Editing HMS Investigator (1848)

{{Short description|Merchant ship used in Arctic exploration}}
{{Other ships|HMS Investigator}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
 |Ship image          = HMS Investigator stuck in ice (cropped).jpg
 |Ship caption        = HMS ''Investigator'' stuck in ice in August 1851, depicted by the ship's artist [[Samuel Gurney Cresswell]]}}
{{Infobox ship career
 |Ship country        = United Kingdom
 |Ship flag           = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|naval}}
 |Ship name           = ''Investigator''
 |Ship operator       = [[Royal Navy]]
 |Ship ordered        =
 |Ship builder        = [[Scotts Shipbuilding Company]]
 |Ship original cost  = £25,337
 |Ship laid down      =
 |Ship launched       =
 |Ship acquired       = {{start date|1848|02|df=y}}}}
{{Infobox|child=yes
| label1 = Abandoned
| data1 = {{end date|1853|06|03|df=y}}
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics
 |Ship class          = [[Survey vessel]]
 |Ship tons burthen   = 422–480 tonnes [[burthen ton|BOM]]{{sfn|Colledge|2006|p=174}}
 |Ship length         = {{convert|118|ft|abbr=on}}
 |Ship beam           = {{convert|28+1/4|ft|abbr=on}}
 |Ship draught        =
 |Ship hold depth     = {{convert|18+11/12|ft|abbr=on}}
 |Ship sail plan      = [[Barque|Barque-rigged]]
 |Ship propulsion     =
 |Ship complement     =
 |Ship armament       =}}
|}

'''HMS ''Investigator''''' was a merchant ship purchased in 1848 to search for Sir [[John Franklin]]'s ill-fated [[Franklin's lost expedition|Northwest Passage expedition]]. She made two voyages to the Arctic and had to be abandoned in 1853, after becoming trapped in the pack ice.

Her wreckage was found in July 2010, off [[Banks Island]] in the [[Beaufort Sea]]. She was the fourth ship of the [[Royal Navy]] to bear the name.

== Characteristics ==
Built at [[Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company]] of [[Greenock]] on the [[Firth of Clyde]], and running 422&nbsp;tonnes, ''Investigator'' was purchased by the Admiralty in February 1848 and was fitted for [[Arctic]] exploration by R. & H. Green at [[Blackwall Yard]] on the [[River Thames]].{{sfn|Winfield|2004|p=141}}

She was strengthened for Arctic service by William M. Rice, master shipwright of [[Woolwich Dockyard]]. She was extensively strengthened with timber—[[teak]], [[English oak]], Canadian [[elm]]—and {{convert|5/16|in|0|abbr=on}} steel plating. Ten pairs of [[wrought iron]] diagonal riders were set in the hold, with ten pairs of diagonal plates on the sides of the vessel between decks.

To cope with snow and ice loads, the upper decks were doubled with {{convert|3|in|abbr=on}} [[fir]] planking. Preston's Patent Ventilating Illuminators were installed to improve light and ventilation. [[Charles Sylvester]]'s warming apparatus, a modern stove system capable of warming the entire ship, was also employed with good results.{{sfn|Armstrong|1857}} The same or similar device had been used by [[William Edward Parry]] in 1821, to prevent condensation and aerate the lowest deck.

== Career ==
[[File:The devils thumb, ships boring and warping in the pack - Lithod. by Chas. Haghe after the original by Lieut. W.H. Browne ; printed by Day & Son. LCCN2003663111 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|{{HMS|Enterprise|1848|6}} and HMS ''Investigator'' (right), by Lieutenant W.H. Browne]]
In 1848, she accompanied {{HMS|Enterprise|1848|6}} on [[James Clark Ross]]'s expedition to find [[Franklin's lost expedition]]. Also aboard ''Investigator'' on this expedition was the naturalist [[Edward Adams (surgeon)|Edward Adams]]. On their return journey she was commanded by [[Robert McClure]],<ref name="Davis">{{cite web|last = Davis|first = P.|title = Mid-Victorian RN vessel HMS ''Investigator''|url = http://www.pdavis.nl/ShowShip.php?id=1625|work = William Loney RN|access-date = 29 July 2010}}</ref> but the ship became trapped in the pack ice at [[Mercy Bay]] adjoining [[Banks Island]]. The decision was eventually taken to abandon her on 3&nbsp;June 1853, after she had been stuck for nearly three years.{{sfn|Winfield|2004|p=141}}

The following year, she was inspected by crews of {{HMS|Resolute|1850|6}}, still frozen in, and reported to be in generally fair condition despite having taken on some water during the summer thaw.

