The Hecla class was a class

Ship class

A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....

 of bomb vessel

Bomb vessel

A bomb vessel, bomb ship, bomb ketch, or simply bomb was a type of wooden sailing naval ship. Its primary armament was not cannon —although bomb vessels carried a few cannon for self-defence—but rather mortars mounted forward near the bow and elevated to a high angle, and projecting their fire in a...

s of the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 of the early 19th century. They were designed for use as bomb or mortar

Mortar (weapon)

A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....

 ships and were very heavily built. Eight ships were launched; all were converted for use as exploration or survey ships. Four ships of the class are known for the role they played in Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

 and Antarctic

Antarctic

The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...

 exploration.

Ships

Builder: Mrs Mary Ross, Rochester

Ordered: 5 June 1813

Laid down: September 1813

Launched: 4 April 1814

Completed:

Notes: Converted to Arctic discovery vessel in 1821

Fate: Bilged in Prince Regent Inlet

Prince Regent Inlet

Prince Regent Inlet is a body of water between Somerset Island and the Brodeur Peninsula in Nunavut, Canada. To the south, the inlet leads to the Gulf of Boothia; to the north, it leads to Lancaster Sound. The Arctic inlet's northern portion is approximately wide; the southern portion is...

, and abandoned in the Arctic on 25 August 1825

Builder: Barkworth & Hawkes, North Barton (Hull)

Ordered: 5 June 1813

Laid down: July 1813

Launched: 22 July 1815

Completed:

Notes: Arctic discovery vessel from 1819 to 1827. Converted to survey ship in December 1827

Fate: Sold on 13 April 1831

Builder: Barkworth & Hawkes, North Barton (Hull)

Ordered: 5 June 1813

Laid down: July 1813

Launched: 26 July 1815

Completed:

Notes:

Fate: Sold on 13 April 1831

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: May 1820

Launched: 25 June 1823

Completed: 26 July 1823

Notes: Survey ship, renamed HMS Beacon in June 1832

Fate: Sold on 17 August 1846

Builder: Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: September 1821

Launched: 14 May 1824

Completed: June 1824

Notes: Converted to survey ship in 1826. Receiving ship at Portsmouth in 1839.

Fate: Sold on 20 February 1846

Builder: Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard

Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: May 1824

Launched: 26 January 1826

Completed: 21 February 1826

Notes: The last bomb-ship in Royal Navy service. Converted to survey ship in December 1835. Receiving ship at Woolwich

Woolwich

Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...

 from May 1843

Fate: Broken up by 20 November 1857

Builder: Deptford Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: November 1826

Launched: 4 August 1829

Completed: 26 October 1829

Notes: Converted to survey ship in January 1833

Fate: Broken up in March 1851

• HMS Vesuvius

Builder: Deptford Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819 (Order transferred to Chatham Dockyard, reordered on 30 August 1828)

Laid down: August 1830

Launched:

Completed:

Notes:

Fate: Cancelled on 10 January 1831

• HMS Devastation

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: 1820

Launched:

Completed:

Notes: Suspended on 10 January 1831

Fate: Cancelled on 11 July 1833

• HMS Volcano

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down: 1821

Launched:

Completed:

Notes: Suspended on 10 January 1831

Fate: Cancelled on 11 July 1833

• HMS Belzebub

Builder: Plymouth Dockyard

Ordered: 18 May 1819

Laid down:

Launched:

Completed:

Notes: Suspended on 10 January 1831

Fate: Cancelled on 11 July 1833

Builder: Pembroke Dockyard

Ordered: 9 January 1823

Laid down: October 1824

Launched: 7 June 1826

Completed: February 1828

Notes: Arctic discovery vessel in 1839, fitted with screw in 1845

Fate: Abandoned in Arctic on 22 April 1848

Service

Fury and Hecla sailed with William Edward Parry

William Edward Parry

Sir William Edward Parry was an English rear-admiral and Arctic explorer, who in 1827 attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole...

 on his explorations in search of the Northwest Passage

Northwest Passage

The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...

, with Fury being lost to ice on the second. Meteor was renamed Beacon and used as a survey ship, while Aetna and Thunder were both used as survey ships. Sulphur was also used as a survey ship, at one time being commanded by Edward Belcher

Edward Belcher

Admiral Sir Edward Belcher, KCB , was a British naval officer and explorer. He was the great-grandson of Governor Jonathan Belcher. His wife, Diana Jolliffe, was the stepdaughter of Captain Peter Heywood.-Early life:...

 who later commanded an expedition in search of John Franklin

John Franklin

Rear-Admiral Sir John Franklin KCH FRGS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a section of the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic...

 (though not in Sulphur). Erebus was one of two ships commanded by James Clark Ross

James Clark Ross

Sir James Clark Ross , was a British naval officer and explorer. He explored the Arctic with his uncle Sir John Ross and Sir William Parry, and later led his own expedition to Antarctica.-Arctic explorer:...

 during his exploration of Antarctica and by Franklin on his ill-fated search for the Northwest Passage. The other was the Vesuvius-class bomb vessel Terror

HMS Terror (1813)

HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. The ship, variously listed as being of either 326 or 340 tons, carried two mortars, one and one .-War service:...

. Both ships were lost during this last voyage.