HMS Hecla (1815)
The crews of Hecla & Griper cutting into winter harbour,
26 September 1819, from the journal of the expedition. |
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| History | |
|---|---|
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| Name: | HMS Hecla |
| Namesake: | Hekla |
| Ordered: | 5 June 1813 |
| Builder: | Barkworth & Hawkes, North Barton, Hull |
| Laid down: | July 1813 |
| Launched: | 22 July 1815 |
| Honours and awards: |
Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Algiers" |
| Fate: | Sold, 13 April 1831 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: |
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| Tons burthen: | 375 26⁄94 tons bm |
| Length: |
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| Beam: | 28 ft 7 1⁄2 in (8.7 m) |
| Depth of hold: | 13 ft 10 1⁄2 in (4.229 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sails |
| Sail plan: | Full rigged |
| Complement: | 67 |
| Armament: |
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HMS Hecla was a Royal Navy Fury-class bomb vessel launched in 1815. Like many other bomb vessels, was named for a volcano, in this case Hekla in Iceland. She served at the Bombardment of Algiers. Subsequently she took part in three expeditions to the Arctic. She then served as a survey vessel on the coast of West Africa until she was sold in 1831.
Hecla was commissioned under Commander William Popham for service in the Mediterranean.Hecla saw wartime service as part of the Anglo-Dutch fleet at the bombardment of Algiers on 27 August 1816 . In 1847 the Admiralty authorized the award of the Naval General Service Medal with clasp "Algiers" to all surviving claimants from the battle.
In early 1819 she was converted to an Arctic exploration ship and made three journeys to the Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage, and made one attempt on the North Pole, all under Lieutenant William Edward Parry or Commander George Francis Lyon, and spent many winters iced in without serious damage.
On the first journey, from May 1819 until December 1820Hecla was commanded by Parry. She and her companion ship, the gun brig Griper, reached a longitude 112°51' W before backtracking to winter off Melville Island. No ship was able to travel so far west again in a single season until 1910, when Joseph-Elzéar Bernier reached Cape Dundas on Melville Island. The second year, the two ships reached longitude 113°46' W before returning to England.
On her second expedition, from May 1821 until November 1823,Hecla was under Lyon's command while Parry led the overall expedition from her sister ship Fury. The furthest 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.
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