Endurance (1912 ship)

Endurance was the three-masted barquentine in which Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed for the Antarctic on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition in 1914. Built in Norway by the Framnaes Shipyard she was launched on December 17, 1912 and was initially called Polaris. She was 144 feet (43.9 m)long, 25 feet (7.6 m) in beam and weighed 350 tons (356 metric tons). As well as sails she had a 350 hp (260 kW) coal powered steam engine driving a single shaft, giving a top speed of around 10 knots (19 km/h). She was designed for polar conditions with a very sturdy construction, including twice as many frames as normal. Her keel was 7 foot 1 inch thick and made of four pieces of solid oak while her sides were between 2 1/2 feet and 18 inches thick. The hull was also lined on the outside with greenheart. She was perhaps the strongest wooden ship ever built, with the possible exception of the Fram.

Related Topics:
Barquentine - Ernest Shackleton - Antarctic - Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition - Norway - Framnaes Shipyard - December 17 - 1912 - Greenheart - Fram

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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 Shackleton for £11,600 (approx $67,000), less than cost. She was renamed Endurance after the Shackleton family motto "fortitudine vincimus" (by endurance we conquer).

Related Topics:
Adrien de Gerlache - Lars Christensen - Polar bear

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She was trapped in the Antarctic ice in the Weddell Sea for 281 days, before the pressure of the ice crushed and sank her on November 21, 1915.

Related Topics:
Weddell Sea - November 21 - 1915

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The Endurance is considered the last ship of her kind.

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Two Antarctic patrol ships of the British Royal Navy have been named Endurance in honour of Shackelton's ship.

Related Topics:
Royal Navy - ''Endurance''

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