Editing HMS Discovery (1874)

{{short description|19th-century British Royal Navy barque}}
{{other ships|HMS Discovery}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = [[File:HMS Discovery (1874).jpg|300px|HMS ''Discovery'']]
| Ship caption = HMS ''Discovery'' (foreground) and [[HMS Alert (1856)|HMS ''Alert'']] (background, right)
}}
{{Infobox ship career
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| Ship country = United Kingdom
| Ship flag = [[File:Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px|British Merchant Navy Ensign]]
| Ship name = ''Bloodhound''
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = [[Alexander Stephen & Sons]], Dundee
| Ship original cost = 
| Ship yard number = 53
| Ship laid down = 
| Ship launched = 2 August 1872
| Ship completed = April 1873
| Ship owner = *1873-1874 Walter B Grieve, Newfoundland
*1902-1907 D Murray & Son, Glasgow
*1907-1917 Murray & Crawford Ltd, Glasgow
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship commissioned = 
| Ship renamed = 
| Ship motto = 
| Ship nickname = 
| Ship honours = 
| Ship fate = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header =title
| Ship country = United Kingdom
| Ship flag = [[File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px|border|Royal Navy Ensign]]
| Ship name = HMS ''Discovery''
| Ship ordered = 
| Ship builder = 
| Ship original cost = 
| Ship yard number = 
| Ship laid down = 
| Ship launched = 
| Ship completed = 
| Ship acquired = Purchased 5 December 1874
| Ship commissioned = 13 April 1875
| Ship renamed = 
| Ship motto = 
| Ship nickname = 
| Ship honours = 
| Ship fate = Sold February 1902
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Header caption = 
| Ship class = 
| Ship type = 
| Ship tonnage = 1247 tons<ref name=RW>{{winfield}}</ref>
| Ship length = {{convert|166|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|29|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship height = 
| Ship draught = {{convert|16.5|ft|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship hold depth = 
| Ship power = Indicated {{convert|312|hp|kW|abbr=on}}
| Ship propulsion = Greenock Foundry Company steam engine
| Ship sail plan = [[Barque]]-rigged
| Ship speed = 
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| Ship complement = 60<ref name=PF>''Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia'', by William James Mills, ABC-CLIO, 2003, {{ISBN|978-1-57607-422-0}}</ref>
| Ship armament = 
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}

'''HMS ''Discovery''''' was a wood-hulled screw expedition ship, and later storeship, formerly the [[Seal hunting|sealing]] ship ''Bloodhound'' built in 1873 in Dundee.  She was purchased in 1874 for the [[British Arctic Expedition]] of 1875–1876 and later served as a store ship.  ''Discovery'' was sold in 1902, reverting to the name ''Bloodhound'' and her previous sealing trade. The ship was wrecked in Newfoundland in 1917.

==Design and construction==
The steam [[barque]] ''Bloodhound'' was built as Yard No.53 in their Panmure shipyard at [[Dundee]] by [[Alexander Stephen & Sons]] for Newfoundland [[Seal hunting|sealing]] operations.<ref name="RW" /><ref name="ScottishBuilt">{{cite web |title=Bloodhound |url=http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=55114 |website=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref> She was launched on 2 August 1872 and completed in March 1873.<ref name="SMG07-08-1872">{{cite news |title=Launches |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001702/18720807/067/0005 |access-date=16 June 2021 |work=Shipping and Mercantile Gazette |issue=10,908 |publisher=British Newspaper Archive (subscription) |date=7 August 1872 |location=London |page=5}}</ref> She measured {{GRT|556|disp=long}} and {{NRT|378|disp=long}}, and was {{convert|166.0|ft|m}} in length, {{convert|29.1|ft|m}} [[beam (nautical)|beam]] and {{convert|18.3|ft|m}} depth.<ref name="ScottishBuilt" /> The ship was rigged as a 3-masted barque and her [[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company|Greenock Foundry Company]] auxiliary [[compound steam engine]] generated 312 [[horsepower#Indicated horsepower|indicated horsepower]] and drove a single [[screw propeller]].<ref name=RW/><ref name="ScottishBuilt" />

==Newfoundland sealing==
''Bloodhound'' was launched for Bain & Johnston of [[Greenock]], whose previous ''Bloodhound'' had recently been lost near [[Labrador]] in the ice in April 1872.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bloodhound |url=http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=27017 |website=Scottish Built Ships |publisher=Caledonian Maritime Research Trust |access-date=16 June 2021}}</ref> She was registered on 12 March 1873 at [[St John's, Newfoundland]] in the ownership of Walter B. Grieve of that port.<ref name="ScottishBuilt" />

