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HMS Terror

The HMS Terror and HMS Erebus were the two ships the British Navy sent out in 1845 to find the Northwest Passage across the Arctic with the objective of having a shorter trip from the Atlantic to the Pacific.  This expedition was and is best known as the Franklin Expedition. 

The ships were almost identical and had been involved with explorations previously.  For the Franklin Expedition a number of changes were made. 

  • A steam locomotive was installed to drive a propeller which was to be used in calm conditions or to help maneuver through ice flows.
  • Additional framing and iron braces were added to provide protection from the ice.
  • Additional heavy planking was added to the exterior as protection from the ice.

 

 

The model

To prepare for this model I obtained plans for both the Erebus and the Terror from the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.  The much research was done to gather more information and details about the ships.  It turned out the there was more information in books and on the Internet about the Terror so I decided to model it.

 

October 16, 2023

Keel, stem and stern posts mounted on the building board.  The keelson and other timber laying
on the board will be installed after the frames are in place.

January 30/24

The framing of the model is now in place.  Next comes the inner and outer planking.

 

View of the models framing from the front quarter.

 

View from the rear quarter.

 

Framing interior looking towards the bow.  The upper three beams running the length of the model
will support the deck beams for the upper, lower and orlop desks.  The three lower beams
running across the frames will be the seats for the hold planking.  There will be two layers
of planking here placed at 45 degrees to the keel and 90 degrees to each other.  This
planking arrangement added strength to the hull.

 

 

Framing interior looking aft.  Note the hole in the bulkhead.  It is for the shaft that will
connect the propeller to the steam engine.

February 29, 2024

 

The hold planking seen here is partially complete.  It is double planked with the planks laid at 45 degrees from the keel and the two layers of planking at 90 degrees to each other.  In this picture the forward portion has the second layer of planking while the aft part only has one.

 

August 9, 2024

The outer planking as far up as the lower deck is complete.  Before this is taken any
higher the deck planking and interior planking of the lower deck needs to be completed
so that clamps can be used.  Before this planking can be done the fittings in the hold
had to be completed.

The hold looking forward.  The engine and drive shaft are seen in the bottom of the
picture.  Above that are the coal storage compartments along the sides and the water
tanks in the center.  Next to the water tanks is the furnace used to heat the crews quarters.

 

 

Looking aft from the bow we get a better view of the coal compartments and the furnace.

 September 29, 2024

The orlop deck is now complete.

Here we see the finished orlop deck.  From the left we have the locomotive, the spare rudder
standing up through the deck, holes for the main mast and pumps, the main hatch, coal storage
along the hull, scuttles and ladder to the hold.

 

 

View of the interior visible through the area of the hull that will remain unplanked.  The
main focus is the coal storage.  Behind that is the furnace used to heat the crews quarters. 
To the right you can see the heavy planking which was added to protect the ship from the
pressure of the ice.

 

The unplanked portion of the hull. 

Looking down the deck from the bow.  The wiring at the bow is strip lighting that will
illuminate the deck spaces below the weather deck.  These light strips will be imbedded
in a wood channel where they run along the decks so that they are almost invisible but
shed light across the deck.

 

November 25, 2024

The lower deck, which contains the crews quarters and galley, is now complete.

 

 

Senior officers sleeping quarters.  They provide a bed with drawers below for personal belongings and
a wash stand.  The black pipe above the beds is for heating.  In the foreground we see the officers mess
area with a table, chairs and cabinets for storage.

Seamen's mess area.  Tables are suspended from the deck beams.  The chests below the tables act as seats and
 storage of crew members personal belongings.
 

In the top/center of this picture we see the galley stove and next to it a pump used to bring fresh water from
the storage tanks in the hold.  The black pipe running through the picture is the smoke stack for the furnace
heating the crews quarters.
 

Book cases and cabinets in the captain's quarters.

 

The captain's quarters.
 

 

View of the interior through the open side of the hull with interior lighting on.


 

Looking at the lighted deck.

