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HISTORY
The Unicorn
(La Licorne in French) is a fictional three-masted armed navy
vessel appearing in The Adventures of Tintin comic books The
Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure
published in 1943 and 1944, respectively. The vessel has a
leading role in both of the forementioned stories.
Hergé's Unicorn design was inspired by Le Brillant built in 1690
at Le Havre, France. Hergé used the services of a local model
maker to find an appropriate French ship who customized the ship
to meet the historical needs stated by Hergé. The address to
obtain the plans for the ship, along with other information was
published in an article in Amis de Hergé magazine, June 1989.
In the English version the Unicorn was a 17th century navy
vessel that sailed under the Union Jack and was commanded by Sir
Francis Haddock. In the original French version as well as in
many
international versions of the story the ship flew the French
flag and was commanded by Sir Francis Haddock. Regardless of the
language or version, the commander of the vessel is an ancestor
of Captain Haddock, one of the main characters.
In The Secret of the Unicorn the Unicorn was seized and captured
by a group of pirates led by Red Rackham. As the pirates boarded
they hoisted a red pennant signalling that no life would be
spared. During the battle Sir Francis was hit by a pulley and
lost his consciousness.
After the battle the members of the Unicorn crew still alive
were killed or thrown overboard. Sir Francis regained
consciousness, finding himself tied to the mainmast. The pirate
ship was
damaged and sinking, so Red Rackham moved his treasure onboard
the Unicorn. After this the ship sailed towards an uninhabited
island.
When anchored near the shore of the island, Sir Francis managed
to free himself and escaped in a small boat. Before leaving the
ship he set fire to the gunpowder storage, causing the ship to
explode and sink.
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