HMSJuno was a 26-gun Spartan-class sixth-ratefrigate of the Royal Navy 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.
Atalanta was serving as a training ship when in 1880 she disappeared with her entire crew after setting sail from the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda for Falmouth, England 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 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.[1]
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."[2]
A Royal Navy service record from the last completed training mission before Atalanta's loss
The exact circumstances of the ship's loss remain uncertain, but the gunboat Avon – which arrived at Portsmouth on 19 April from the Chile station – reported "that at the Azores she noticed immense quantities of wreckage floating about... in fact the sea was strewn with spars etc."[3] 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."[4] A sunken wreck, with just the bow above water was sighted at 46°42′N7°45′W / 46.700°N 7.750°W / 46.700; -7.750 on 14 September by the GermanbrigW. von Freeden. It was thought that this could have been the wreck of Atalanta.[5]
A memorial in St Ann's Church, Portsmouth, 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 to obtain an appointment to the ship.[6] He was the younger brother of the future Admiral of the Fleet Lord Jacky Fisher.[7]
Since the 1960s, the loss of HMS Atalanta has often been cited as evidence of the purported Bermuda Triangle (often in connection to the 1878 loss of the training ship HMS Eurydice,[8][9][10] 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 in 1997.[11][12]
^"Casualties at Sea". The Times. No. 30003. London. 4 October 1880. col E, p. 10.
^Mackay, Ruddock (1973). Fisher of Kilverstone. Oxford: Clarendon Press, p.149.
^Memorials & Monuments in St Ann's Church - HMS Atalanta - 16 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
^"HMS Atalanta, January 31, 1880". Bermuda Triangle Cenral. Hungry Hart Productions. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
^Quasar, Gian J. (16 April 2005). Into the Bermuda Triangle: Pursuing the Truth Behind the World's Greatest Mystery. Camden, Maine; New York City; Chicago; San Francisco; Lisbon; London; Madrid; Mexico City; Milan; New Delhi; San Juan; Seoul; Singapore; Sydney; Toronto: International Marine/McGraw Hill. pp. 55, 56. ISBN9780071467032.
^Conradt, Stacy (6 June 2008). "The Quick 10: 10 Incidents at the Bermuda Triangle". Mental Floss. Pro Sportority (Israel) Ltd, trading as Minute Media. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
^Raine, David Francis (1 January 1997). Solved!: The Greatest Sea Mystery of All. Bermuda: Pompano Publications. ISBN9780921962151.
^Hainey, Raymond (9 February 2011). "Solving a mystery of military blunder". The Royal Gazette, city of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. Bermuda. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
Media related to HMS Juno (1844) at Wikimedia Commons
January 07, 2023
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For other ships with the same name see HMS Juno HMS Mariner and HMS Atalanta HMS Juno was a 26 gun Spartan class sixth rate frigate of the Royal Navy 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 HMS Atalanta in 1880HistoryUnited KingdomNameHMS JunoOrdered20 February 1837BuilderPembroke DockyardLaid downApril 1842Launched1 July 1844CompletedBy 30 October 1845RenamedHMS Mariner on 10 January 1878 HMS Atalanta on 22 January 1878ReclassifiedWater police ship in 1862FateLost presumed foundered in the Atlantic between 12 and 16 February 1880General characteristicsClass and type26 gun Spartan class sixth rate frigate later corvette Tons burthen923 1 94 bmLength131 ft 40 m overall 107 ft 33 m keel Beam40 ft 3 25 in 12 2746 m Depth of hold10 ft 9 in 3 28 m Sail planFull rigged shipComplement240ArmamentUpper deck 18 32 pounders 42cwt Quarterdeck 6 32 pounder 25cwt gunnades Forecastle 2 32 pounder 25cwt gunnades Contents 1 Disappearance 2 See also 3 References 4 Sources 5 External linksDisappearance EditAtalanta was serving as a training ship when in 1880 she disappeared with her entire crew after setting sail from the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda for Falmouth England 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 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 1 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 2 A Royal Navy service record from the last completed training mission before Atalanta s loss The exact circumstances of the ship s loss remain uncertain but the gunboat Avon which arrived at Portsmouth on 19 April from the Chile station reported that at the Azores she noticed immense quantities of wreckage floating about in fact the sea was strewn with spars etc 3 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 4 A sunken wreck with just the bow above water was sighted at 46 42 N 7 45 W 46 700 N 7 750 W 46 700 7 750 on 14 September by the German brig W von Freeden It was thought that this could have been the wreck of Atalanta 5 A memorial in St Ann s Church Portsmouth 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 to obtain an appointment to the ship 6 He was the younger brother of the future Admiral of the Fleet Lord Jacky Fisher 7 Since the 1960s the loss of HMS Atalanta has often been cited as evidence of the purported Bermuda Triangle often in connection to the 1878 loss of the training ship HMS Eurydice 8 9 10 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 in 1997 11 12 See also EditList of people who disappeared mysteriously at seaReferences Edit The Times 15 April 1880 The Times 27 April 1880 The Times 20 April 1880 The Times 21 April 1880 Casualties at Sea The Times No 30003 London 4 October 1880 col E p 10 Mackay Ruddock 1973 Fisher of Kilverstone Oxford Clarendon Press p 149 Memorials amp Monuments in St Ann s Church HMS Atalanta Archived 16 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine HMS Atalanta January 31 1880 Bermuda Triangle Cenral Hungry Hart Productions 13 April 2011 Retrieved 27 July 2021 Quasar Gian J 16 April 2005 Into the Bermuda Triangle Pursuing the Truth Behind the World s Greatest Mystery Camden Maine New York City Chicago San Francisco Lisbon London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi San Juan Seoul Singapore Sydney Toronto International Marine McGraw Hill pp 55 56 ISBN 9780071467032 Conradt Stacy 6 June 2008 The Quick 10 10 Incidents at the Bermuda Triangle Mental Floss Pro Sportority Israel Ltd trading as Minute Media Retrieved 27 July 2021 Raine David Francis 1 January 1997 Solved The Greatest Sea Mystery of All Bermuda Pompano Publications ISBN 9780921962151 Hainey Raymond 9 February 2011 Solving a mystery of military blunder The Royal Gazette city of Hamilton Pembroke Bermuda Bermuda Retrieved 27 July 2021 Sources EditColledge J J Warlow Ben 2006 1969 Ships of the Royal Navy The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy Rev ed London Chatham Publishing ISBN 978 1 86176 281 8 External links Edit Media related to HMS Juno 1844 at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title HMS Juno 1844 amp oldid 1121508958, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
