- Diana (1840 ship)
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For other ships of the same name, see Diana (ship).
Career 
Name: Diana Builder: Bremen, Germany Launched: 1840 Fate: Grounded on the Lincolnshire coast while returning home in 1869 General characteristics Type: Whaler Displacement: 355 long tons (361 t) Length: 117 ft (36 m) Beam: 29 ft (8.8 m) Draught: 17 ft 6 in (5.33 m) Propulsion: Steam Engine, 40 hp (30 kW) Sail plan: Barque Range: Limited by water and provisions Complement: 51 Diana was a whaling ship built in 1840, in Bremen, Germany. She sailed out of Hull, England. In 1858 a steam engine was installed, making her the first steam-powered whaler to sail from Hull (Tay from Dundee was the first ever, a year earlier).
Contents
Trapped in the ice
In 1866, while on a whaling expedition in Baffin Bay, Diana became frozen in the ice, where it was trapped for over six months. The ship's captain, 64 year old[1] John Gravill, and many of the crew died. The diary of the deeply devout ship's doctor, Charles Edward Smith, was published in the book From the Deep of the Sea. (ISBN 0-87021-932-4) There is a memorial fountain to Diana's return from the ice in the city of Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, as much of the crew was from there. Charles Smith's services and heroism were recognised by the award of a set of surgical instruments from the Board of Trade.[2] Captain Gravill's body was taken back to Hull, and his funeral was attended by an estimated fifteen thousand people.[3]
Fate
In 1869, while making her way back from the Davis Strait, Diana encountered a strong gale, and was washed into the Donna Nook sands, on the Lincolnshire coast, and broke up. Diana was the last whaling ship from the port of Hull. Her loss ended the whaling industry of the city.
Captains
This is a partial list of Captains of Diana:
- John Gravill Sr. (1856–57, 1861, 1865-1867 [died on board])
- George Clarke (14 Feb 1867 - 16 April 1867) (Elected Captain after the death of John Graville whilst the ship beset in the ice)[4]
- John Gravill Jr. (1858–60)
- Robert Day (16 April 1867-Loss)[5]
References
- ^ http://www.graville.co.uk/Memorial_cfm.htm
- ^ From the Deep of the Sea, Naval Institute Press (1977), page 271.
- ^ From the Deep of the Sea, Naval Institute Press (1977), page 272.
- ^ From the Deep of the Sea, Naval Institute Press (1977), page 187.
- ^ From the Deep of the Sea, Naval Institute Press (1977), page 268.
Categories:- Whaling ships
- Barques
- Victorian era ships of Germany
- Fishing vessels of the United Kingdom
- Shipwrecks in the North Sea
- Baffin Bay
- Maritime incidents in 1869
- History of Lincolnshire
- Ships built in Bremen
- 1840 ships
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