- HMS Challenger (1931)
HMS "Challenger" was a
survey ship of theUnited Kingdom 'sRoyal Navy . She was laid down in1930 atChatham Dockyard and built in adry dock . After that, the ship was moved toPortsmouth for completion and commissioned on15 March 1932.Until
World War II , "Challenger" surveyed the waters around the United Kingdom, theWest Indies and theEast Indies .From 1939 to 1942, she was assigned duties around the United Kingdom. From 1942 to 1946, the vessel surveyed in theIndian Ocean and the Western Pacific. The Challenger surveyed in thePersian Gulf in 1947. She made a world circumnavigation from 1950 to 1953 that included surveying in the West Indies and theFar East . It was during this mission, in1951 that "Challenger" surveyed theMariana Trench nearGuam , identifying the deepest known point in the oceans, 10,911 metres (35,797 feet) deep at its maximum, near coord|11|22|N|142|36|E|. This point was named theChallenger Deep as a result of the survey.In January 1954, "Challenger" was broken up in
Dover .See
HMS Challenger for other ships of the same name.pecifications
* Displacements: 1,140 tons
* Dimensions:
** Length: 67m (220 feet)
** Beam: 11m (36 feet)
** Draught: 3.81m (12 feet, 6 inches)
* Maximum speed: 12.5 knots
* Crew: 84
* Armament: none
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