The Challenger Deep is the deepest known point of the seabed of Earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean at the southern end of the Mariana Trench, in the ocean territory of the Federated States of Micronesia. According to the GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names the depression's depth is 10,920 ± 10 m (35,827 ± 33 ft) at 11°22.4′N142°35.5′E, although its exact geodetic location remains inconclusive and its depth has been measured at 10,902–10,929 m (35,768–35,856 ft) by deep-diving submersibles, remotely operated underwater vehicles, benthic landers, and sonar bathymetry. The differences in depth estimates and their geodetic positions are scientifically explainable by the difficulty of researching such deep locations.
The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about 200 kilometres (124 mi) east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about 2,550 km (1,580 mi) in length and 69 km (43 mi) in width. The maximum known depth is 10,984 ± 25 metres at the southern end of a small slot-shaped valley in its floor known as the Challenger Deep. The deepest point of the trench is more than 2 km (1.2 mi) farther from sea level than the peak of Mount Everest.
The Challenger expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific programme that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, HMS Challenger.
HMS Loch Insh was a Loch-class frigate of the Royal Navy, named after Loch Insh in Scotland. She was built by Henry Robb of Leith and launched on 10 May 1944. After service at the end of World War II she was decommissioned, but reactivated in 1950 and served, mostly in the Persian Gulf, until 1962. The ship was sold to the Royal Malaysian Navy in 1963 and renamed KD Hang Tuah (F433). She was scrapped in 1977.
HMS Bluebell was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy in World War II. Ordered from Fleming & Ferguson of Paisley, Scotland on 27 July 1939, she was launched on 24 April 1940 and commissioned in July 1940. She served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Arctic campaigns, escorting several convoys to Russia, and also took part in the invasions of Sicily and France. She was torpedoed and sunk by U-711 in the Kola Inlet on 17 February 1945 while escorting the convoy RA 64 from Murmansk. Only one member of her crew survived.
HMS Challenger was a Pearl-class corvette of the Royal Navy launched on 13 February 1858 at the Woolwich Dockyard. She served the flagship of the Australia Station between 1866 and 1870.
HMS Emerald was an Emerald-class light cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built by Armstrong at Newcastle-on-Tyne, with the keel being laid down on 23 September 1918. She was launched on 19 May 1920 and commissioned 14 January 1926.
HMAS Gawler (J188/B241/A115), named for the town of Gawler, was one of 60 Bathurst-class corvettes constructed during World War II and one of 20 built for the Admiralty but manned by personnel of and commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The ship was laid down by BHP at its Whyalla shipyard in early 1941, launched later that year, and commissioned in 1942.
HMS Arabis was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. The ship was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Arabis. She was transferred to the United States Navy in 1942, serving as USS Saucy. Returned to the United Kingdom in 1945, she was recommissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Snapdragon.
HMS Tetcott was a Type II British Hunt-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during World War II. She was the only Royal Navy ship to be named after the Tetcott fox hunt.
German submarine U-568 was a Type VIIC U-boat built for Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine for service during World War II. She conducted five patrols, sinking one merchant ship, two warships, and severely damaging another warship. On 28 May 1942, she was depth charged and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea; all hands survived.
German submarine U-208 was a Type VIIC U-boat of the Kriegsmarine during World War II. The submarine was laid down on 5 August 1940 by the Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft yard at Kiel as yard number 637, launched on 21 May 1941 and commissioned on 5 July under the command of Oberleutnant zur See Alfred Schlieper.
HMCS Swansea was a Canadian River-class frigate that was the most successful U-boat hunter in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, having a hand in the destruction of four of them. She saw service in the Battle of the Atlantic from 1943 to 1945. Following the war she was refit as a Prestonian-class frigate. She is named for Swansea, Ontario.
The second HMS Wivern, was a Modified W-class destroyer of the British Royal Navy that saw service in World War II.
SS Anselm was a British turbine steamship of the Booth Steamship Company. She was built as a cargo and passenger liner in 1935 and requisitioned and converted into a troop ship in 1940. A German submarine sank her in 1941, killing 254 of those aboard.
HMS Sunflower was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.
HMS Dianella was a Flower-class corvette of the Royal Navy. She served during the Second World War.
HMS Crispin was a British cargo steamship that was launched in England in 1934 and operated by Alfred Booth and Company between Liverpool and the east coast of South America. In 1940 the British Admiralty requisitioned her and had her converted into an ocean boarding vessel. In 1941 a U-boat sank her in the Battle of the Atlantic, killing 20 of her crew.
HMS Petunia (K79) was a Flower-class corvette that served in the Royal Navy and was built by Henry Robb in 1940. She was named after Petunia. Commissioned in 1940, rammed and sold to the Chinese Nationalist Government and renamed ROCS Fu Bo.
Thomas Frohock Gaskell, or T. F. Gaskell, was a British oceanographer and geophysicist. He is known for his work relating to the seabed, currents, and the ocean's influence on climate, and for his role in the discovery of Challenger Deep.
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