HMS ''Lightning'', launched in 1823, was a paddle steamer, one of the first steam-powered ships on the Navy List. She served initially as a

packet ship Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...

, but was later converted into an

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics ...

survey vessel A survey vessel is any type of ship or boat that is used for underwater surveys, usually to collect data for mapping or planning underwater construction or mineral extraction. It is a type of research vessel, and may be designed for the purp ...

. In 1835 ''Lightning'' was surveying in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

under the command of

Edward Belcher Admiral Sir Edward Belcher (27 February 1799 – 18 March 1877) was a British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer. Born in Nova Scotia, he was the great-grandson of Jonathan Belcher, who served as a colonial governor of Massachus ...

. In 1836 she took part in trials conducted by Professor Barlow in the Thames Estuary to measure speed and coal consumption at different steam pressures. At lower pressures speed was reduced, but fuel economy improved, allowing for a greater range. In 1854-1855, during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

''Lightning'' under the command of

Bartholomew Sulivan Admiral Sir Bartholomew James Sulivan, (18 November 1810 – 1 January 1890) was a British naval officer and hydrographer. He was a leading advocate of the value of nautical surveying in relation to naval operations. Sulivan was born at Mylor ...

was engaged in reconnaissance and survey work in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

. The narrow channels around the

Åland Islands Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populati ...

had never been properly surveyed, and ''Lightning'' carried out this work, and then guided the squadron carrying troops to the landing site for the successful assault on the fortress of Bomarsund in August 1854. In 1865-67 ''Lightning'' was commanded by Captain E.J. Bedford surveying on the west coasts of Great Britain. She was then made available to

Charles Wyville Thomson Sir Charles Wyville Thomson (5 March 1830 – 10 March 1882) was a Scottish natural historian and marine zoologist. He served as the chief scientist on the Challenger expedition; his work there revolutionized oceanography and led to his knigh ...

and

William Benjamin Carpenter William Benjamin Carpenter CB FRS (29 October 1813 – 19 November 1885) was an English physician, invertebrate zoologist and physiologist. He was instrumental in the early stages of the unified University of London. Life Carpenter was born o ...

for a deep-water dredging survey in the north

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

in 1868. This was the first of a series of scientific voyages. The later ones were in . Thomson and Carpenter had received support from the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

for deep-sea explorations to test the idea of

Edward Forbes Edward Forbes Royal Society, FRS, Geological Society of London, FGS (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854) was a Isle of Man, Manx natural history, naturalist. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been ...

that there was no life - an azoic zone - in the oceans below a few hundred fathoms. The Royal Society persuaded the Admiralty to provide a ship, ''Lightning'' for this purpose. Track of HMS Lightning 1868 depthsofseaaccou00tho 0092 93

Track of HMS Lightning 1868 depthsofseaaccou00tho 0092 93

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The voyage of ''Lightning'' in August and September 1868, under the command of Commander W.H. May, was beset by bad weather, compounded by the fact that ''Lightning'' was now an old ship. Nonetheless, important discoveries were made. The deepest dredgings, at , found evidence of animal life. Measurements of temperature dispelled the previous idea of a constant 4°C at great depths, with both colder and warmer temperatures found, suggesting deep ocean currents. Many previously unknown species were found. These findings led to continued support from the Royal Society and the Admiralty for further deep-sea exploration. ''Lightning'' was then employed in surveying the west coast of Great Britain under the command of J. Richards, and was broken up in 1872.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lightning (1823) Paddle steamers of the United Kingdom Ships built in Deptford Research vessels of the United Kingdom 1823 ships