Franklin Expedition Ship Found

[Barrister]

Probably because they found dead bodies on the island.  They knew the ships were close, and the Franklin expedition gave some indication where they were before they were lost.

I'm actually a bit of an arctic/Antarctic exploration fan.  I've read several books, including on the Franklin expedition, and the searches to find it.

King William Island is actually fairly large.  They really didn't know where the ships were (other than a very general idea) because they could have been carried off by the ice, and the expedition didn't leave much in the way of records (though some artifacts were found).

My post though was mostly a joke - it just sounds like a crazy co-incidence.

[Razgovory]

My understanding was they left a note to indicate where they were.

[jimmy olsen]

Damn, I bet Tim's pissed about not posting this topic first. 

I was going to post about it yesterday but I got distracted and forgot.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/12/hms-terror-wreck-found-arctic-nearly-170-years-northwest-passage-attempt

[Maladict]

So both ships are in excellent condition? I wonder if they could be raised intact.

[Drakken]

Damn, I bet Tim's pissed about not posting this topic first. 

I was going to post about it yesterday but I got distracted and forgot.

You snooze, you lose.

[Berkut]

If they were abandoned in the ice, I am kind of surprised they didn't get smashed up on shore when the ice melted and they were just drifting about.

What causes an abandoned ship to actually sink, anyway? Could the hull be crushed by the ice?

[mongers]

If they were abandoned in the ice, I am kind of surprised they didn't get smashed up on shore when the ice melted and they were just drifting about.

What causes an abandoned ship to actually sink, anyway? Could the hull be crushed by the ice?

Grumbler's your point man here.

[Razgovory]

If they were abandoned in the ice, I am kind of surprised they didn't get smashed up on shore when the ice melted and they were just drifting about.

What causes an abandoned ship to actually sink, anyway? Could the hull be crushed by the ice?

Ships can be damaged or even capsized by encroaching ice.  It's likely the portions of the hull were crushed by the ice and when the ice melted the ship simply sank.

[Berkut]

If they were abandoned in the ice, I am kind of surprised they didn't get smashed up on shore when the ice melted and they were just drifting about.

What causes an abandoned ship to actually sink, anyway? Could the hull be crushed by the ice?

Ships can be damaged or even capsized by encroaching ice.  It's likely the portions of the hull were crushed by the ice and when the ice melted the ship simply sank.

I think you might be right.

I also wonder though, how much these ships required constant maintenance to keep floating anyway. Didn't they typically require periodic pumping because in general the hulls were not perfectly watertight anyway?

I could imagine that the ice could really inflict what would be relatively minor damage - splitting some seams - rather than crushing the hull in some visible fashion, that absent maintenance just results in the ship flooding and sinking over some few days or week.

I am wondering just because the article noted what pristine condition the ship was in...

[viper37]

If they were abandoned in the ice, I am kind of surprised they didn't get smashed up on shore when the ice melted and they were just drifting about.

What causes an abandoned ship to actually sink, anyway? Could the hull be crushed by the ice?

- Rain&snow that melts would increase the weight of the ship forcing it down a little as it is never removed
- freeze/unfreeze and the ice pressued would slowly damage the ship increasing water leakage

It doesn't need to break like the Titanic to sink.  All you need is some extra weight and over time, during the summer, as the ice melts, you'll find the ship going down and down and down until it completely sinks apparently intact.

[viper37]

I also wonder though, how much these ships required constant maintenance to keep floating anyway. Didn't they typically require periodic pumping because in general the hulls were not perfectly watertight anyway?

I don't think they had pumps, but yes, they would need to remove the water from the ship, be it from small leakages or rain or melting snow.

I could imagine that the ice could really inflict what would be relatively minor damage - splitting some seams - rather than crushing the hull in some visible fashion, that absent maintenance just results in the ship flooding and sinking over some few days or week.

I am wondering just because the article noted what pristine condition the ship was in...

The article says that you could just pump out the water and it would float again.  I don't know how much is fact and how much is pure hyperbole, but I suspect it would require relatively minor repairs.  Something a crew of the time could have maybe done with onboard spare parts, had they been able to stay on the ship.

I don't how they would generate fire, in a safe way, onboard such wooden ships in the past.  They must have known that going somewhere in the arctic would require heating.

[Josephus]

What I want to know is this - they found the ship in Terror Bay - named after the ship.

So why didn't they start looking there years ago?!?

Bizarre that it sunk in a bay with the same name. What are the odds?

[Josephus]

By the by, AMC has finally greenlit The Terror.

Based on the book by Dan Simmons, the 10-part series is a story about the crew of The Terror and um, the other ship, and how they were stalked by a giant polar bear.

No really, the book is better than it sounds.

[Razgovory]

If they were abandoned in the ice, I am kind of surprised they didn't get smashed up on shore when the ice melted and they were just drifting about.

What causes an abandoned ship to actually sink, anyway? Could the hull be crushed by the ice?

Ships can be damaged or even capsized by encroaching ice.  It's likely the portions of the hull were crushed by the ice and when the ice melted the ship simply sank.

I think you might be right.

I also wonder though, how much these ships required constant maintenance to keep floating anyway. Didn't they typically require periodic pumping because in general the hulls were not perfectly watertight anyway?

I could imagine that the ice could really inflict what would be relatively minor damage - splitting some seams - rather than crushing the hull in some visible fashion, that absent maintenance just results in the ship flooding and sinking over some few days or week.

I am wondering just because the article noted what pristine condition the ship was in...

The photos of the Erberus show the whole front end disintegrating, so "pristine" probably doesn't mean the ship could have floated.  Another possibility is that during the two years the ship was icebound, the ice pushed up underneath the ship causing it roll onto it's side.  When the ice melted, it could have simply filled with water and sank.  The crew abandoned both ships before they sank, so nobody knows.

[Berkut]

By the by, AMC has finally greenlit The Terror.

Based on the book by Dan Simmons, the 10-part series is a story about the crew of The Terror and um, the other ship, and how they were stalked by a giant polar bear.

No really, the book is better than it sounds.

Apparently this is an ongoing problem: From CNN today:

Polar bears trap scientists in remote Arctic
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/14/world/polar-bears-trap-scientists/index.html