 

The lighted interior.

May 31 2025

The upper deck is now complete with all of it's fittings.

 

View of the deck from above.  The lower masts and bowsprit are sitting in place but not yet fastened in. 
The tops are still loose and will be glued to the masts after the required blocks under the top and futtock
shrouds are fitted.

 

Another view of the deck.

 

The center of the deck showing from the right.  The main hatch, Massey's patent pumps, main mast, scuttle
for the spare rudder, main companionway and the capstan.  Illuminators run along both sides of the deck.

 

The fore deck showing the foot of the bowsprit, winch, pin rails, fore mast, windless, chimney for the galley
stove, hatch, common pumps, forward companionway and the chimney for the Sylvester's patent furnace used
to heat the crew quarters.

 

The aft deck.  Here we have the skylight for the officers mess, table for the azimuth compass, Mizzen mast,
skylight for the great cabin, the wheel, rigging for the tiller and the tiller, scuttle for the propeller well and
the rudder housing.

 

The water closets.

 

The metal plates installed to protect the bow from the ice.  The wires we see here are for the interior lighting.
They will be hidden in the completed model.

July 29, 2025

The statement at the start of the May update saying the upper deck fittings were complete was a little
 premature.  Now I can make that statement.

Here we have the side davits from which a cutter will be suspended.  Along the port gunwale is storage
for supplies and toward the bow are the stanchions used to stow spar yards.

 

In this image we see the two ships cannon, the inner portion of the bowsprit and pin rails for rigging from
the bow sprit and jib booms.  At this point the lines are not belayed to the pins so that they can be moved
if required.

Rigging of the bowsprit, jib boom, sprit sail and sprit topsail yards.

When research into the Terror's rigging was started it was clear the no specific information was available
so I used the reference material listed below to get the detail I needed.

  • Steels Elements of Mast Making, Sail Making and Rigging.  This book details the Admiralty
    established standards for masts, sails and rigging for British naval vessels.
  • The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships by C. Nepean Longridge.  This book is a bible for anyone building
    a model of the HMS Victory.  It covers British naval rigging standards in detail.
  • Rigging Period Ships by Lennarth Petersson.  This book provides pictorial details of rigging on
    period vessels.
  • Terror Site Sketch, 2017 by Parks Canada.  This sketch was created from details obtained from dives
    on the Terror wreck.  Two things that came from this sketch that were not available in other
    documentation  are:  the pin rails at the bow and the use of brass belaying pins.

 

This image includes the flying job boom.  The coiled lines are the jib and flying jib stays.

 

Here we have the bob stays, shrouds and guys where they fasten to the hull.

 

January 17, 2029

The rigging on the model is now complete which add significantly to the model's appearance.

Profile of the Terror showing the completed rigging.

 

The main top.

 

Aft portion of the deck.

 

Lower shrouds and backstays of the main mast.

 

Bowsprit, jibboom and flying jibboom and their rigging.

 

The fore deck and bowsprit.  There are two things shown here that I got from a sketch and notes recorded from
a dive on the Terror wreck done by Parks Canada.  They are the brass belaying pins one of which was found
 near the wreck.  The second are the pin rails along the bow.  These pin rails are not shown on the Admiralty
 drawings or in Matthew Betts' book.  They are though necessary to provide belaying points for running rigging
 on the jib and flying jib booms.

 

 

View from forward.

March 23, 2026

The final details have been installed making the model complete.

The boarding ladder on the port side.  This ladder could be removed and stowed when not in use.

 

A ship's boat stowed on the upper deck.

 

The conning or ice plank.  Below it is the azimuth compass on it's table.

 

A ship's boat suspended from davit's at the side of the ship near the stern.  There is another one on the
starboard side.
 

Brass beams used to support the sails were added.  The one on the cathead is a bumpkin.  It supports the
clew of the fore sail.  The one near the hawse holes is a whisker boom which supports the clew of the jib.

 

The cradles supporting the model.