Hecla-class bomb vessel

	Ships of William Edward Parry's Arctic expedition, HMS Griper and HMS Hecla
Class overview
Name	Hecla
Builders	Mrs Mary Ross, Rochester; Barkworth & Hawkes, North Barton (Hull); Pembroke Dockyard; Chatham Dockyard; Deptford Dockyard; Plymouth Dockyard;
Operators	Royal Navy
In service	1814 - 1857
Planned	12
Completed	8
Cancelled	4
Lost	2
Retired	6
General characteristics
Type	Bomb vessel
Tons burthen	372 1⁄94 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	Main deck: 10 × 24-pounder carronades + 2 × 6-pounders; 2 × mortars (1 × 13in + 1 × 10in);

The Hecla class was a class of bomb vessels of the Royal Navy of the early 19th century. They were designed for use as bomb or mortar ships and were very heavily built. Eight ships were launched; all were converted for use as exploration or survey ships. Four ships of the class are known for the role they played in Arctic and Antarctic exploration.

Profile draught of the inboard works of Hecla-class vessel to be built by Barkworth & Hawkes at North Barton near Hull; signed Navy Office 23 September 1813

Ships

HMS Fury

Builder: Mrs Mary Ross, Rochester

Ordered: 5 June 1813

Laid down: September 1813

Launched: 4 April 1814

Completed:

Notes: Converted to Arctic discovery vessel in 1821

Fate: Bilged in Prince Regent Inlet, and abandoned in the Arctic on 25 August 1825; anchors recovered and now displayed at Fort Saint-Jean (Quebec)

HMS Hecla

Builder: Barkworth & Hawkes, North Barton (Hull)

Ordered: 5 June 1813

Laid down: July 1813

Launched: 22 July 1815

Completed:

Notes: Arctic discovery vessel from 1819 to 1827. Converted to survey ship in December 1827

Fate: Sold on 13 April 1831; re-sold to M. Wright, master, Elder & Co. and left and wrecked state c. 1845

HMS Infernal

Builder: Barkworth & Hawkes, North Barton (Hull)

Ordered: 5 June 1813

Laid down: July 1813

Launched: 26 July 1815

Completed:

Notes:

Fate: Sold on 13 April 1831

HMS Meteor

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: May 1820

Launched: 25 June 1823

Completed: 26 July 1823

Notes: Survey ship, renamed HMS Beacon in June 1832

Fate: Sold on 17 August 1846

HMS Aetna

Builder: Chatham Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: September 1821

Launched: 14 May 1824

Completed: June 1824

Notes: Converted to survey ship in 1826. Receiving ship at Portsmouth in 1839.

Fate: Sold on 20 February 1846

HMS Sulphur

Builder: Chatham Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: May 1824

Launched: 26 January 1826

Completed: 21 February 1826

Notes: The last bomb-ship in Royal Navy service. Converted to survey ship in December 1835. Receiving ship at Woolwich from May 1843

Fate: Broken up by 20 November 1857

HMS Thunder

Builder: Deptford Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: November 1826

Launched: 4 August 1829

Completed: 26 October 1829

Notes: Converted to survey ship in January 1833

Fate: Broken up in March 1851

HMS Vesuvius

Builder: Deptford Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819 (Order transferred to Chatham Dockyard, reordered on 30 August 1828)

Laid down: August 1830

Launched:

Completed:

Notes:

Fate: Cancelled on 10 January 1831

HMS Devastation

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: 1820

Launched:

Completed:

Notes: Suspended on 10 January 1831

Fate: Cancelled on 11 July 1833

HMS Volcano

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: 1821

Launched:

Completed:

Notes: Suspended on 10 January 1831

Fate: Cancelled on 11 July 1833

HMS Beelzebub

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down:

Launched:

Completed:

Notes: Suspended on 10 January 1831

Fate: Cancelled on 11 July 1833

HMS Erebus

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard

Ordered: 9 January 1823

Laid down: October 1824

Launched: 7 June 1826

Completed: February 1828

Notes: Arctic discovery vessel in 1839, fitted with screw in 1845

Fate: Abandoned in Arctic on 22 April 1848; discovered underwater in Queen Maud Gulf in 2014 and now preserved as Erebus and Terror National Historic Site of Canada

Service

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 by James 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.

References

Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.]
Winfield, Rif (2007). British Warships of the Age of Sail 1794–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN 1-86176-246-1.

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