HMS Endurance (1967)
 |
|
| History | |
|---|---|
 Denmark
|
|
| Name: | Anita Dan |
| Owner: | Lauritzen Lines |
| Launched: | 1956 |
| Fate: | Sold to the Royal Navy, 1967 |
 United Kingdom
|
|
| Name: | Endurance |
| Acquired: | 1967 |
| Out of service: | 1991 |
| Homeport: | Chatham and Portsmouth |
| Nickname(s): |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Icebreaker |
| Displacement: | 3,600 long tons (3,658 t) |
| Length: | 93 m (305 ft) |
| Beam: | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Draught: | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
| Propulsion: | 1 × Burmeister & Wain diesel engine |
| Speed: | 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) |
| Complement: | 119 |
| Armament: | 2 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon |
| Aircraft carried: |
|
| Service record | |
| Operations: | Falklands War |
HMS Endurance was a Royal Navy ice patrol vessel that served from 1967 to 1991. She came to public notice when she was involved in the Falklands War of 1982.
Grogerwerft of Germany built her in 1956 as Anita Dan for Lauritzen Lines. The UK government bought her in 1967 and had Harland & Wolff convert her. She was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Endurance, named after the sailing ship Endurance that took the explorer Ernest Shackleton's expedition to the Antarctic in 1914.
The new Endurance maintained a UK presence in Antarctica and the Falkland Islands during the southern summer. She also supported the British Antarctic Survey. She had a bright red hull, as is common for polar vessels to aid visibility but otherwise uncommon for the Royal Navy, so her crew nicknamed her The Red Plum. In February 1972 when the cruise ship Lindblad Explorer ran aground, Endurance was in the vicinity under Captain Rodney Bowden and took part in the rescue.
The Ministry of Defence's 1981 Defence White Paper proposed naval cuts including decommissioning Endurance, which was scheduled for 15 April 1982.
Endurance's withdrawal from Antarctic patrol without replacement was perceived in Britain as having encouraged the Argentine invasion. The subsequent Franks Report acknowledged it as a factor (Main entry Events leading to the Falklands War).
On 19 March 1982, while Endurance was at Stanley, South Georgia was occupied by Argentine civilians. The ship, commanded by Captain Nick Barker, was sent to order the Argentines off the island. Endurance had a small Royal Marines detachment and took further Marines from NP (Naval Party) 8901, and sailed on 21 March for South Georgia.
...
Wikipedia