What was the Fram?

A Norwegian, Fritdjof Nansen, had the idea of building a ship that would be lifted up by the pressure of ice forming around it. It would then drift northwards with the floes, where no ship had ever been before. His famous ship the Fram was the result. He sailed it to northern Siberia and it drifted exactly as he had planned. In the spring of 1895 he left the ship to try and reach the Pole overland, but was unsuccessful. Incredibly, he met another expedition and returned to Norway in their ship, the Windward. A week later he learned that the Fram, as strong as ever, had, in fact, managed to break free of the ice which had imprisoned her for nearly three years and was homeward bound.