''Gauss'' was a ship built in Germany specially for polar exploration, named after the

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

and

physical scientist Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Phys ...

Carl Friedrich Gauss Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss (; german: Gauß ; la, Carolus Fridericus Gauss; 30 April 177723 February 1855) was a German mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to many fields in mathematics and science. Sometimes refer ...

. Purchased by Canada in 1904, the vessel was renamed CGS ''Arctic''. As ''Arctic'', the vessel made annual trips to the Canadian Arctic until 1925. The ship's fate is disputed among the sources, but all claim that by the mid-1920s, the vessel was out of service.

Ship construction

The ship was built by the

Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (often abbreviated HDW) is a German shipbuilding company, headquartered in Kiel. It is part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) group, owned by ThyssenKrupp. The Howaldtswerke shipyard was founded in Kiel in 183 ...

shipyard at

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

at a cost of 500,000

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. Launched on 2 April 1901 she was modelled on Fridtjof Nansen's ship '' Fram'', and rigged as a

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing ...

. Displacing , ''Gauss'' had a tonnage of . The ship was long, in the beam, with a draught of . With a

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

driving one

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to augment the sails, she was capable of . Classed "A1" by

Germanischer Lloyd The Germanischer Lloyd SE was a classification society based in the city of Hamburg, Germany. It ceased to exist as an independent entity in September 2013 as a result of its merger with Norway's DNV (Det Norske Veritas) to become DNV GL. Before ...

s, she was designed to carry 700 tons of stores, enough to make her self-sufficient for up to three years with a crew of 30 aboard. The hull was exceptionally strong, and the rudder and propeller were designed to be hoisted aboard for inspection or repairs.

Ship history

Between 1901 and 1903 ''Gauss'' explored the Antarctic in the

Gauss expedition The ''Gauss'' expedition of 1901–1903 (also known as the ''Deutsche Südpolar-Expedition 1901–1903)'' was the first German expedition to Antarctica. It was led by geologist Erich von Drygalski in the ship , named after the mathematician and ...

under the leadership of Erich von Drygalski. In early 1904 the ship was purchased by the Canadian government under the advice of

Joseph-Elzéar Bernier Joseph-Elzéar Bernier (January 1, 1852 – December 26, 1934) was a Canadian mariner from Quebec who led expeditions into the Canadian Arctic in the early 20th century. He was born in L'Islet, Quebec, the son of Captain Thomas Bernier and ...

, who had surveyed the ship before the acquisition. The ship was renamed ''Arctic'' and under the command of Bernier she explored the Arctic Archipelago. Bernier and ''Arctic'' made annual expeditions to Canada's north. On 1 July 1909, Bernier, without government approval, claimed the entire area between Canada's eastern and western borders all the way to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. Bernier only left the ship during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, returning to command ''Arctic'' again from 1922 to 1925. The vessel's end is not agreed upon. According to ''schiffe-und-mehr.com'', ''Arctic'' was abandoned in 1925 and left to rot at her moorings. Maginley and Collin claim the vessel was

broken up Ship-breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships for either a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sold for re-use, ...

in 1926 while the Miramar Ship Index say the ship was abandoned in 1927.

Notes

References

External links

W.B. Wiegand Diary of a Voyage on the Arctic in 1912
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Gauss 1901 ships Exploration ships Canadian Government Ship

Ship construction

Ship history

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links