Pirates & Shipwrecks · Arctic expedition ship, 1848
HMS Erebus
Wilmot and Crampton Bay, Nunavut, Canada
What happened
HMS Erebus was a British navy ship that took part in the Ross expedition to Antarctica in 1839 to 1843. In 1845 it sailed to the Arctic with HMS Terror on the Franklin expedition to find a sea route across northern Canada. Both ships became icebound and were abandoned in 1848.
Why it matters
The fate of the ships was a mystery for many years. Inuit testimony collected by John Rae in 1853 gave the first reports of what had happened.
What came next
A Parks Canada team found the wreck of Erebus on 2 September 2014, and Terror was found in 2016. The ship's bell was recovered in 2014.
Did you know?
Erebus and Terror were fitted with steam engines from London and Greenwich Railway locomotives.
Timeline
- 1826Erebus is launched.
- 1839 to 1843Erebus sails to Antarctica on the Ross expedition.
- 19 May 1845The Franklin expedition leaves England.
- 1848The ships are abandoned.
- 2 September 2014Parks Canada finds the wreck of Erebus.