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USS Glacier (AGB-4)
Encyclopedia
USS Glacier (AGB-4) (later USCGC Glacier (WAG/WAGB-4)) is the historic Glacier class icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
which served in the first through fifteenth Operation Deep Freeze
Operation Deep Freeze
Operation Deep Freeze is the codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on...
expeditions. Glacier was first icebreaker to make her way through the frozen Bellingshausen Sea
Bellingshausen Sea
The Bellingshausen Sea is an area along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, west of Alexander Island, east of Cape Flying Fish on Thurston Island, and south of Peter I Island . In the south are, from west to east, Eights Coast, Bryan Coast and English Coast of West Antarctica...
, and most of the topography in the area is named for her crewmembers. When built, Glacier had the largest capacity single armature DC motors ever installed on a ship. Glacier was capable of breaking ice up to 20 feet (6.1 m) thick, and of continuous breaking of 4 feet (1.2 m) thick ice at 3 knots (1.6 m/s).
Named for Glacier Bay
Glacier Bay
Glacier Bay Basin in southeastern Alaska, United States, encompasses the Glacier Bay and surrounding mountains and glaciers, which was first proclaimed a U.S. National Monument on February 25, 1925 and which was later, on Dec...
, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, the USS Glacier (AGB-4) was launched on 27 August 1954 at Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Ingalls Shipbuilding is a shipyard located in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA, originally established in 1938, and is now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries...
Corp., Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Pascagoula is a city in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. It is the principal city of the Pascagoula, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area, as a part of the Gulfport–Biloxi–Pascagoula, Mississippi Combined Statistical Area. The population was 26,200 at the 2000 census...
, sponsored by Mrs. Roscoe F. Good; and commissioned on 27 May 1955, CDR. E .H. Mayer USN, Commanding. The Glacier class icebreaker was similar to the Wind class icebreakers, but longer and more powerful. Glacier is the only icebreaker
Icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller vessels .For a ship to be considered an icebreaker, it requires three traits most...
built in the Glacier class, remains the only icebreaker to serve in the United States Navy, and is the single remaining diesel-electric (DC) powered icebreaker. Glacier was in U.S. Navy service for 11 years, and U.S. Coast Guard service for 21 years.
Antarctic operations, 1955–1960
Glaciers shakedown cruise and maiden voyage were combined in in "Operation Deep Freeze I", as flagship for RADM Richard E. ByrdRichard Evelyn Byrd
Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...
USN, Ret. Her first encounter with the ice was in December 1955, breaking through the Ross Ice Pack, she carved out an ice harbor in Kainan Bay to allow the discharge of cargo from vessels at the site for Little America V. Glacier continued 400 nautical miles (740.8 km) west to break ice into an off-loading site to establish the U.S. Naval Air Facility at McMurdo Sound
McMurdo Sound
The ice-clogged waters of Antarctica's McMurdo Sound extend about 55 km long and wide. The sound opens into the Ross Sea to the north. The Royal Society Range rises from sea level to 13,205 feet on the western shoreline. The nearby McMurdo Ice Shelf scribes McMurdo Sound's southern boundary...
. In March 1956, Glacier explored the Weddell Sea
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and contains the Weddell Gyre. Its land boundaries are defined by the bay formed from the coasts of Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. The easternmost point is Cape Norvegia at Princess Martha Coast, Queen Maud Land. To the east of Cape Norvegia is...
. Glacier then surveyed Vincennes Bay
Vincennes Bay
Vincennes Bay is a large V-shaped bay, 105 km wide at its entrance between Cape Nutt and Cape Folger in Antarctica, marked by several large, steep glaciers near its head, lying along Knox and Budd Coasts. Photographed from the air by USN OpHjp, 1946-47...
in Wilkes Land
Wilkes Land
Wilkes Land is a large district of land in eastern Antarctica, formally claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, though the validity of this claim has been placed for the period of the operation of the Antarctic Treaty, to which Australia is a signatory...
and made the first landing in history on the Princess Martha
Princess Martha Coast
Princess Martha Coast is that portion of the coast of Queen Maud Land lying between 05° E and the terminus of Stancomb-Wills Glacier, at 20° W. The entire coastline is bounded by ice shelves with ice cliffs 20 to 35 m high....
and Princess Astrid
Princess Astrid Coast
Princess Astrid Coast is that portion of the coast of Queen Maud Land lying between 5° and 20° E. The entire coast is bordered by ice shelves. Discovered by Capt. H. Halvorsen of the Sevilla in March 1931 and named for Princess Astrid of Norway....
coasts. Glacier returned to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, her home port, on 6 May 1956 after these accomplishments.
