.4

Terror was designed around the mortars she needed to carry: one 13in mortar just afore the mainmast and a 10in mortar forward of this, separated from the latter by the main hatch.5 The most significant design characteristic was the massive mortar beds, which extended from the lower deck to the hold and were supported by eighteen heavy stanchions, as well as diagonal oak bracing, which was reinforced by iron knees.6 The stanchions were enclosed to create a locker for mortars and carcasses (bomb shells), which could be passed out through windows and hoisted up the main hatch to load into the mortars. Unlike previous bombs, Terror and her Vesuvius-class sisters had a unique upper deck design that included a poop and forecastle, as well as a series of removable gangways, hatches, carlings, and even beams. These removable fittings covered the mortars when they were not in use, and effectively gave Terror a flush upper deck until the ship was readied for action.7 As a result, she was much more comfortable below decks than standard bomb vessels, and had more usable space for berthing the crew.

Vesuvius-class ships also carried two 6pdr brass cannons and eight 24pdr carronades, making the vessels relatively formidable, despite their small size. The ships were also designed to have more gun ports than guns, presumably to permit the repositioning of guns during stationary bombing manoeuvres. As a testimony to Peake’s design, Terror and her sisters could stow a tremendous amount of ordnance for their small size, including 138 13in mortars, 140 10in mortars, and fifty carcasses, in addition to round- and small-shot. Only later would it be realised that this ability to stow so much ordnance would become something of a liability on longer voyages of war (but a tremendous advantage on extended voyages of exploration).

In other respects, the Vesuvius class was like the small cruisers which Peake knew intimately. Windowed quarter-galleries imparted a sense of elegance to Terror and her sister ships, and her stern gallery, which consisted of seven large windows, was elaborate for a ship of this size.8 As designed, Terror’s quarterdeck was relatively cramped, with a large wooden tiller positioned above the deck connected to traditional steering tackle. Terror was designed as a barque-rigged vessel, meaning she had square sails on the fore and mainmast, but fore and aft sails on the mizzenmast. While square-rigged ships were generally faster, barque-rigged vessels required a smaller crew and could be more manoeuvrable if skilfully handled. The latter was an important characteristic for both bomb and exploration vessels, which were often required to stand in close to shore.

Lines and profile, HMS Belzebub, dated 1812. (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, ZAZ5662)

The construction, launch and fitting of HMS Terror

Terror and Vesuvius were built by Robert Davy in Topsham, Devon. The Davy yard primarily built merchant vessels, but had constructed several brigs and sloops for the Royal Navy. Davy’s experience was well-suited to the task: the merchant roots of Terror’s design complemented the mercantile-focused skill-set of Topsham’s shipwrights. Her initial contract to Davy (the builder) was worth £7,495, paid in multiple instalments. Her keel was laid in September 1812 and, despite the urgent need for the vessel, she was given an appropriate time to season before being planked, which undoubtedly contributed to her stiffness and general quality. She was launched on 29 June 1813 and subsequently towed to Portsmouth where she was coppered and fitted out.9 Her rigging and fitting were completed on 31 July 1813 for an additional £7,416, a relatively high sum for a vessel of her size, but appropriate to the specialised nature of the Vesuvius class of bombs.10

On 7 October 1813 Commander John Sheridan11 became Terror’s first captain. Her log shows that he spent the autumn fitting Terror for her first assignment and taking on non-perishable stores.12 Significant carpentry work required during this time was carried out by the dockyard, presumably to finish cabins and storerooms. On 27 December Terror was painted; like most Royal Navy vessels of the period, her initial colouring was consistent with the Nelson Chequer, with a black hull and a long, pale yellow stripe passing along her gun ports, just above her main wales. Her bow decoration and stern galleries would also have had yellow accents.

On 20 January 1814 Thomas Merril, able seaman, fell ove...