The notorious endurance of the ship, which sank in Antarctica in 1915, was not just as well built for a polar trip, as previously thought, and its owner probably knew about his shortcomings.
Researcher Ernest Shekletton I sailed for endurance in Antarctica In 1914, as part of an unsuccessful British expedition, to cross the continent on foot. The ship was trapped on ice in the sea Wedell, where he remained for 10 months before he sank, presumably when his steering wheel was torn by ice. But there is something else, according to a new study.
After joining Endurance22The expedition that discovered Smoking collapse In March 2022, in March 2022, Tukhkuri analyzed the structure of the ship and studied how he might reacted to the moving ice, which squeezed and pulled the ship’s hull. He also examined the magazines of several Enduraance crew members, along with some of Shekleton’s letters to his wife and other sailors.
In a new study published on Monday (October 6) in the journal Polar recordTukhkuri outlined some structural problems that could play a role in the death of energy. The ship had a relatively large engineering department, which was difficult to strengthen and, therefore, weakened most of the corps. And, unlike many other polar ships of that time, in endurance, diagonal beams were installed to support and strengthen its body.
The crew’s magazines also suggested that the loss of the steering wheel was not forced to plunge him. Perhaps this played a role, but the ship also received serious damage to its beams Sternpost, Keel, Hull and Deck, in a trap on ice.
“Even a simple structural analysis shows that the ship was not intended for ice conditions with a compressed package that ultimately sank it,” said Tukhkuri. “The danger of moving ice and compression – and how to design a ship for such conditions – was well understood before the ship sailed south. Therefore, we really should wonder why Shekleton chose a vessel that was not fortified for compressed ice. ”
Based on the records to the expedition, as indicated in the study, probably the decision of Shaklton was not made in ignorance. The letter of Sheklton, sent to his wife in 1914, visited that endurance was not as strong as other ships that he sailed for previous expeditions. And in 1911, he recommended adding diagonal supports to a polar ship called Deutschland, which continued to survive the same ice conditions that turned off the endurance. It is unclear why the same diagonal supports were not added to endurance before she went.
At the moment, the reasons for the decision of Sheklton to swim for endurance in the Antarctic ice package remain a mystery.
“We can assume about financial pressure or temporary restrictions, but the truth is that we will never know why Sheklton made a choice that he made,” said Tukhkuri. “At least now we have more specific results to reveal stories.”
