Belgica
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The
barque Patria was in 1896 bought by Lieutenant Adrien de
Gerlache de Gomery from Belgium, and with sponsoring from
Geographical Royal Society in Brussel an expedition was
launched to explore the polar areas around Antarctic. One
of the 19 crew members was Roald Amundsen. The expedition
almost ended in a catastrophe when they were stuck after
the ice locked them up 10. March 1898. After a long and
hard winter they managed to liberate the ship after
working on a channel through the ice to the open water,
and then set course back home. Scientifically this was a
success expedition, and they manage to map a lot of the
coastline in Antarctic. What became of Belgica after the
return to Norway is unclear, but in April 1940 some
information is available. When the Germans invaded Norway
in April 1940, she was requisitioned by the British
forces, and was anchored up in Brurvika outside Harstad.
While she laid there, loaded with ammunition, Harstad city
was attacked by the German luftwaffe. Belgica was damaged
by bombs that fell in the vicinity, tho not hit directly.
She developed a leak and sank a while later. The remains
of her and an unknown
barge were found in 1990, and both these wrecks rest
today on a depth of 12 to 20 meter in Brurvika. Her
anchor is exhibited in the polar museum of Tromsø.
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| 68° 47' 25" N, 16° 36' 12" E  Picture: Belgica Wikipedia, Public domain Last updated: August 2019
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