Unlike the loss of {{HMS|Erebus|1826|2}} and {{HMS|Terror|1813|2}}, the events surrounding ''Investigator''{{'}}s abandonment are not a mystery. McClure provided an official account of the journey, and the ship's surgeon, [[Alexander Armstrong (Royal Navy officer)|Alexander Armstrong]], published an unofficial account in 1857.<ref>{{cite news|title = HMS ''Investigator'' is familiar wreckage|url = https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/hms-investigator-is-familiar-weckage/article1655178|work = [[The Globe and Mail]]|date = 28 July 2010|access-date = 29 July 2010}}</ref> However, the exact location of her wreckage remained unknown for over 150&nbsp;years because of difficulties in reaching the area, which is extremely inhospitable and frequently iced over.<ref name="CBC">{{cite news|title = Abandoned 1854 ship found in Arctic|url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/abandoned-1854-ship-found-in-arctic-1.911131|publisher = [[CBC News]]|date = 2010-07-28|access-date = 2010-07-29}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
[[File:Investigator in Mercy Bay.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Invalids are evacuated from HMS ''Investigator'' in [[Mercy Bay]], by [[Samuel Gurney Cresswell]], the ship's artist, who commanded the sledge party depicted.]]
Oral traditions of the [[Inuit]] tell stories of the ship. The abandoned ship was a source of copper and iron for the indigenous people in the area; metal nails were missing from smaller boats on the shore when they were discovered.<ref name="CBC" /> One Inuit account from 1910 noted that "one year she had still been on the beach and the next year she was gone without a trace."{{sfn|Stefansson|1922|p=361}} When Canadian anthropologist [[Vilhjalmur Stefansson]] reached [[Mercy Bay]] during his [[Last voyage of the Karluk|1915 voyage to the Arctic]], he failed to find her remains.

After meeting the Inuit who made pilgrimages to the wreckage, he suggested a link between the ''Investigator''{{'}}s stranding and the absence of [[muskox]]en on [[Banks Island]]. He speculated that the Inuit had killed off the animals for food during their journeys to and from the wreckage over the 40&nbsp;years since abandonment. The muskoxen have since repopulated the island and now number nearly 50,000.<ref name="Edmonton Journal">{{cite news|last = Struzik|first = E.|date = 2010-07-25|access-date = 2010-07-26|title = In Far North, a missing ship could hold the key to a century-old muskoxen mystery|work = [[Edmonton Journal]]|url = https://edmontonjournal.com/technology/North+missing+ship+could+hold+century+muskoxen+mystery/3320673/story.html}}</ref>

== Discovery of wreck ==
In July 2010, a team of [[Parks Canada]] scientists, archaeologists, and surveyors began searching for the sunken wreck of the ''Investigator'' in Mercy Bay at the northern tip of [[Aulavik National Park]]. It was the first expedition to specifically search for the ship.<ref name="Toronto Star">{{cite news|last = Ormsby|first = M.|date = 2010-07-02|title = Canada searches for Sir John Franklin's rescue ship|url = https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/831585|work = [[Toronto Star]]|access-date = 2010-07-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last = Griffiths|first = S.|date = 2010-07-21|title = Canadian archaeologists hunt long-lost Arctic explorers|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10705564|work = [[BBC News]]|access-date = 2010-07-29}}</ref> The team arrived on [[Banks Island]] in the [[Beaufort Sea]] on 22 July and began a sonar scan of the area three days later, based on the original [[Royal Navy]] records of the position of the ship when it was abandoned.<ref name="CBC" /><ref name="National Post">{{cite news|last = Martin|first = D.|date = 2010-07-28|title = How the Arctic search team found HMS Investigator|url = https://nationalpost.com/news/Arctic-search-team-found-Investigator/3334393/story.html|work = [[National Post]]|access-date = 2019-06-17|archive-date = 2010-08-11|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://archive.today/20100811003530/http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Arctic+search+team+found+Investigator/3334393/story.html}}</ref> Its remains were quickly discovered, {{convert|150|m|abbr=on}} off the north shore of Banks Island, with the deck of the ship about {{convert|8|m|abbr=on}} below the surface.

