Discovery (ship, 1901)
 The discovery in the ice
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The Discovery is the expedition ship with which Robert Falcon Scott undertook his first expeditions to the Antarctic . The ship is now a museum ship at Discovery Point in Dundee (Scotland). It is the last three-masted wooden ship to be built in the British Isles. In the literature, the ship is regularly referred to as RRS Discovery , the ship name prefix here means “Royal Research Ship”, in English “Royal Research Ship”.
history
construction
The Discovery was launched on March 21, 1901 in Dundee and was specially developed for Antarctic research missions. Particular attention was paid to a solid outer shell in the form of several superimposed planking made of exceptionally hard wood, which was supposed to defy the dangers of ice floes and freezing water. A wind turbine with an electric generator could be installed on the foredeck.
Research missions 1901–1905
On her first research mission from August 6, 1901 to September 10, 1904, the ship froze in the area of operation and had to remain on site for two years until she was finally freed by a few controlled explosions and could start her return journey.
Transitional function 1905–1922
Due to serious financial problems of the National Antarctic Expedition , the ship was sold to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1905 and used as a transport ship between London and Hudson Bay (Canada). During the First World War, it was used to transport ammunition to Russia . Later, in 1917, she was used to support the White Guards during the Russian Revolution .
She was then chartered by various companies for use in the Atlantic. However, thanks to more modern ships, it lost its attractiveness for precisely these projects and was finally used as the headquarters for the 16th Stepney Sea Scouts due to its transport function in the early 1920s .
Further research missions 1923–1931
In 1923 she was ordered back as a research ship with an Antarctic operational area - her home port at the time was Port Stanley on the Falkland Islands . After a 114,000 pound sterling overhaul, the ship was used again as an expedition ship by the British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (abbreviated to BANZARE) from 1929 to 1931 .
1936-1979
From 1936 on, the Discovery served as a training ship for the Boys Scout Association , but this turned out to be too expensive over the years, so that in 1955 she was again subordinated to the British Admiralty as a training ship , until she was no longer considered useful for the Navy has been.
1979 until today
In 1979 the Maritime Trust finally saved them from being scrapped. After a £ 500,000 restoration, it was returned to its keel-laying location in Dundee, where it can be viewed in combination with a land exhibition about the original Antarctic expedition.
Honors
The ship is namesake for Mount Discovery and Discovery Bluff in Antarctica.
Web links
- Discovery. Dundee Heritage Trust
- RRS Discovery. Digital surveys
Coordinates: 56 ° 27 '25 " N , 2 ° 58' 4.6" W.