HMS Erebus (1826)

HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke dockyard, Wales in 1826. The vessel was named after the dark region in Hades of Greek mythology called Erebus. The 372-ton ship was armed with two mortars – one 13 in (330 mm) and one 10 in (250 mm) – and 10 guns. The ship was abandoned during the Franklin Expedition in 1848 and rediscovered in a submerged state in September 2014 after a long search.

Ross expedition

After two years service in the Mediterranean Sea, the Erebus was refitted as an exploration vessel for Antarctic service, and on 21 November 1840 – captained by James Clark Ross – she departed from Tasmania for Antarctica in company with the Terror. In January 1841, the crew of both ships landed on Victoria Land, and proceeded to name areas of the landscape after British politicians, scientists, and acquaintances. Mount Erebus, on Ross Island, was named after one ship and Mount Terror after the other.

HMS Erebus

Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Erebus after Erebus, the dark region of Hades in Greek Mythology.

HMS Erebus (I02)

HMS Erebus was a First World War monitor launched on 19 June 1916 and served in both world wars. She and her sister ship Terror are known as the Erebus class. They were named for the two bomb ketches sent to investigate the Northwest Passage and subsequently lost in 1845.

Monitors were designed as stable gun platforms with a shallow draft to allow operations close inshore in support of land operations and were not intended to contest naval battles. Erebus was equipped with two 15 in (381 mm)/42 guns (removed from HMS Marshal Ney) in a single forward turret mounted on a tall barbette to extend the range of fire to 40,000 yd (22.7 mi; 36.6 km).

The Erebus class were designed to outrange German heavy shore batteries and they were also fitted with highly effective anti-torpedo bulges on each side of the hull.

Service history

First World War

During the First World War, Erebus bombarded German naval forces based at the Belgian ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge.

On 28 October 1917, she was damaged by a remote controlled German FL-boat, and suffered the loss of 50 ft (15 m) of anti-torpedo bulge.

HMS Erebus (1807)

HMS Erebus was originally built as a Royal Navy fireship, but served as a sloop and was re-rated as such in March 1808. She served in the Baltic during the Gunboat and Anglo-Russian Wars, where in 1809 she was briefly converted to a fireship, and then served in the War of 1812. In 1814 she was converted to a rocket vessel to fire Congreve rockets. While serving off America, Erebus participated in the sack of Alexandria, Virginia, and launched the rockets that bombarded Fort McHenry in Baltimore on September 13th, 1814. In March 1815, off Georgia, she fired the second-to-the-last-shot of the war. She was laid up in 1816 and sold for breaking up in 1819.

Baltic

Commander William Autridge commissioned Erebus in January 1808, and she sailed for the Baltic in April.

In July, Vice-Admiral Sir James Saumarez and his British fleet were blockading Rager Vik (Ragerswik or Rogerswick or Russian: Baltiyskiy) where the Russian fleet was sheltering after the British 74-gun third rates Implacable and Centaur had destroyed the Russian 74-gun ship of the line Vsevolod.