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HMS Endurance
Factfile |
 HMS Endurance |
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The History |
The British tradition of Antarctic exploration began in 1773 when Captain James Cook
first crossed the Antarctic Polar Circle. Although he believed that 'there is a tract of land near
the Pole' he did not sight it. The Antarctic Peninsula was first sighted in 1820 by Edward Bransfield
of the Royal Navy.
HMS Endurance is named after the vessel in which the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton sailed
for the Antarctic in 1914. The following year she was trapped in the ice and eventually
sank. Sir Ernest and his ships company made their way to Elephant Island from where he made his epic
crossing of the Drake Passage in an open boat and across the Island if South Georgia on foot.
The present HMS Endurance has been commissioned to continue the work of her predecessor of the
same name. |
Photograph courtesy of The Royal Navy
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That vessel maintained a British presence in Antarctica and the Falkland Island
Dependencies since 1968, earning the Wilkinson sword of Peace for the Royal Navy for her work
supporting the British Antarctic Survey and contributing to community relations in the islands.
She took a full part in the 1982 Falklands conflict from the outset of the campaign through to the
eventual victory.
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