Endurance trapped in pack ice during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition
Career
Built:	Framnæs shipyards, Sandefjord, Norway
Launched:	1912
Fate:	Crushed by pack ice in the Weddell Sea in 1915
General Characteristics
Displacement:	350 tons
Length:	144 ft (42.9 m)
Beam:	25 ft (7.6 m)
Draught:	— ft (— m)
Type:	Barquentine
Hull:	Reinforced Wood
Propulsion:	350 hp Coal fired steam and sail
Speed:	10.2 knots
Range:	—
Complement:	28
Armament:	—

The Endurance was the three-masted barquentine in which Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed for the Antarctic on the 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition. She was launched in 1912 from Sandefjord in Norway and was crushed by ice, causing her to sink, three years later in the Weddell Sea off Antarctica. Image File history File linksMetadata Endurance3. ... Framnæs shipyard (Framnæs mekaniske Værksted) was a shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway. ... County Vestfold District Municipality NO-0706 Administrative centre Sandefjord Mayor (2004) Bjørn Ole Gleditsch (H) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 370 121 km² 119 km² 0. ... The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean. ... This article is about the ship. ... This article is about the ship. ... Portrait of Ernest Henry Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO, OBE (February 15, 1874 – January 5, 1922) was an Anglo-Irish explorer, now chiefly remembered for his Antarctic expedition of 1914–1916 in the ship Endurance. ... Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ... Endurance trapped in pack ice during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition was the fourth British Antarctic exploration of the modern era, and aimed, but ultimately failed, to be the first to cross the Antarctic continent from one side to the other. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... County Vestfold District Municipality NO-0706 Administrative centre Sandefjord Mayor (2004) Bjørn Ole Gleditsch (H) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 370 121 km² 119 km² 0. ... The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean. ...

Design and construction

Designed by Ole Aanderud Larsen, the Endurance was built at the Framnæs shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway and fully completed on December 17, 1912. She was built under the supervision of master wood shipbuilder Christian Jacobsen, who was renowned for insisting that all men employed under him not just be skilled shipwrights, but also be experienced in seafaring aboard whaling or sealing ships. Every detail of her construction had been scrupulously planned to ensure maximum durability, for example every joint and every fitting cross-braced each other for maximum strength Ole Aanderud Larsen (December 18, 1884 - October 6, 1964) was a ship designer and businessman from Norway. ... Framnæs shipyard (Framnæs mekaniske Værksted) was a shipyard in Sandefjord, Norway. ... County Vestfold District Municipality NO-0706 Administrative centre Sandefjord Mayor (2004) Bjørn Ole Gleditsch (H) Official language form BokmÃ¥l Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 370 121 km² 119 km² 0. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

She was launched on December 17, 1912 and was initially christened the Polaris (eponymous with Polaris, the North Star). She was 144 feet (43.9 m) long, with a 25 foot (7.6 m) beam and weighed 350 tons (356 metric tons). Though her black hull looked from the outside like that of any other vessel of a comparable size, it was not. She was designed for polar conditions with a very sturdy construction. Her keel members were four pieces of solid oak, one above the other, adding up to a thickness of 7 feet, 1 inch, while her sides were between 2 1/2 feet and 18 inches thick, with twice as many frames as normal and the frames being of double thickness. She was built of planks of oak and Norwegian fir up to two and one half feet thick, sheathed in greenheart, a notably strong and heavy wood. Her bow, where she would meet the ice head-on, had been given special attention. Each timber had been made from a single oak tree chosen for its shape so that is natural shape followed the curve of her design. When put together, these pieces had a thickness of 4 feet, 4 inches. December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday in the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday in the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Polaris (α UMi / α Ursae Minoris / Alpha Ursae Minoris) is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor. ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ... A tonne (also called metric ton) is a non-SI unit of mass, accepted for use with SI, defined as: 1 tonne = 103 kg (= 106 g). ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... FIR may stand for: finite impulse response (a property of some digital filters) far infrared, i. ... Binomial name Chlorocardium rodiei (M.R.Schomb. ...

Shackleton looking overboard at the Endurance being crushed by the ice

Endurance final sinking November 1915

Of her three masts, the forward one was square-rigged, while the after two carried fore and aft sails, like a schooner. As well as sails, Endurance had a 350 hp (260 kW) coal-fired steam engine capable of driving her at speeds up to 10.2 knots (19 km/h). Image File history File links Endurance4. ... Image File history File links Endurance4. ... Image File history File links Endurance_Final_Sinking. ... Image File history File links Endurance_Final_Sinking. ... mizzen mast, mainmast and foremast Grand Turk The mast of a sailing ship is a tall vertical pole which supports the sails. ... Square rig is a generic type of sailing vessel in which the main horizontal spars are perpendicular to the keel of the ship. ... ... kW is a measure of power, kilowatt. ... // The term steam engine may also refer to an entire railroad steam locomotive. ...

