R/V HERO

at the pier
The Research Vessel Hero at the Palmer pier during the 1968-69 summer. The Hero was built by Harvey F. Gamage Shipbuilder, Inc., of South Bristol, Maine. She was launched on 28 March 1968, and arrived at Palmer for the first time on Christmas Day that year. (NOAA photo)

The R/V Hero was conceived as part of the "Hero-Palmer Research System," as NSF once publicized it...as Palmer II was designed for Gamage Point, the pier and shore power was sized for Hero, and the laboratories and shop facilities were intended to support the vessel.

NSF originally announced plans for Hero to the science community in the August 1964 Antarctic Report; at that time the unnamed "trawler" was planned for initial operations in 1966-67 in conjunction with the proposed Palmer Station.

The R/V Hero has a length of 125 feet and a breadth of 30 feet 4 inches. She displaces 300 tons, with a draft of 14 feet. Her range under power of the 760 hp engine is 6,000 nautical miles at 10 knots. The sails were used for "silent running" to do wildlife-sensitive research.

The Hero story...