HMNZS ''Endeavour'' was a

Royal New Zealand Navy The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN; ) is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force. The fleet currently consists of eight ships. The Navy had its origins in the Naval Defence Act 1913, and the subsequent acquisition of the cruiser , whi ...

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

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 naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

under

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

in August 1944.

Commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

ed as HMS ''Pretext'' (Z284), she served the United Kingdom until she was returned to

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

custody in November 1945. Sold by the

United States Maritime Commission The United States Maritime Commission 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, 1950. The co ...

in 1947, she served as a research vessel for the

Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey The Falkland Islands and Dependencies Aerial Survey Expedition (FIDASE) was an aerial survey of the Falkland Islands Dependencies The Falkland Islands Dependencies was the constitutional arrangement from 1843 until 1985 for administering the v ...

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 ...

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

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

. On 17 January 1944, while still under construction, the ship was reclassified as a net laying ship and redesignated AN-76. ''Satinwood'' was

launch Launch or launched may refer to: Involving vehicles * Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat ** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy * Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...

ed 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

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

ed 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 (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. Struck from the

Naval Vessel Register The ''Naval Vessel Register'' (NVR) is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from t ...

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 Stonington Island is a rocky island lying northeast of Neny Island in the eastern part of Marguerite Bay off the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica. It is long from north-west to south-east and wide, yielding an area of . It was formerl ...

and

Hope Bay Hope Bay may refer to: * Hope Bay, Antarctica Hope Bay (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Bahía Esperanza'') () is a bay long and wide, indenting the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and opening on Antarctic Sound. Location Hope Bay is in Graham ...

, 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 The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a circular sector, sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160th meridian east, 160° east to 150th meridian west, 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60th para ...

, 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 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 a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

activists Bob Hunter and

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

off

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. 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
4
{{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