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{{about|the sailing ship|the Isle of Man steam packet|SS Viking (1905)|and|HMS Vindex (1915)|the Nazi-SS formation|5th SS Panzer Division Wiking}}
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|Ship name= ''Viking''
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|Ship builder= Nylands Shipyards, [[Oslo]], Norway
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|Ship laid down= 1881
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|Ship identification= Official Number 117314
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|Ship fate= Exploded and sank off [[Horse Islands (Newfoundland and Labrador)|Horse Islands]] in 1931
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|Ship tonnage= {{GRT|586}}
|Ship length= {{convert|47.2|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?238272 |title=Viking (+1931)|website=Wrecksite.eu|access-date=28 May 2022}}</ref>
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'''SS ''Viking''''' was a wooden-hulled sealing ship made famous by its role in the 1931 film ''[[The Viking (1931 film)|The Viking]]''. During her use in the seal hunt in [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]], the ship was twice commissioned by the film crew. During production, an explosion destroyed the ship, resulting in the loss of the director, [[Varick Frissell]], and the cinematographer, Alexander Gustavus Penrod, in addition to the lives of 26 of the ship's crew and film crew.
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==History==
[[File:Nansen Krefting 2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Fridtjof Nansen]] (left) and Captain Axel Krefting, sitting on just shot [[polar bear]] with the ''Viking'' in the background (One of the pictures from a journey with sealers to [[West Ice|Vestisen]] during the period March to July 1882).]]

In 1881, ''Viking'' was built by the Nylands Shipyard at [[Kristiania|Christiania]], [[Norway]], the same location where another famous Newfoundland vessel, [[SS Southern Cross (1886)|''Southern Cross'']], was constructed. ''Viking'' was a vessel of 310 gross tons and equipped with a {{convert|90|hp|adj=on}} auxiliary engine. She was launched in 1882 from the Nylands Shipyard.{{cn|date=March 2019}}

''Viking'' sailed for a number of years hunting the [[Harp seal|saddleback seal]] off the coast of [[Greenland]]. In 1882, Norwegian explorer, scientist and diplomat [[Fridtjof Nansen]] used her for his first [[Arctic]] expedition.<ref>{{cite book|title=Nansen|last=Huntford|first=Roland|publisher=Abacus|year=2001|isbn=0-349-11492-7|location=London|pages=21–27|authorlink=Roland Huntford}} </ref>

In 1904, ''Viking'' was purchased by [[Bowring Brothers]]{{failed verification|date=March 2019}} of [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]], Newfoundland for the [[Seal hunting|sealing industry]].<ref>[http://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/economy/trade.php "Trade and Commerce in Newfoundland."] ''Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site'', 2015. Retrieved: November 7, 2015.</ref> She was placed under the command of Captain William Bartlett, who remained her master until 1923. Subsequently, she was skippered by G. Whitley (1927), I. Barbour (1928, 1929) and R. Badcock (1930).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.newfoundlandshipwrecks.com/Viking/documents/viking.htm|title=The Viking|website=Newfoundlandshipwrecks.com|access-date=2020-01-25}}</ref>

''Viking'' was the smallest of the Bowring Brothers fleet, but was capable of carrying 276 men.<ref name="Rist">Rist 2001, p. 230.</ref>

==Feature film==
With funding from Paramount Pictures, S.S. ''Viking'' was chartered by the newly formed Newfoundland-Labrador Film Company to make a feature film set against the annual seal hunt off the coast of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tiff.net/CANADIANFILMENCYCLOPEDIA/content/films/viking |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130222053748/http://tiff.net/CANADIANFILMENCYCLOPEDIA/content/films/viking |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-02-22 |title=Canadian Film Encyclopedia - The Viking |date=2013-02-22 |website=archive.is |access-date=2020-01-25}}</ref> In 1930, Varick Frissell, the director of the actuality scenes (but not of the fictional scenes), and his crew sailed to the ice floes aboard SS ''Ungava'' and subsequently the same spring aboard ''Viking. Viking'' was commanded on this second voyage in 1930 by Captain [[Robert Bartlett (explorer)|Bob Bartlett]] (the son of Captain William Bartlett, ''Viking'''s first skipper), who was also cast in the role of the fictitious skipper, Captain Barker.

''White Thunder'', the film's original name, was screened early in 1931, at the Nickel Theatre in St. John's. Paramount declined to release the film.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/frissell_lewis_varick_16E.html |title=Biography – FRISSELL, LEWIS VARICK – Volume XVI (1931-1940) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography |website=Biographi.ca |access-date=2020-01-25}}</ref> Hoping to strengthen ''White Thunder'' with additional footage, Frissell, along with cinematographer, A. G. Penrod, H. Sargent, and their assistants, again chartered passage on ''Viking''.

== Fate ==
On March 9, 1931, the ship, skippered by Captain [[Abram Kean Jr.|Abram Kean]], Jr., left port. She carried 138 sealers and two stowaways, in addition to the film crew.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ancestraldigs.com/SHIPS/shipVikingPt1.htm |title=SS Viking |website=Ancestraldigs.com |access-date=2020-01-25}}</ref>

Late in the day on March 15, 1931, heavy ice was encountered off White Bay. Captain Keane ordered the ship butted into the ice jam to secure her for the night. At 9 p.m., an explosion blew the stern off the vessel, likely instantly killing the film crew in the saloon. The ship then caught fire,  leaving survivors to fend on the ice. Captain Abram Keane was badly hurt, but survived. Many of the survivors made the over-ice trek to Horse Island, 8 miles distant, while others were rescued by the steamers ''Foundation Franklin'' and [[SS Sagona|''Sagona'']], which had been dispatched to the area.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://newfoundlandshipwrecks.com/Viking/documents/viking_survivors_estimated_at_118.htm |title=Viking survivors estimated at 118 |journal=The Evening Telegram |date=March 18, 1931 |access-date=December 15, 2007}}</ref> In total the accident killed 28, including Frissell and Penrod.<ref name="Rhodes95">Rhodes 2001, p. 95.</ref> 

A later government commission could determine no more definitive cause for the sinking than that the explosives magazine had exploded. The report indicated that gunpowder had been mishandled.<ref name=":0" /> Sir Wilfred Grenfell noted in his introduction to the subsequently released film, ''The Viking'', that dynamite was a routine item included in a sealing ship's provisions. It was required to free the ship, should it become ice-bound.

The ship's loss was the first for Bowring Brothers in 52 years.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ancestraldigs.com/SHIPS/shipVikingPt1.htm |title=First disaster for 17 Years |journal=St. John's Daily News |date=March 17, 1931 |access-date=November 9, 2015}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Rhodes, Gary Don. ''White Zombie: Anatomy of a Horror Film''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-0988-4}} 
* Rist, Peter. ''Guide to the Cinema(s) of Canada''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-3132-9931-5}} 

==External links==
* {{tcmdb title|504876|The Viking}}
* {{IMDb title|qid=Q3523225|id=tt0022537|title=The Viking}}
* [http://newfoundlandshipwrecks.com/index1.htm Viking Shipwreck]

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{{1931 shipwrecks}}

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[[Category:1882 ships]]
[[Category:Icebreakers of Norway]]
[[Category:Steamships of Norway]]
[[Category:Icebreakers of Canada]]
[[Category:Steamships of Canada]]
[[Category:Ships built in Oslo]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the Newfoundland and Labrador coast]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1931]]
[[Category:Bowring Brothers]]