Main deck: 10 × 24-pounder carronades + 2 × 6-pounders
2 × mortars (1 × 13in + 1 × 10in)
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
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.
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.
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