The ship returned to McMurdo Sound on 28 October 1956 for "Deep Freeze II", having made the earliest seasonal penetration in history. Glacier then delivered stores and supplies at McMurdo
McMurdo
McMurdo may refer to:*Archibald McMurdo , British naval officer**McMurdo Station, a station at the southern tip of Ross Island in Antarctica***The South Pole Traverse, also known as the McMurdo – South Pole highway...
and then Little America, she led seven other ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy
Royal New Zealand Navy
The Royal New Zealand Navy is the maritime arm of the New Zealand Defence Force...
(RNZN) through the ice pack to the two Antarctic bases. In January 1957 she led two cargo ships into Vincennes Bay where the last of the seven American bases for the International Geophysical Year
International Geophysical Year
The International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...
was to be constructed. Glacier departed Wilkes Station on 17 February 1957 for the United States via Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
when the operation was completed.
During "Deep Freeze III" and the IGY of 1957-58, Glacier participated as a launching platform for "rockoon
Rockoon
A rockoon is a solid fuel sounding rocket that, rather than being immediately lit while on the ground, is first carried into the upper atmosphere by a gas-filled balloon, then separated from the balloon and automatically ignited...
" tests during which balloon-lifted rockets gathered information of interest to the "Explorer" space satellite program
Explorer program
The Explorer program is a United States space exploration program that provides flight opportunities for physics, heliophysics, and astrophysics investigations from space. Over 90 space missions have been launched from 1958 to 2011, and it is still active...
. Additionally, Glacier continued her usual icebreaking and escort duties, and conducted oceanographic surveys in the Ross Sea
Ross Sea
The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land.-Description:The Ross Sea was discovered by James Ross in 1841. In the west of the Ross Sea is Ross Island with the Mt. Erebus volcano, in the east Roosevelt Island. The southern part is covered...
.
In the summer of 1958, Glacier provided ice-escort for "Operation Sunec" for the resupply of North Polar
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
radar and weather stations. By November 1958, however, she was again near the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
at McMurdo Sound, and after resupplying the base, steamed to Little America V to begin the station deactivation. Subsequently, while operating in the Terra Nova Bay
Terra Nova Bay
Terra Nova Bay is a bay which is often ice free, about long, lying between Cape Washington and the Drygalski Ice Tongue along the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica....
on the coast of Victoria Land
Victoria Land
Victoria Land is a region of Antarctica bounded on the east by the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea and on the west by Oates Land and Wilkes Land. It was discovered by Captain James Clark Ross in January 1841 and named after the UK's Queen Victoria...
, she discovered two unknown islands and what was likely the largest Emperor Penguin
Emperor Penguin
The Emperor Penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in height and weighing anywhere from . The dorsal side and head are black and sharply delineated from the white belly,...
rookery
Rookery
A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally birds. A rook is a Northern European and Central Asian member of the crow family, which nest in prominent colonies at the tops of trees. The term is applied to the nesting place of birds, such as crows and rooks, the source of the term...
in the Antarctic, home of over 50,000 of the large birds. Glacier then sped to the assistance of the Belgian expedition ship RV Polarhav near Breid Bay, halfway around the Antarctic continent from the Ross Sea.
For "Operation Deep Freeze 5" in 1959–1960, Galcier sailed to McMurdo and then on an exploration of the Bellingshausen Sea
Bellingshausen Sea
The Bellingshausen Sea is an area along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, west of Alexander Island, east of Cape Flying Fish on Thurston Island, and south of Peter I Island . In the south are, from west to east, Eights Coast, Bryan Coast and English Coast of West Antarctica...
. In late February 1960 Glacier raced to assist Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy
The Navy of the Argentine Republic or Armada of the Argentine Republic is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force....
icebreaker ARA General San Martín
José de San Martín
José Francisco de San Martín, known simply as Don José de San Martín , was an Argentine general and the prime leader of the southern part of South America's successful struggle for independence from Spain.Born in Yapeyú, Corrientes , he left his mother country at the...
and Danish cargo ship MV Kista Dan. When this rescue mission was accomplished, Glacier sailed to Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
Brazil, and provided emergency assistance to flooded areas there, she then got underway for Boston, Massachusetts on 17 April 1960.
