Burton Island (AGB 1) - Naval Cruise Book

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i f I rf k WHICH WAY IS THE N BERING SEA CLUB? T x wwf UAS. BURTON ISLAND -:1:,,E.,. L4 E 1 , H-, .. -M- ,, ,,.... '-s-q--- ' ,,- -.-...-:S H ., Nxhslf. .... '-T , - '- A,4.,1i.-- f -4+ , ?-af-- ' , ,... 'fr .... ...- . A ., ..........-- R GIVE ME LIBERTY-OR GIVE ME DEATH! 't ...i.,,.,, T f X? ENE., -LT.?---- .W v V , 'gn ' 4 ' -' I T- ..,.. . ' 7.6-.,,,,,.- ....,....... ,-., ,,--,E 'E A - A THE MEN THAT KEPT Us IN 5 A A HXING SPIRITS I his A f 1 x . HOME AWAY FROM HOME

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BERING SEA EXPEDITION On Tuesday 5 April at 1812 hours the BURTON ISLAND em barked from the North Island Naval Arr Statlon fuel pier ln San Dleoo The annual sprin cruise was now under way The purpose of the expedltlon this year was to cgnduct an oceanographic survey 1n the Bering Sea durlng the spring break up of the ICB to study the 106 coverage from which future predlc tions on ICC and weather could be made and to test the various pieces of equipment under cllmatlc conditions found during th1s period On 19 April the BURTON ISLAND steamed through Unimak Pass into the Bering Sea after having relieved the Coast Guard icebreaker NORTHWIND at Dutch Harbor 1n the Aleu trans On 27 May after spend1n the major portion of our sprlng operation in the Berlng Sea we again sailed through Un1mak Pass en route home to Long Beach our home port While operatmg north of the Aleutians the BURTON ISLAND proceeded under lnstructions from the U S Hydrographic Office Under these orders the ship salled west to the International Date Line east to the Yukon Delta 'area and up to w1th1n 20 mlles of King Island on the north Ice cond1t1ons prevented any further northerly progress The 1ce was heavier covered more water surface and had more snow on It than the year previous when the BURTON ISLAND reached Pt Barrow ln May Snow on the 106 reduced the lmpact of the shlp on the 1ce and with a broken propeller resultmg from trying to back out of the 1ce when beset the shlp just could not reach King Island With one engine out of commission completely and another not operatmg properly the BURTON ISLAND then headed south toward Un1mak and home where she would be made ready for the big summer operatlon to the Beaufort Sea It was a happy occaslon whenf on Monday morning 6 June at 0711 the BURTON ISLAND t1ed up at the pler ln San Diego, greeted by the wives and sweethearts who drove down early from Long Beach What are our memories? There are many to relate, all of which will afford topics for conversatlon whenever sea stories are told There will be the story of the race with the polar bear, a race which the bear won hands down. There are the parties on the ice off Nome, where we were beset for a few days in very heavy ice, and where we had to replace a helicopteris engine before it could be returned to the ship. But to all of us, especially those of us who were making the trip for the first time, the greatest memories will be those of the vast sea of ice, white and brilliant, and from 6-8 feet thick, of the rolling seas that made many of us weary, and the beautiful Easter morning in the inland passage. It was there that we found ourselves in the arms of nature, so happy to be alive.

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IINCOMING MAILI MAIL CALL Nothing seemed to raise the morale of the BURTON ISLANDERS like MAIL CALL. So when mail was missent to a forward area, to which the BURTON ISLAND was not scheduled to reach, the men felt mighty low to say the least. For about six weeks we seemed shut offn from the world outside, and when mail finally began to reach us we eagerly anticipated its arrival. On the spring cruise mail was deliveredfrom Kodiak and dropped by parachute on the ice. It was brought aboard by helicopter or human-dog teams. On the spring cruise we had the thrill of seeing a plane pick up two bags of mail from the ice by means of a special rigging. On the summer expe- dition mail was taken off at Barterlsland or, at Pt. Bar- row, and mail was brought on board at the same sites by helicopter and by boat. Those were joyous occasions, and even though some mail arrived ahead of that sent days earli- er, it made for good reading and gave us more food for thought. 4 wks A ' ' .. - MAIL DROP RETRIEVING MAIL BY FOOT! RETRIEVING MAIL BY HELICOPTER