Burton Island (AGB 1) - Naval Cruise Book

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IN PORT At Long Beach Naval Shipyard the yardworkers and crew simultaneously repair the damage of the last cruise and pre- pare for the next one. Frame damage is common due to the tremendous stress the hull is subjected to in the ice. Some- times a propellar blade, broken off in the ice, needs replacing, 'invariably in drydock the hull is sandblasted and receives a protective coating in preparation for the coming Arctic cruise. Though cruise damage accounts for part of the yard work, most of the shipyard activity on the BURTON ISLAND, like all Navy ships, is devoted to changes designed to improve something or to experiment. A portable reefer is added to provide a better storing space for the spuds than the open deck of the fantail. A hanger is constructed by the shipis force to give the helicopters protection. An icebox is brought on board by the scientists for the novel purpose of preserving ice samples. Countless seemingly unrelated tasks are being carried out to make this trip a better one than the last. In April, prior to loading, Captain T. D. Jacobs came aboard to award the ship a plaque for excellency in her class in competitive exercises held during the previous year. Later in the month the ship headed for San Diego to pick up the UDT and helicopter detachment that were to rwamm A make the trip. The following July the ship was again in San Diego for the same purpose, the Spring Cruise had TSM been successfully completed, and the gears were in mo- tion preparing for the Summer Cruise. The ship spent one month in port between the Spring and Summer cruises. N

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l I I i 1 i HISTORY AND CHARACTERISTICS The U. S. S. BURTON ISLAND CAGB-15 is one of seven icebreakers built by the Western Pipe and Steel Company of San Pedro, California. The Coast Guard now possesses three of these icebreakers in the EASTWIND, the WESTWIND, and the NORTHWIND. The U. S. S. BURTON ISLAND is the only Navy icebreaker on the West Coast, the Coast Guard ship NORTHWIND accompanies her on many northern cruises. The sister ships of the BURTON ISLAND, the EDISTO KAGB-25, the ATKA QAGB-31, and the STATEN ISLAND CAGB-53, are stationed on the,East Coast and operate in the vicinity of Greenland. The Navy will place a new icebreaker, the U. S. S. GLACIER, in commission -in the near future. Admiral Byrd called these ships the toughest ships in the world, and they certainly are. The BURTON ISLAND is named after a small island on the Atlantic Coast of Delaware. Since commissioning in De- cember 1946, she has taken part in two Antarctic Expeditions, and since 1948 shefhas made two trips annually to the Arctic. As a part of the Beaufort Sea Expedition 1954 the USS BURTON ISLAND can take pride in the following- dispatch: The historic cruise of your Arctic pioneers adds a glorious new chapter to the annals of the Far North x CincPacFlt extends a hearty well done. In 1952 the crew of the BURTON ISLAND had a cruise book that ended with this sentence. There is still much work ahead for us and our ship, but that will begin another storyf' This then will be that other story. Duty aboard an icebreaker is like serving on every type of ship in the Navy at once. She does the work of a Service Force vessel, has the flightndeck of an aircraft carrier, the draft and armor of a battleship, the handling and characteris- tics of a motor launch, the power of a sea-going tug, the roll of a destroyer, and the battering power of the old Monitor, Two helicopters are carried on board to scout ahead of the ship for leads in the ice pack, and demolition experts go along on expeditions to blast the way clear in the event the ship gets stuck in the .ice. Civilian scientists from the United States Navy Electronics Laboratory and other United States and Canadian government agencies usually participate in the expedi- tions for the collection of oceanographic and hydrographic data from the remote areas that are visited. Logically enough Navy weathermen and clothing research officers have had occasion to make the trip in the past. The BURTON ISLAND has pioneered winter operations in the frozen Bering Sea between Russia and Alaska. When the ship arrived off Nome unannounced in February 1949, the people of that small Arctic city could hardly believe their eyes. No ship had ever been there in winter. It was hailed as 'cthe biggest event in Nome since the gold rush. In the Spring Cruise of 1954 the ship made another record when she reached Point Barrow in May, the earliest any ship had ever reached that most northern point of land belonging to the United States. During the summer months the BURTON ISLAND usually operates north of Alaska in the Arctic Ocean where the ice never melts. Supply ships are escorted through the ice to Point Bar.row in May, the earliest any ship had ever reached that most northern point of land belonging to the United States. During the summer months the BURTON ISLAND usually operates north of Alaska in the Arctic Ocean where the ice never melts. Supply ships are escorted through the ice to Point Barrow. The BURTON ISLAND has also explored east of Point Barrow and well north into the permanent ice pack where the seals and polar bears make their homes. No other U. S. naval vessel has ever penetrated along the north coast to a point east of the Alaska-Canada boundary. No regular charts are in existence covering the area north of Canada's Mackenzie River as the probability of ships operating there is so small. In add'ition to this, very little is known of the area. It was long felt that an icebreaker could probably negotiate the long-sought-after uNorthwest Passage during the most favorable period of a normal summer. In this summer of 1954 the Joint Canadian-United States Beaufort Sea Expedition attained the historic passage across the roof on the North Amer- ican Continent. The BURTON ISLAND played her part. The BURTON ISLAND is not a small ship as she displaces over six thousand tons in spite of her short length of 268 feet. She draws 27 feet, the approximate draft of a cruiser, and is 63 feet wide. Icebreakers are notorious for their poor riding qualities in an open sea. The -ship has rolled as much as 65 degrees during winter storms in the Gulf of Alaska and in the roaring forties enroute to Antarctica. Once the ship is in the ice, however, she 'rides like the Queen Mary , and the men never tire of manning the rail on the forecastle to watch the blunt bow crush the oncoming floes. During a cruise the BURTON ISLAND carries approximately 280 men, that figure includes the regular complement of 220 men plus scientists and TAD personnel. The underwater demolition team and the helicopter detachment are assigned to the ship for the duration of the cruise only. The BURTON ISLAND has a doctor and a dentist permanently attached due to the unusual operating area and conditions. Work on board is plentiful, and on an expedition mail comes aboard infrequently. 'Liberty in an Eskimo village or on a floating ice floe is always a possibility. Icebreaker duty presents one of the little-known facets of Navy work, and it proves enjoyable to men who have a spirit of adventure and are tough enough to take this rigorous duty.

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