Danmark (ship, 1855)

This article is about the ship that gave name to the Danmark Expedition. For other ships named Danmark, see Danmark (disambiguation).

Danmark in Danmarkshavn, 1907
History
United Kingdom
NameSir Colin Campbell
OwnerW.H. Alexander, Peterhead
BuilderSunderland, England
Launched1855
Out of service1862
HomeportPeterhead
United Kingdom
OwnerG. Paul
In service1862
Out of service1871
HomeportPeterhead
Norway
OwnerF. Hansen & Co.
In service1871
Out of service1892
RenamedMagdalena
HomeportTønsberg
Norway
OwnerGustav C. Hansen
In service1892
Out of service1901
HomeportChristiania
Norway
OwnerAlfred Nilsson
In service1901
Out of service1906
HomeportTønsberg
Denmark
OwnerDanish Expedition Fund
In service1906
Out of service1909
RenamedDanmark
HomeportCopenhagen
Denmark
OwnerGrønlands Minedrift A/S
In service1906
Out of service1917
HomeportCopenhagen
FateWrecked at Höganäs 13 Dec 1917, scrapped in 1918 in Helsingør
General characteristics
Class and typeSteam bark
Tonnage377 GRT, 242 NRT (1906)
Length122.5 ft (37.3 m)
Beam30.2 ft (9.2 m)
Draught17.5 ft (5.3 m)
Propulsion
  • Steam engine, 98 HP high pressure
  • 200 HP triple expanstion (Akers, Christiania) from 1892
Speedup to 6 knots under engine

The bark Danmark is best known for her role as expedition ship for the Danmark expedition (1906–1908), so named after the ship, but had a long prehistory as a whaler under the name Sir Colin Campbell of Peterhead and later as a sealer named Magdalena of Tønsberg/Kristiana.

Danmark leaving Fredrikshavn for the Danmark Expedition to NE Grenland 1906-1908

The ship was built in Sunderland, England in 1855, rigged as a three-masted steam bark and originally fitted with a 98 hp high pressure steam engine. She sailed under the name Sir Colin Campbell on whaling trips from Scotland to the Greenland Sea and Davis Strait. In 1892 she was sold to Norway, refitted with a 200 hp triple expansion engine, renamed Magdalena and sailed as a seal catcher until 1906.[1] The later polar explorer Roald Amundsen sailed on Magdalena in 1884 on a seal hunt into the West Ice.[2] From the records of the oil factory of J.A. Nielson in Tønsberg it is reported that Magdalena, owned by Gustav C. Hansen, was the first ship to process blubber at the factory when it opened in 1883 (1,300-1,400 barrels of seal oil).[3] In 1901 the ship was used to deploy stores on Shannon Island and Bass Rock, East Greenland for the American Baldwin-Ziegler Expedition.[1] In 1906 Magdalena was sold for a price of 39,250 kroner to the Danish Expedition Fund, to serve as ship for the upcoming expedition to Northeast Greenland. She underwent refurbishing and was rechristened to Danmark.

  1. ^ a b Sandbeck, Thorkild (2007). Danske havforskningsskibe gennem 250 år. Stenstrup, Denmark: Skib Forlag.
  2. ^ Jensen, Niels Aage (2011). Amundsen. Copenhagen: Informations Forlag. p. 27. ISBN 978-87-7514-7687.
  3. ^ Gløersen, G. (1900). Tønsbergs og Omegns Industri. Kristiania: A.M. Hanche. p. 96.