 CGSArctic at anchor atPond Inlet in 1923 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Germany | |
| Name | Gauss |
| Namesake | Carl Friedrich Gauss |
| Builder | Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft,Kiel |
| Cost | 500,000marks |
| Launched | 2 April 1901 |
| In service | 1901 |
| Out of service | 1903 |
| Fate | Sold to Canada, 1904 |
 Canada | |
| Name | Arctic |
| Acquired | by purchase, 1904 |
| In service | 1904 |
| Out of service | 1925 |
| Fate | Abandoned, 1925 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Polar exploration vessel |
| Tonnage | 762 GRT |
| Displacement | 1,442long tons (1,465 t) |
| Length | 46 m (150 ft 11 in) |
| Beam | 11 m (36 ft 1 in) |
| Draught | 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) |
| Ice class | A1 |
| Propulsion | 1 × 325 hp (242 kW) auxiliary triple expansion steam engine, single screw |
| Sail plan |
|
| Speed | 7knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) |
| Capacity | 700 tons of stores |
| Crew | 30 |
Gauss was a ship built in Germany for polar exploration, named after themathematician andphysical scientistCarl Friedrich Gauss. Purchased by Canada in 1904, the vessel was renamedCGSArctic. AsArctic, the vessel made annual trips to the Canadian Arctic until 1925. The ship's fate is disputed among the sources, but all claim that by the mid-1920s, the vessel was out of service.
The ship was built by theHowaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft shipyard atKiel[2] at a cost of 500,000marks.[3]Launched on 2 April 1901[1] she was modelled onFridtjof Nansen's shipFram, and rigged as abarquentine.[4]Displacing 1,442 long tons (1,465 t),[5]Gauss had a tonnage of 762 gross register tons (GRT).[6] The ship was 46 m (150 ft 11 in) long, 11 m (36 ft 1 in) in thebeam, with adraught of 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in).[1][a] With a 325 hp (242 kW)[3]triple expansion steam engine driving onescrew to augment the sails, she was capable of 7knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph).[1][7][b]
Classed "A1" byGermanischer Lloyds, she was designed to carry 700 tons of stores, enough to make her self-sufficient for up to three years with a crew of 30 aboard. The hull was robust, and the rudder and propeller were designed to be hoisted aboard for inspection or repairs.[2]
Between 1901 and 1903Gauss explored theAntarctic in theGauss expedition under the leadership ofErich von Drygalski.
In early 1904, the Canadian government purchased the ship under the advice ofJoseph-Elzéar Bernier, who surveyed the ship before the acquisition. The ship was renamedArctic and under the command of Bernier she explored theArctic Archipelago. Bernier andArctic made annual expeditions to Canada's north.[7] On 1 July 1909, Bernier, without government approval, claimed the entire area between Canada's eastern and western borders all the way to theNorth Pole.[8] Bernier only left the ship during theFirst World War, returning to commandArctic again from 1922 to 1925.[7] The vessel's end is not agreed upon. According toschiffe-und-mehr.com,Arctic was abandoned in 1925 and left to rot at her moorings.[1] Maginley and Collin claim the vessel wasbroken up in 1926 while the Miramar Ship Index say the ship was abandoned in 1927.[6][7]
