HMS Challenger (1858)

HMS Challenger

Ship data flag  United Kingdom Ship type corvette class Pearl class Shipyard Woolwich Dockyard , London Launch February 13, 1858 Whereabouts Wrecked in 1921

Ship dimensions and crew length 68.66 m ( Lüa ) width 12.29 m Draft Max. 5.74 m displacement 2,137 tn.l.

Machine system machine 2-cylinder steam engine Machine performance 1450 hp indexed power , 400 hp effective power Top speed 10.7 kn (20 km / h) propeller 1

Rigging and rigging Rigging Full ship Number of masts 3

Armament 1 × 25.4 cm (10 in) cannon 20 × 20.3 cm (8 in.) Cannons

The HMS Challenger was a British full ship with auxiliary machinery and armament, which was used for marine research expeditions. The Challenger Expedition , which was conducted from 1872 to 1876 under the leadership of Sir George Nares and Charles Wyville Thomson , took the ship around the world , covering 68,890 nautical miles .

The Challenger was the fifth of a total of eight ships of the same name in the Royal Navy .

The space shuttle Challenger was named after her.

Milestones of the Challenger expedition

• On February 16, 1874, the Challenger was the first ship with additional engine propulsion to cross the Arctic Circle , albeit only by a few angular minutes .
• on February 23, 1875, the Challenger crew plumbed the deepest point in the world's oceans measured at 8,164 meters in the Mariana Trench .
• Cataloging nearly 4,000 previously unknown new animal species.