The HMS ''Newport'' was launched in Wales in 1867. Having become the first ship to pass through the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
, she was sold in 1881 and renamed ''Pandora II''.
[ She was purchased again in about 1890 and renamed ''Blencathra'',][ taking part in expeditions to the north coast of Russia. She was bought in 1912 by Georgy Brusilov for use in his ill-fated 1912 Arctic expedition to explore the ]Northern Sea Route
The Northern Sea Route (NSR) (, shortened to Севморпуть, ''Sevmorput'') is a shipping route about long. The Northern Sea Route (NSR) is the shortest shipping route between the western part of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region.
Ad ...
, and was named ''Svyataya Anna'' (Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
: ''Святая Анна''), after Saint Anne
According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...
. The ship became firmly trapped in ice; only two members of the expedition, Valerian Albanov and Alexander Konrad, survived. The ship has never been found.
Design
The ''Philomel''-class gunvessels were an enlargement of the earlier of 1856. The first six of the class were ordered by the UK Admiralty from the naval dockyards between April 1857 and April 1859. Another twelve were ordered on 14 June 1859 to be constructed by contract in private yards, receiving their names on 24 September the same year; these were then fitted out at naval dockyards. The last eight of the class, of which ''Newport'' was the first, were ordered on 5 March 1860 for construction in naval dockyards, although six of them were later cancelled.[Winfield, p.222]
Construction
''Newport'' was laid down
Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship.
Keel laying is one ...
at Pembroke Dockyard
Pembroke Dockyard, originally called Pater Yard, is a former Royal Navy Dockyard in Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales.
History
It was founded in 1814, although not formally authorized until the George IV of the United Kingdom, Prince Regent s ...
in Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
on 17 September 1860. She and ''Alban'' were suspended in 1862, and six of the uncompleted vessels, including ''Alban'' were cancelled in 1863. ''Newport'' was finally launched on 20 July 1867. She was fitted with a Laird Brothers two-cylinder horizontal single-expansion steam engine driving a single screw and developing .[
She was armed with a 68-pounder 95 cwt muzzle-loading smooth-bore gun, two 24-pounder howitzers and two 20-pounder breech-loading guns. All ships of the class later had the 68-pounder replaced by a 7-inch/110-pounder breech-loading gun. The class were fitted with a ]barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...
-rigged sail plan.[
]
Survey ship
She was commissioned in April 1868 under Commander George Strong Nares, and employed in survey work in the Mediterranean.
In 1869 during the opening ceremony and first passage of ships through the Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
, although the French Imperial yacht ''L'Aigle'' was officially the first vessel to pass through the canal, ''Newport'', commanded by Nares, actually passed through it first. On the night before the canal was due to open, Nares navigated his vessel, in total darkness and without lights, through the mass of waiting ships until it was in front of ''L'Aigle''. When dawn broke, the French were horrified to find that the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
was now first in line and that it would be impossible to pass them. Captain Nares received both an official reprimand and an unofficial vote of thanks from the Admiralty for his actions in promoting British interests and for demonstrating superb seamanship.
''Pandora II''
She was sold to Sir Allen Young in May 1881. He had previously owned another former ''Philomel''-class gun vessel, , and he named his new ship ''Pandora II'' after her.
''Blencathra''
The ship was sold in about 1890 to the wealthy F. W. Leyborne-Popham, who intended to use her as a yacht, and had an interest in Arctic waters. The vessel was specially adapted at the Richmond Dry Dock in Appledore, where an ice-ram was fitted and her quarter-deck extended. Leybourne-Popham appointed Joseph Wiggins as captain of ''Blencathra'' for an 1893 voyage to the Kara Sea
The Kara Sea is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all ...
and into the Yenisey River, thus taking the ship to the furthest reaches of Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
. To combine business with pleasure, he formed a syndicate to exploit the commercial opportunities offered by the carriage of cargo to the far north. As plans were being finalised, Wiggins received an urgent request from the Russians to carry rails for the Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...
up the Yenisey to Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...
. A 2,500-ton steamer, ''Orestes'', was chartered and four Russian river vessels were provided for the final stages of transport in the Yenisey. With the river vessels embarked in ''Orestes'', and ''Blencathra'' in company, the group left Vardø
Vardo or Vardø may refer to:
Places
* Vardø Municipality, a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway
*Vardø (town)
(Norwegian language, Norwegian; ), , or is a List of towns and cities in Norway, town and the administrative centre of Vard� ...
on 22 August 1893, reaching the mouth of the Yenisey on 3 September. ''Blencathra'' and ''Orestes'' returned to England via Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...
, while Wiggins stayed with the Russian river vessels, reaching Yeniseysk on 23 October.
Among the party was Miss Helen Peel, granddaughter of Sir Robert Peel
Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850), was a British Conservative statesman who twice was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835, 1841–1846), and simultaneously was Chancellor of the Exchequer (1834–183 ...
, who wrote a book about her experiences titled ''Polar Gleams''.
Leyborne-Popham sold his yacht to Major Andrew Coats, and in company with William Speirs Bruce, Coats made a long hunting voyage to the Arctic waters around Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen. Bruce joined ''Blencathra'' at Tromsø
Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...
, Norway in May 1898, and the cruise explored the Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; , ; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territorial waters.World Wildlife Fund, 2008. It was known earlier among Russi ...
, the dual islands of Novaya Zemlya
Novaya Zemlya (, also , ; , ; ), also spelled , is an archipelago in northern Russia. It is situated in the Arctic Ocean, in the extreme northeast of Europe, with Cape Flissingsky, on the northern island, considered the extreme points of Europe ...
and Kolguyev, before a retreat to Vardø to re-provision for the voyage to Spitsbergen
Spitsbergen (; formerly known as West Spitsbergen; Norwegian language, Norwegian: ''Vest Spitsbergen'' or ''Vestspitsbergen'' , also sometimes spelled Spitzbergen) is the largest and the only permanently populated island of the Svalbard archipel ...
. In a letter Bruce reported, "This is a pure yachting cruise and life is luxurious". Nevertheless, the scientific purpose of the voyage was not forgotten; measurement of temperature and salinity and meteorological observations went on day and night.[Speak, Peter: ''William Speirs Bruce'' NMS Publishing, Edinburgh 2003 ]
1912 Arctic expedition
The ship was lost in 1914 during the disastrous Arctic expedition captained by Georgy Brusilov, when it was hopelessly locked in the ice. ''Svyataya Anna'' was last seen by the party led by the second-in-command Valerian Albanov who abandoned the ship to try and reach safety. Only two members of the expedition survived, Albanov included. ''Svyataya Anna'', Brusilov and the rest of the crew were never seen again.
A geological feature in the Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...
basin, the St. Anna or ''Svyataya Anna'' Trough, located east of Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land () is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. It is inhabited only by military personnel. It constitutes the northernmost part of Arkhangelsk Oblast and consists of 192 islands, which cover an area of , stretching from east ...
, with a depth of 620 m, has been named in memory of this ill-fated ship.
References
* Albanov, Valerian; Tr. Dubosson, Linda. ''In the Land of White Death : An Epic Story of Survival in the Siberian Arctic'', Modern Library, 2000,
Remote Sensing of Sea Ice in the Northern Sea Route, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2007
* Barr, William
''Otto Sverdrup to the rescue of the Russian Imperial Navy''
{{Coord unknown
Polar exploration by Russia and the Soviet Union
Missing ships
Ships of Russia
Kara Sea
Philomel-class gunvessels
1867 ships
Ships built in Pembroke Dock