Antarctic Support Vessel HMNZS Endeavour

[Brian James]

Antarctic Support Vessel HMNZS Endeavour with Loch Class Frigate HMNZS Pukaki inboard of her and alongside her is RY Britannia pictured at Lyttleton Harbour on December 17th, during the Duke of Edinburgh's 1956 visit...Endeavour was built in the US in 1944 as Satinwood (YN-89) as a Net Tender of the Ailanthus Class (but later redesignated as AN-76, a Net Layer) and transferred to the RN under Lend-Lease in August 1944. Commissioned as HMS Pretext (Z284), she served the UK until she was returned to USN custody in November 1945. Sold by the United States Maritime Commission in 1947, she served as a Research Vessel for the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey 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 RNZN, renamed Endeavour, and employed in supporting the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition and subsequent New Zealand research activities in Antarctica. Sold again in 1962, she was renamed Arctic Endeavour for sealing work in the northern hemisphere, she foundered off the coast of Canada in November 1982.