Antarctic operations, 1960–1966
The icebreaker departed Boston Massachusetts on 13 October 1960 on her sixth Antarctic voyage and reached Lyttelton, New ZealandLyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....
on 21 November 1960 to unload cargo. Most of December 1960 was spent in breaking a 21 nautical miles (38.9 km) channel through McMurdo Sound to open the way for supply ships. Glacier returned to Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
New Zealand for repairs, and to receive the U.S. Navy Unit Commendation
Navy Unit Commendation
The Navy Unit Commendation of the United States Navy is an award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944...
for her Bellingshausen Sea
Bellingshausen Sea
The Bellingshausen Sea is an area along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, west of Alexander Island, east of Cape Flying Fish on Thurston Island, and south of Peter I Island . In the south are, from west to east, Eights Coast, Bryan Coast and English Coast of West Antarctica...
expedition success. She then returned to the Amundsen
Amundsen Sea
The Amundsen Sea is an arm of the Southern Ocean off Marie Byrd Land in western Antarctica. It is bounded by Cape Flying Fish, the northwestern tip of Thurston Island to the east and Cape Dart on Siple Island to the west. East of Cape Flying Fish starts the Bellingshausen Sea. West of Cape Dart is...
and Bellingshausen Seas on another expedition. Oceanographic work continued until March 1961 when she sailed for Boston Massachusetts; arriving on 27 April 1961.
Underway again on 8 October 1961 for "Deep Freeze 62", she loaded cargo at Lyttelton, New Zealand in early November 1961 and entered the Ross Sea
Ross Sea
The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land.-Description:The Ross Sea was discovered by James Ross in 1841. In the west of the Ross Sea is Ross Island with the Mt. Erebus volcano, in the east Roosevelt Island. The southern part is covered...
ice pack on 13 November 1961, reaching McMurdo Sound
McMurdo Sound
The ice-clogged waters of Antarctica's McMurdo Sound extend about 55 km long and wide. The sound opens into the Ross Sea to the north. The Royal Society Range rises from sea level to 13,205 feet on the western shoreline. The nearby McMurdo Ice Shelf scribes McMurdo Sound's southern boundary...
by the end of the month. After repairs at Wellington, New Zealand, Glacier returned to McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
and to the site of Little America V for cartographic studies. She returned to New Zealand on 6 March 1962 and then put in at Boston Massachusetts on 5 May 1962 after steaming 36000 nautical miles (66,672 km).
Glacier stood out of Boston Massachusetts on 17 September 1962 for "Deep Freeze 63", entering the pack ice on 6 November 1962 and reaching the edge of the bay ice of McMurdo Sound a week later. Glacier sustained minor damage in the thick ice and proceeded to Wellington for repairs. On 31 December 1962, Glacier cut through through McMurdo Sound enroute to McMurdo Station. She continued operations off McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
through 1965. Her diverse duties included keeping the channel open for supply ships. On 29 December 1965, US Ships Atka
USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280)
USCGC Southwind was a Wind-class icebreaker that served in the United States Coast Guard as USCGC Southwind , the Soviet Navy as the Admiral Makarov, the United States Navy as USS Atka and again in the U.S...
and Burton Island
USCGC Burton Island (WAGB-283)
USS Burton Island was a United States Navy that was later re-commissioned in the United States Coast Guard as the United States Coast Guard Cutter Burton Island ....
assisted her in pushing an iceberg out of the shipping lane. After further participation in her 11th "Operation Deep Freeze", Glacier returned to her home port, Boston, Massachusetts, in the late spring of 1966. On 1 July 1966, Glacier was struck from the Navy List
Naval Vessel Register
The Naval Vessel Register is the official inventory of ships and service craft in custody of or titled by the United States Navy. It contains information on ships and service craft that make up the official inventory of the Navy from the time a vessel is authorized through its life cycle and...
, the day after her transfer to the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
.
Coast Guard operations, 1966–1987
Prior to her transfer to the U.S. Coast Guard, Glacier had her smaller armament removed. In 1969, the 5-inch guns were also removed. Only M2 Browning machine guns, M60 machine gunM60 machine gun
The M60 is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links...
s and small arms were retained for law enforcement purposes. During 1973, she and her helicopters were painted red for improved Arctic visibility.
Decommissioning
Following 29 AntarcticAntarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
and 10 Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
deployments, Glacier was decommissioned in 1987. She is currently under the control of the U.S. Maritime Administration, located in the U.S. Naval Reserve Fleet, Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary at in northern California, USA. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, forming the entrance to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta...
, on the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The Glacier Society saved Glacier from the scrapyard in 2000, and plans to convert the ship into a hospital/research vessel.