By the time she was launched on December 17, 1912, Endurance was perhaps the strongest wooden ship ever built, with the possible exception of the Fram, the vessel used by Fridtjof Nansen and later by Roald Amundsen. However, there was one major difference between both ships. The Fram was bowl-bottomed, which meant that if the ice closed in against her she would be squeezed up and out and not be subject to the pressure of the ice compressing around her. But since the Endurance was designed to operate in relatively loose pack ice she was not constructed so as to rise out of pressure to any great extent. Fram in Antarctica in Roald Amundsens expedition. ... Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Nansen (born October 10, 1861 in Store Frøen, near Christiania - died May 13, 1930 in Lysaker, outside Oslo) was a Norwegian explorer, scientist and diplomat. ... Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (1872-1928) Roald Engebreth Gravning Amundsen (July 16, 1872 – June 1928) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. ...

Ownership

She was built for Adrien de Gerlache and Lars Christensen. They intended to use her for polar cruises for tourists to hunt polar bears. Financial problems leading to de Gerlache pulling out of their partnership meant that Christensen was happy to sell the boat to Ernest Shackleton for GB£11,600 (approx US$67,000), less than cost. He is reported to have said he was happy to take the loss in order to further the plans of an explorer of Shackleton's stature '^[1]. After Shackleton's purchasing her, she was rechristened Endurance after the Shackleton family motto "Fortitudine vincimus" (By endurance we conquer). Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery (2 August 1866-4 December 1934) was an officer in the Belgian Royal Navy, who led the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897-1899. ... Lars Christensen was a Norwegian shipowner and whaling magnate with a keen interest in the exploration of Antarctica. ... Binomial name Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774 The polar bear (Ursus maritimus), also known as the white bear, northern bear, or sea bear, is a large bear native to the Arctic. ... Portrait of Ernest Henry Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO, OBE (February 15, 1874 – January 5, 1922) was an Anglo-Irish explorer, now chiefly remembered for his Antarctic expedition of 1914–1916 in the ship Endurance. ...

Final voyage

Shackleton sailed with Endurance from Plymouth, England on August 6, 1914 and set course for Buenos Aires, Argentina. This was Endurance's first major cruising since her completion and amounted to a shakedown cruise. The trip across the Atlantic took more than two months. Built for the ice, her hull was considered by many of its crew too rounded for the open ocean. Plymouth is a city in the southwest of England, or alternatively the Westcountry, and is situated within the traditional county of Devon. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Coordinates: Found 1536, 1580 Chief of Government Jorge Telerman Area    - City 203 km²  (78. ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one_fifth of its surface. ...

On October 26, 1914 Endurance sailed from Buenos Aires to her last port of call, the Grytviken whaling station on the island of South Georgia off the southern tip of South America, where she arrived on November 5. She departed from Grytviken for her final voyage on December 5, 1914 towards the southern regions of the Weddell Sea. Grytviken as it was before 1929 Grytviken (Norwegian: Pot Bay, after the pots used to render seal oil) is the only settlement in the United Kingdom territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. ... The crew of the oceanographic research vessel Princesse Alice, of Albert Grimaldi (later Prince Albert I of Monaco) pose while flensing a catch. ... South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Grytviken as it was before 1929 Grytviken (Norwegian: Pot Bay, after the pots used to render seal oil) is the only settlement in the United Kingdom territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. ... The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean. ...

Two days after leaving from South Georgia, Endurance encountered polar pack ice and progress slowed down. For weeks Endurance twisted and squirmed her way through the pack. She kept moving but averaged less than 30 miles per day. By January 15, Endurance was within 200 miles of its destination, Vahsel Bay. However by the following day heavy pack ice was sighted in the morning and in the afternoon a blowing gale developed. Under these conditions it was soon evident progress could not be made, and Endurance took shelter under the lee of a large grounded berg. During the next two days Endurance dogged back and forth under the sheltering protection of the berg. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina. ... Vahsel Bay (77°49′ S 35°07′ W) is a bay about 7 miles wide in the western part of the Luitpold Coast, Antarctica. ...

On January 18 the gale began to moderate and thus Endurance, one day short of her destination, set the topsail with the engine at slow. The pack had blown away. Progress was made slowly until hours later Endurance encountered the pack once more. It was decided to move forward and work through the pack, and at 5pm Endurance entered it. However it was noticed that this ice was different from what had been encountered before. The ship was soon engulfed by thick but soft ice floes. The ship floated in a soupy sea of mushy brash ice. The ship was beset. The gale now increased its intensity and kept blowing for another six days from a northerly direction towards land. By January 24, the wind had completely compressed the ice in the whole Weddell Sea against the land. The ice had packed snugly around Endurance. All that could be done was to wait for a southerly gale that would start pushing, decompressing and opening the ice in the other direction. Instead the days passed and the pack remained unchanged. The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean. ...

Endurance drifted for months while remaining beset in the ice in the Weddell Sea and drifted with it. The ice kept compressing it until Endurance could not endure the pressure and was crushed on October 27, 1915. She finally sank on November 21, 1915.

The Endurance is considered the last ship of her kind.