==Royal Navy==
===British Arctic Expedition===
In 1874, the Admiralty were seeking a suitable exploration vessel for the 1875 [[British Arctic Expedition]], and considered ''Bloodhound'' ideally suited. She was purchased on 5 December 1874<ref name=RW/> and converted for exploration, commissioning as HMS ''Discovery'' on 13 April 1875.
Captain [[George Strong Nares]] was placed in command of the 1875 [[British Arctic Expedition]], which aimed to reach the North Pole via Smith Sound, the sea passage between [[Greenland]] and Canada's northernmost island, [[Ellesmere Island]]. Contemporary geographers proposed that there could be an [[Open Polar Sea]], and that if the thick layer of ice surrounding it were overcome, access to the North Pole by sea might be possible. Ever since [[Edward Augustus Inglefield]] had penetrated Smith Sound in 1852, it had been a likely route to the North. Nares commanded the converted [[sloop-of-war|sloop]] [[HMS Alert (1856)|HMS ''Alert'']], and with him went ''Discovery'', commanded by Captain [[Henry Frederick Stephenson]].<ref name=WL>{{cite web|url=http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=2544|title=HMS ''Discovery'' at William Looney website|access-date=2008-11-26}}</ref> [[HMS Valorous (1851)|HMS ''Valorous'']] carried extra stores and accompanied the expedition as far as [[Qeqertarsuaq|Godhavn]].<ref name=PF/>

Despite finding heavier-than-expected ice, the expedition pressed on.<ref name="cc">{{cite web|url=http://www.cavillconnections.co.uk/discovery.htm|title=1875–76 Arctic Expedition at Richard Cavill's website|access-date=2008-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722135433/http://www.cavillconnections.co.uk/discovery.htm|archive-date=22 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> Leaving ''Discovery'' to winter at [[Lady Franklin Bay]], ''Alert'' carried on a further {{convert|50|nmi}} through the [[Robeson Channel]], establishing her winter quarters at [[Floeberg Beach]].<ref name=cc/> Spring 1876 saw considerable activity by sledge charting the coasts of Ellesmere Island and Greenland, but [[scurvy]] had begun to take hold, with ''Alert'' suffering the greatest burden.<ref name=cc/> On 3 April, the second-in-command of ''Alert'', [[Albert Hastings Markham]], took a party north to attempt the Pole. By 11 May, having made slow progress, they reached their greatest latitude at 83° 20' 26"N.<ref name=NMM>{{cite web|url=http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/archive/catalogue/record.cfm?ID=MRK|title=Biography of Albert Markham at the National Maritime Museum|access-date=2008-11-19|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609001603/http://www.nmm.ac.uk/collections/archive/catalogue/record.cfm?ID=MRK|archive-date=2011-06-09}}</ref>  Suffering from snow blindness, scurvy and exhaustion, they turned back.  
   
The expedition returned to the UK in Autumn 1876 and was well rewarded; Nares was knighted, Markham was promoted to captain.<ref name=CCG>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/eng/CCG/USQUE_Alert|title=HMS ''Alert'' at the Canadian Coastguard website|access-date=2008-11-16}}</ref> The geography of northern Canada and Greenland is littered with the names of those connected with the expedition; Cape Discovery ({{coord|83|01|N|77|29|W|format=dms|name=Cape Discovery}}) on the northern edge of Ellesmere Island is named for the ship.

===Storeship at Portsmouth===
The ''Discovery'' saw no further seagoing service after her return from the Arctic. She was employed as a storeship in Portsmouth Harbour from 1880,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/18-1900/D/01406.html|title=HMS ''Discovery'' at Naval Database website|access-date=2008-11-28}}</ref> probably up until the time of her final disposal.

==Disposal==
''Discovery'' was sold to D Murray in February 1902.<ref name=RW/>

==Legacy==
[[File:RRS Discovery.jpg|thumb|right|''Discovery'''s namesake, [[RSS Discovery|RRS ''Discovery'']] open to the public in Dundee.]]
The 1901 research vessel, built for the [[British National Antarctic Expedition]] (1901–1904), incorporated many of the features of ''Discovery'', as well as taking her name. [[RRS Discovery|RRS ''Discovery'']] was commanded by [[Robert Falcon Scott]] and took part in the [[Discovery Investigations]] from 1924 to 1931. She is now on permanent display at [[Dundee]].

Subsequent [[Royal Research Ship]]s, launched in [[RRS Discovery II|1929]] and [[RRS Discovery (1962)|1962]], have also borne the name, as has [[Space Shuttle Discovery|Space Shuttle ''Discovery'']].

== Bibliography ==
* ''Narrative of a voyage to the Polar Sea during 1875–76 in H.M. ships ‘Alert’ and ‘Discovery’'', by Captain George Strong Nares, in two volumes, London 1878; online book [https://archive.org/stream/narrativeofvoyag01nareuoft Volume 1] & [https://archive.org/stream/narrativeofvoyag02nareuoft Volume 2]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Polar exploration}}
{{Royal Navy Arctic exploration}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Discovery (1874)}}
[[Category:1872 ships]]
[[Category:Arctic exploration vessels]]
[[Category:Ships built in Dundee]]
[[Category:Survey vessels of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:Victorian-era auxiliary ships of the United Kingdom]]