According to a superintendent with Parks Canada, the ship was found "sitting upright in silt; the three masts have been removed, probably by ice."<ref name="Calgary Herald">{{cite news|last = Martin|first = D.|date = 2010-07-28|title = Historic Northwest Passage wreckage discovered beneath Beaufort Sea|work = [[Calgary Herald]]|access-date = 2010-07-29|url = http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/3330222/story.html}}</ref> Her hull lies partially buried in silt and the cold Arctic water has prevented the outer deck from deteriorating quickly. There are no plans to raise the ship's remains, although the team did send a [[remotely operated underwater vehicle]] to take photos and assess the wreckage.<ref name="CBC" />

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book
 |last         = Armstrong
 |first        = A.
 |author-link   = Alexander Armstrong (explorer)
 |date         = 1857
 |title        = A personal narrative of the discovery of the North-west Passage
 |title-link    = :IArchive:apersonalnarrat00armsgoog
 |location     = London
 |publisher    = [[Hurst and Blackett]]
 |oclc         = 2060040
}}
*{{cite book
 |last         = Cohen
 |first        = A.
 |author-link   = Andrew Cohen (journalist)
 |date         = 2013
 |title        = Lost beneath the ice: the story of HMS Investigator
 |location     = Toronto
 |publisher    = [[Dundurn Press]]
 |isbn         = 9781459719491
}}
*{{cite book
 |last1        = Colledge
 |first1       = J.
 |author-link1  = J. J. Colledge
 |last2        = Warlow
 |first2       = B.
 |date         = 2006
 |title        = Ships of the Royal Navy: complete record of all fighting ships
 |title-link    = Ships of the Royal Navy
 |location     = London
 |publisher    = [[Chatham Publishing]]
 |isbn         = 9781861762818
 |ref          = {{sfnref|Colledge|2006}}
}}
*{{cite book
 |last         = McClure
 |first        = R.
 |author-link   = Robert McClure
 |date         = 1856
 |editor-last  = Osborn
 |editor-first = S.
 |editor-link  = Sherard Osborn
 |title        = The discovery of the North-west Passage
 |title-link    = :IArchive:bub gb SGUZAAAAMAAJ
 |location     = London
 |publisher    = [[Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans]]
 |oclc         = 77373360
}}
*{{cite book
 |last         = Payton
 |first        = B.
 |date         = 2009
 |title        = The ice passage: a true story of ambition, disaster, and endurance in the Arctic wilderness
 |location     = Toronto
 |publisher    = [[Doubleday Canada]]
 |isbn         = 9780385665322
}}
*{{cite book
 |last         = Stefansson
 |first        = V.
 |author-link   = Vilhjalmur Stefansson
 |date         = 1922
 |title        = The friendly arctic: the story of five years in polar regions
 |title-link    = :IArchive:friendlyarcticst00stef
 |location     = New York
 |publisher    = [[The Macmillan Company]]
 |oclc         = 697768450
}}
*{{cite book
 |last1        = Winfield
 |first1       = R.
 |last2        = Lyon
 |first2       = D.
 |date         = 2004
 |title        = The sail and steam navy list: all the ships of the Royal Navy, 1815–1889
 |title-link    = The Sail and Steam Navy List
 |location     = London
 |publisher    = Chatham Publishing
 |isbn         = 9781861760326
 |ref          = {{sfnref|Winfield|2004}}
}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|HMS Investigator (1848)}}
* {{OL subject|investigator_(ship)|HMS ''Investigator''}}

{{Polar exploration|state=collapsed}}
{{Royal Navy Arctic exploration}}
{{1853 shipwrecks}}
{{Authority control}}

{{coord|74.084397|-119.002619|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Investigator (1848)}}
[[Category:Arctic exploration vessels]]
[[Category:Banks Island]]
[[Category:Exploration ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:History of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in June 1853]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Canadian Arctic coast]]
[[Category:Survey vessels of the Royal Navy]]
[[Category:1848 ships]]