HMNZS ''Endeavour'' was a Royal New Zealand Navy

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

support vessel. She was the first of three ships in the Royal New Zealand Navy to bear that name. The ship was built in the United States in 1944 as ''Satinwood'' (YN-89) as a net tender of the (but later redesignated as AN-76, a net layer) and transferred to the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

under

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

in August 1944. Commissioned as HMS ''Pretext'' (Z284), she served the United Kingdom until she was returned to

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

custody in November 1945. Sold by the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission (MARCOM) was an independent executive agency of the U.S. federal government that was created by the Merchant Marine Act of 1936, which was passed by Congress on June 29, 1936, and was abolished on May 24, 195 ...

in 1947, she served as a research vessel for the

Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...

under the name SV ''John Biscoe''. She was briefly renamed ''Pretext'' when another ship was assigned the ''John Biscoe'' name, before being sold to the Royal New Zealand Navy, renamed ''Endeavour'', and employed in supporting the

Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (CTAE) of 1955–1958 was a Commonwealth-sponsored expedition that successfully completed the first overland crossing of Antarctica, via the South Pole. It was the first expedition to reach the South ...

and subsequent New Zealand research activities in Antarctica. Sold again in 1962, the ship, renamed ''Arctic Endeavour'' for sealing work in the northern hemisphere, foundered off the coast of Canada in November 1982.

Service history

Second World War

The ship was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

as ''Satinwood'' (YN-89), a net tender of the , on 1 May 1943 at the American Car and Foundry Co. in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. On 17 January 1944, while still under construction, the ship was reclassified as a net laying ship and redesignated AN-76. ''Satinwood'' was launched on 23 May and completed on 5 August. After delivery to the U.S. Navy on 5 August, she was transferred to the United Kingdom under Lend-Lease the same day and commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS ''Pretext'' (Z284). Upon completion of wartime duty with the United Kingdom, she was returned to the U.S. Navy on 22 November 1945 at

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

. Struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 28 March 1946, she was transferred to the

and sold on 20 July 1947 to the

for $75,000.

Postwar career

After being purchased by the

(FIDS), she was renamed ''John Biscoe''. After her first season of resupplying the FIDS bases in Stonington Island and Hope Bay, her hull was sheathed in of greenheart timber to better cope with the ice conditions. In the subsequent years she made a number of summer voyages to the Antarctic to relieve the FIDS stations. However, a ship with a longer range and greater cargo- and passenger-carrying capacity was required, and the ship's name was returned to ''Pretext'' in 1956 to free the name ''John Biscoe'' for a new vessel. Captain Harry Kirkwood had commanded her as the ''John Biscoe'' and, when asked to recommend a ship for the

to take the New Zealand party to the Ross Dependency, he recommended this ship to the Ross Sea Committee. She was sold to the Royal New Zealand Navy in August 1956 for £20,000 and commissioned as HMNZS ''Endeavour''. She was named after Captain Cook's Bark ''Endeavour'' and was the first of three ships in the Royal New Zealand Navy to carry that name, although if earlier continuity with the Royal Navy is considered, she was the tenth. It appears that no

pendant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

was assigned to her. She made five voyages to the Antarctic under the New Zealand flag. In June 1962 she was sold again, renamed the ''Arctic Endeavour'' and fitted out for sealing work in the Arctic. In March 1976 she was involved in a standoff with

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving Stowe and Dorothy Stowe, immigrant environmental activists from the United States. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth t ...

activists Bob Hunter and

Paul Watson Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American conservation and environmental movement, environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine c ...

off

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. She foundered off Catalina, Newfoundland on 11 November 1982.

References

External links

*
The RNZN in Antarctica
on the ''RNZ Navy unofficial website''

on ''Operation Deep Freeze: The New Zealand Story'' * Footage of HMNZS ''Endeavour'' during the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, in the film ''Antarctic Adventure'', 1957. Part
123
an
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Endeavour (1944) Ailanthus-class boom defence vessels of the Royal Navy Ships built in Wilmington, Delaware 1944 ships World War II net laying ships Auxiliary ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy Research vessels of the United Kingdom Icebreakers of the United Kingdom American Car and Foundry Company

Service history

Second World War

Postwar career

See also

References

External links