Diagrams
of a whaling harpoon and harpoons awaiting attachment of the head
and explosive charge.
The top diagrams show the harpoon head with
barbs, or flukes, retracted and extended. The slot that runs the
length of the shaft of the harpoon takes a wire strop which is
spliced to the end of the rope attached to the catcher boat.
The barbs on these harpoons are
about a foot long, much more than the few inches on an old hand
harpoon. Whereas the hand harpoon was designed to attach the whale
boat to the whale (maybe 1-2 tons in total) these harpoons are
designed to stop whales of up to 100 tons and more from sinking
and being lost in the ocean depths. The head is attached to the
shaft by a universal joint.
The bottom photograph shows harpoons lined up
ready for use on a factory ship. The barbs have been wired in
place already and they await the attachment of the explosive head
which is screwed onto the projecting boss at the top of the
harpoon. After use, the harpoons were recovered from the dead
whale as it was being flensed and taken to the blacksmiths shop on
board the ship where they were straightened and mended ready for
re-use.
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