Container for harpoon lance bombs

Maker Tracey and Brand

Datec 1874

Object number00033891

NameLance bomb box

MediumWood, metal, paper

DimensionsOverall: 180 x 460 x 225 mm, 3.38 kg

ClassificationsTools and equipment

Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds

Terms

Norwich

DescriptionContaining bomb lances and the instructions for their use, this case would have been stored aboard the whaling ship and transferred to a whaleboat once whales were sighted.HistoryEarly killing methods were as dangerous to the crews as they were deadly to the whale. Hand-thrown harpoons merely attached a rope to the whale to stop it from escaping. Actual killing of the wounded and thrashing mammal was done at close range. A long lance pierced the lungs or heart for a slow death. Bomb lances were introduced with shoulder guns to solve the problem of getting close enough to a whale to lance it, particularly in ice fields, and eliminate the often hazardous lancing operation.SignificanceThis lance bomb container is typical of the 19th century whaling period in the Southern Seas.