HMS Terror (1813)

HMS Terror in the Arctic
History
United Kingdom
Name	Terror
Ordered	30 March 1812
Builder	Robert Davy, Topsham, Devon
Laid down	September 1812
Launched	29 June 1813
Completed	By 31 July 1813
Fate	Abandoned 22 April 1848, King William Island
Wreck discovered	3 September 2016, Terror Bay
General characteristics
Class and type	Vesuvius-class bomb vessel
Tons burthen	325 (bm)
Length	102 ft (31 m)
Beam	27 ft (8.2 m)
Installed power	30 Nominal horsepower[1]
Propulsion	Sails steam engine
Complement	67
Armament	1 × 13 in (330 mm) mortar 1 × 10 in (250 mm) mortar
National Historic Site of Canada
Official name	Wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror National Historic Site
Designated	2019

HMS Terror was a specialised warship and a newly developed bomb vessel constructed for the Royal Navy in 1813. She participated in several battles of the War of 1812, including the Battle of Baltimore with the bombardment of Fort McHenry (as mentioned in The Star-Spangled Banner: "And the Rockets' red glare, the Bombs bursting in air"). She was converted into a polar exploration ship two decades later, and participated in George Back's Arctic expedition of 1836–1837, the successful Ross expedition to the Antarctic of 1839 to 1843, and Sir John Franklin's ill-fated attempt to force the Northwest Passage in 1845, during which she was lost with all hands along with HMS Erebus.

On 12 September 2016, the Arctic Research Foundation announced that the wreck of Terror had been found in Nunavut's Terror Bay, off the southwest coast of King William Island. The wreck was discovered 92 km (57 mi) south of the location where the ship was reported abandoned, and some 50 km (31 mi) from the wreck of HMS Erebus, discovered in September 2014.