Crew

Looking for men to fill his crew, Shackleton placed ads in London newspapers that read:

The factual accuracy of this article or section is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.

"MEN WANTED: For hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success. Sir Ernest Shackleton."

The crew of the Endurance in its final voyage was made up of the 28 men listed below: Image File history File links Circle-question-red. ...

Blackborrow was originally refused a post aboard the vessel due to his young age and inexperience and decided to stow away, helped to sneak aboard by William Blakewell, a friend of his, and Walter How. By the time he was found, the expedition was far enough out that Shackleton had no choice but to make him a steward. Blackborrow eventually proved his worth, earning the Bronze Polar Medal, and the honor of becoming the first human being ever to set foot on Elephant Island. His name is also the matter of some debate -it is sometimes spelled Percy, or Blackboro, or in other ways. Portrait of Ernest Henry Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton CVO, OBE (February 15, 1874 – January 5, 1922) was an Anglo-Irish explorer, now chiefly remembered for his Antarctic expedition of 1914–1916 in the ship Endurance. ... Frank Wild was an Antarctica explorer with the Nimrod Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton. ... Worsley aboard the Endurance Frank Worsley (1872 – 1943) was a New Zealand sailor and explorer. ... Tom Crean with sled dog puppies, circa 1914 Not to be confused with Victoria Cross recipient Thomas Joseph Crean Tom Crean (20 July 1877 – 27 July 1938) was an Irish Antarctic explorer. ... Alexander Hepburne Macklin (1889 – 1967) was one of the two surgeons on Sir Ernest Shackletons Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. ... James McIlroy, full name James Archibald McIlroy (1879-1968) was a British surgeon and a member of Ernest Shackletons crew on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914-1916). ... Sir James Mann Wordie, CBE (26 April 1889 – 16 January 1962) was a Scottish polar explorer and geologist. ... Chateau Wood, Ypres, 1917 by Frank Hurley James Francis Frank Hurley (1885 - 1962) was an official photographer with the Australian Imperial Force during World War I. Hurley travelled on a number of expedititions to the Antarctic including Douglas Mawsons 1911 expedition. ... Thomas Orde-Lees (1877 – 1958) was a member of Sir Ernest Shackletons Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917 and a pioneer in the field of parachuting. ... Harry McNish (real name Henry McNish, often referred to as Harry McNeish or by the nickname Chippy) (1874 – 24 September 1930) was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackletons Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Modern history

Alfred Lansing wrote a book titled Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage about the ordeal that Shackleton and his men endured aboard the ship. It became a bestseller when first published in 1959. Subsequent reprints have made it a recurrent bestseller; the last time being in the late 1990s. Alfred Lansing was a journalist and writer. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Germans dancing on the Berlin Wall in late 1989, the symbol of the cold war divide falls down as the world unites in the 1990s. ...

Two Antarctic patrol ships of the British Royal Navy have been named Endurance in honour of Shackleton's ship. The first HMS Endurance (originally named Anita Dan) was launched in May 1956 and awarded Pennant number A171 sometime later. She acted as an ice patrol and hydrographic survey ship until 1986. Today's modern HMS Endurance, nicknamed The Red Plum, is a class 1A1 ice-breaker, bought from Norway in 1992 where she had been known as MV Polar Circle. She is based at Portsmouth but makes annual forays to Antarctica where she can penetrate through 0.9 metres of ice at a speed of 3 knots. She has a complement of 126 marine personnel and carries two Westland Lynx helicopters. Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ... The Royal Navy is the navy of the United Kingdom. ... HMS Endurance was a Royal Navy ice patrol vessel from 1967 to 1991. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hydrography is the measurement of physical characteristics of waters and marginal land. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other ships with the same name, see HMS Endurance. ... US Coast Guard icebreakers near McMurdo Station, February 2002 An icebreaker is a special purpose ship designed to move through ice covered marine environments. ... Portsmouth is a city of about 189,000 people located in the county of Hampshire on the southern coast of England. ... The Westland Lynx is a helicopter designed by Westland and built at Westlands factory in Yeovil, first flying on 21 March 1971 as the Westland WG.13. ...

External links

• Website of the Royal Geographic Society Holders a large collection of pictures of the Endurance.
• American Museum of Natural History Quotes from the diary of Frank Hurley: Aboard Endurance.
• American Museum of Natural History Quotes from the diary of Henry "Chippy" McNeish about Endurance beset on January 18.
• American Museum of Natural History Two Computer animations of Endurance beset.
• Information on Alfred Lansing's Book: Endurance (ISBN 0-7867-0621-X)
• Trans-Antarctica Expedition 1914 - 1917
• British Antarctic Territory stamps honoring Endurance
• Royal Navy's website of HMS Endurance
• Endurance's crew

Harry McNish (real name Henry McNish, often referred to as Harry McNeish or by the nickname Chippy) (1874 – 24 September 1930) was the carpenter on Sir Ernest Shackletons Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–1917. ...

References

• ↑  Lansing, Alfred. (1999) 2nd ed. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 0-7867-0621-X