HMS ''Juno'' was a 26-gun
sixth-rate
In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works and ...
frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...
of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
launched in 1844 at
Pembroke. As HMS ''Juno'', she carried out the historic role in 1857 of annexing the
Cocos (Keeling) Islands to the British Empire. She was renamed HMS ''Mariner'' in January 1878 and then HMS ''Atalanta'' two weeks later.
Disappearance
''Atalanta'' was serving as a
training ship
A training ship is a ship used to train students as sailors. The term is mostly used to describe ships employed by navies to train future officers. Essentially there are two types: those used for training at sea and old hulks used to house classr ...
when in 1880 she disappeared with her entire crew after setting sail from the
Royal Naval Dockyard
Royal Navy Dockyards (more usually termed Royal Dockyards) were state-owned harbour facilities where ships of the Royal Navy were built, based, repaired and refitted. Until the mid-19th century the Royal Dockyards were the largest industrial c ...
in
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
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for
Falmouth,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on 31 January 1880. It was presumed that she sank in a powerful
storm which crossed her route a couple of weeks after she sailed. The search for evidence of her fate attracted worldwide attention, and the
Admiralty
Admiralty most often refers to:
*Admiralty, Hong Kong
* Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964
*The rank of admiral
* Admiralty law
Admiralty can also refer to:
Buildings
*Admiralty, Tr ...
received more than 150 telegrams and 200 personal calls from anxious friends and relatives after it was announced that the ship was missing, and possibly lost.
Investigation of the ship's loss was rendered difficult by the lack of any survivors, but one former member of her crew, Able Seaman John Varling, testified that he had found her "exceedingly crank, as being overweight.. She rolled 32 degrees, and Captain Stirling is reported as having been heard to remark that had she rolled one degree more she must have gone over and foundered. The young sailors were either too timid to go aloft or were incapacitated by sea-sickness... Varling states that they hid themselves away, and could not be found when wanted by the boatswain's mate."
![AtalantaRecord1844](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/AtalantaRecord1844.JPG)
The exact circumstances of the ship's loss remain uncertain, but the gunboat – which arrived at
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
on 19 April from the Chile station – reported "that at the
Azores
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, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
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she noticed immense quantities of wreckage floating about... in fact the sea was strewn with spars etc." Two days later, amid mounting concern that the loss of the ship might have been prevented had her crew not been so inexperienced, ''The Times'' editorialised: "There can be no question of the criminal folly of sending some 300 lads who have never been to sea before in a training ship without a sufficient number of trained an experienced seamen to take charge of her in exceptional circumstances. The ship's company of the ''Atalanta'' numbered only about 11 able seamen, and when we consider that young lads are often afraid to go aloft in a gale to take down sail... a special danger attaching to the ''Atalanta'' becomes apparent." A sunken wreck, with just the bow above water was sighted at on 14 September by the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
''W. von Freeden''. It was thought that this could have been the wreck of ''Atalanta''.
A memorial in St Ann's Church,
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
, names a total of 281 fatalities in the disaster. Among those lost was Philip Fisher, a lieutenant who had enlisted the indirect support of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
to obtain an appointment to the ship. He was the younger brother of the future Admiral of the Fleet Lord
Jacky Fisher.
Since the 1960s, the loss of HMS Atalanta has often been cited as evidence of the purported
Bermuda Triangle
The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is an urban legend focused on a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysterio ...
(often in connection to the 1878 loss of the training ship
HMS Eurydice
Two ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Eurydice'', after Eurydice, a character in Greek mythology:
* was a 24-gun post ship launched in 1781 and broken up in 1834.
* was a 24-gun post ship launched in 1843. She became a training ...
, which foundered after departing the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda for Portsmouth on 6 March), an allegation shown to be nonsense by the research of author
David Francis Raine
David Francis Raine was a St. George's town councillor, historian and former teacher who authored thirteen books and numerous articles, particularly on the subject of the history of Bermuda
Bermuda was first documented by a European in 1503 ...
in 1997.
See also
*
List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea
Throughout history, people have mysteriously disappeared at sea, many on voyages aboard floating vessels or traveling via aircraft. The following is a list of known individuals who have mysteriously vanished in open waters, and whose whereabouts r ...
References
Sources
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Juno, HMS
1844 ships
1880s missing person cases
Corvettes of the Royal Navy
Maritime incidents in February 1880
Missing ships
People lost at sea
Ships built in Pembroke Dock
Ships lost with all hands
Sixth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy
Victorian-era frigates of the United Kingdom