The later HMS Endurance represented the high point of Royal Navy polar capability in this account. She was a class-one icebreaker able to make three knots through ice up to one metre thick and carried two ice-modified Lynx helicopters in a double hangar. Flooding caused by an error during maintenance on a sea-suction strainer laid her up from 2009 and ultimately led to disposal. Her loss drove the purchase of a cheaper replacement with weaker ice and aviation capabilities, showing how an accident can reshape force structure for years.
Chapter · 2:29:42-2:34:39
The later HMS Endurance and the loss of a class-one icebreaker
The second Endurance paired one-metre icebreaking with two helicopter hangars before maintenance flooding ended her career.