HMNZS Endeavour (1956)

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For other ships of the same name, see HMNZS Endeavour.

Career (New Zealand)	Royal New Zealand Navy

Builder:	American Car and Foundry Company
Launched:	23 May 1944
Commissioned:	Jun 1956
Decommissioned:	Jun 1962
Fate:	Foundered off Newfoundland on 11 Nov 1982
General characteristics
Displacement:	900 ton
Propulsion:	Diesel

HMNZS Endeavour was an Antarctic support vessel of the Royal New Zealand Navy. She made five voyages to the Antarctic.

She was named after Captain Cook's Bark Endeavour and was the first of three ships in the navy to carry that name. It appears that no pendant number was assigned to her.

She was originally built as the netlayer AN-76 USS Satinwood for the US Navy. On 5 Aug 1944 she was commissioned in the Royal Navy as HMS Pretext. On 20 Jul 1947 she was sold to the government of the Falkland Islands, converted to a research vessel and renamed John Biscoe. At the time, she was extensively refitted for ice conditions, including having her hull sheathed in 3" of greeheart timber. She made a number of summer voages to the Antartic to relieve the stationes manned by the Falkalnd Islands Dependencies Survey. However a ship with a longer range and greater cargo-carrying capacity was required, and the name John Biscoe was required for the new vessel. In 1956 she was renamed RRS Pretext.

Captain Harry Kirkwood had commanded her as the John Biscoe and, when asked to recommend a ship for the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition 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 Jun 1956 and commissioned as HMNZS Endeavour.

In Jun 1962 she was sold again, renamed the Arctic Endeavour and fitted out for sealing work in the Arctic. She foundered off Newfoundland on 11 Nov 1982.