HMS Beagle - how big was she, what was her history and what happened to her?
Q. How big was HMS Beagle?
The Beagle measured just 27 metres (90 ft, 4 in.) in length, with a breadth of 7 metres (24 ft, 6 in.) and weighed 235 tons.
Q. What is the history of the Beagle?
HMS Beagle was launched at Woolwich Dockyard in 1820. She was originally a 10-gun but was refitted and allocated to the new surveying programme.
She underwent a number of improvements throughout her life on the seas. For example, her hull was reinforced and a mizzen-mast was added to make her more manoeuvrable in shallow coastal waters.
Beagle's first voyage of exploration was to South America, surveying Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego between 1826–30. The second voyage (1831–36) took Beagle to South America and then around the world. The naturalist Charles Darwin was on board during this voyage, which became one of the most famous and important voyages of exploration ever made. Beagle's third and final voyage (1837–43) surveyed large parts of the Australian coast.
Q. What happened to the Beagle?
She was transferred to the Coast Guard in 1845 and moored on the River Roach in Essex. She was renamed WV7 – Watch Vessel 7 – in 1859. In 1870 she was sold to Murray and Trainer to be broken up.