Erebus’ engine room

Make Me Choose → @aubron asked: HMS Terror or HMS Erebus?

a page for a terror comic i did last semester

Erebus passing through the chain of bergs (1842)
by Richard Brydges Beechey

“At the poles, explorers found themselves caught between what they felt they ought to do and what they had to do.  Conflicts between personal ambition and group well-being, between moral rectitude and self-preservation, forced them to make painful choices and then live with the consequences of their decisions.  […]  Like the knights of medieval legend, polar explorers went forth into unknown territory, faced great obstacles, displayed great courage, and returned home to be greeted as heroes.  But, unlike these mythical avatars, the men who went towards the poles did not come back with the same confidence and strength.  Something precious had been left there.”

John V.H. Dippel, To the Ends of the Earth: The Truth Behind the Glory of Polar Exploration

HMS Erebus in the Antarctic, detail of a painting by John Willson Carmichael, 1847 - edit by Canada History

“[Terror and Erebus] had already been tested by disastrous experiences during polar expeditions, where they and their crews had endured extreme danger, and had shown that they were exceptionally resilient.  [The ships] were generally thought to be ideal for the expedition.  HMS Terror was launched in 1813 and HMS Erebus in 1826.  Both had been strongly built in the first place, as bomb vessels, to take the weight and withstand the recoil of large mortars, used mainly for costal bombardment.  Their formidable names (’Erebus’ signifies the darkness at the entrance to Hell) were intended to strike fear into the enemy.”
- Gillian Hutchinson, Sir John Franklin’s Erebus and Terror: Lost & Found.

terrortober2020 | day 3, ship.

terrortober 2020 | day 3 ➢ ship

“The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.” - Robert W. Service