Flensers at work on factory ship

TB00021

Flensers at work on factory ship

1938

Flensers at work on factory ship, probably NEW SEVILLA, South Georgia. N.B. the whale has been dragged in by the head, not the tail flukes. Also, note the circular hatches along each side - one open -, these are the kettles where the whales were steam cooked to extract their oil. Strips of blubber, sometimes 20 metres long, were cut off first. They were heaved up to the mouths of the kettles by the capstan. When the blubber's own weight began to take it down, it would zig zag and swirl around and the whalers had to stand well back. The carcass would then be passed on to the 'lemmers' who cut the meat off it before the remainder was cut up by a steam driven saw. These parts were also cooked.

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