built to take the rigors of extreme polar weather including being able to
withstand being frozen in the polar ice. It was known as the
"strongest vessel in the world."Sons of Norway FRAM Lodge 13 pays tribute to the famous Norwegian polar exploration ship, the Fram, our namesake.
The Fram was built in Norway and launched in 1892. This 3-masted
schooner (with auxiliary steam engine) was built specifically for polar
exploration. It was designed and
built to take the rigors of extreme polar weather including being able to
withstand being frozen in the polar ice. It was known as the
"strongest vessel in the world."
It was used in the following important expeditions:
The 1893-96 Arctic expedition led by Fridtjof Nansen where the Fram was allowed to become frozen into the ice near the New Siberian Islands. The ice floe drifted westwards with the Flam. This lengthy excursion supported the theory of a westward current and because of this, the "Fram" became known throughout the world.
The 1898-1902 Arctic expedition led by Otto Sverdrup. This expedition "intended to explore the northernmost tip of Green-land, but the ice was too thick for the 'Fram' to sail through the narrow sound between Greenland and Ellesmere Island." Instead it lay at anchor in various fjords in Ellesmere Island serving as a base camp for many important sled expeditions.
The 1910-12 Antarctic expedition led by the noted Roald Amundsen, this being the famous expedition where Amundsen became the first to reach the south pole. Accompanying Amundsen on this historic trip to the south pole were were 4 of his Norwegian crew, Bjaaland, Hanssen, Hassel and Wisting (Oskar Wisting's son Reidar would later become an early member of Eureka's Fram Lodge No. 13 - Roald Amundsen would visit Eureka & the Lodge c. 1925 - find his photo in Historical Album 3!). During this voyage south, the Fram also explored the Antarctic Ocean.
Because of these expeditions, the Fram also became know as "the ship which had sailed the furthest north and the furthest south." After a period of disuse, the Fram was restored and preserved in a large A-frame building on the Bygdøy Peninsula in Oslo. This is the popular Fram Museum which is open to the public today.
The Wikipedia article on the Fram can be accessed by CLICKING HERE. For photos, videos and information on the Fram Museum's web site see: http://www.fram.museum.no/
The photos of the Museum were take by Fram Lodge members, Peg & Keith Wheeler, during their summer 2000 visit to Norway (click to enlarge):
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| The Fram Museum enclosing the polar exploration vessel | Another polar exploration vessel, Gjøa, in front of the Fram Museum | Aboard the Fram | Looking up from the deck of the Fram toward the peak of this A-frame building |