Glacier (WAGB 4) - Naval Cruise Book

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Next was Deep Freeze 61 (196061). my sixth voyage to the Antarctic region. I departed Boston October 13. 1960. and arrived in Lyttefton. NZ on November 21. There I took on supplies destined lor the Antarctic bases, including sev- eral tons of explosives and construction materials for use at the proposed nuclear reactor site at McMurdo Base. Most of December was spent breaking a 21-mile channel through the fast ice of McMurdo Sound opening the way to the base for supply shqis. On December 24. upon the arrival of the smaller Wnd class icebreakers. I departed McMurdo for Lyttleton and then Wellington for drydockmg and repass, which included the usual replacement of my propeller blades broken during channel operations. During my stay in Wellington. I received a rare peacetime award the Navy Unit Commendation. This award was for my Bellingshausen achievement of Deep Freeze 60 as part of Task Unii 43.13. How rice my crew looked at the full dress ceremony, we were all very proud We departed Wellington January 29. 1961. enroute to the .Amundsen Sea area to rendezvous with my cousin USS STATES ISLAND | AGB-5 and commence an exploratory expedition into the frozen Amundsen and Bell- ingshausen Seas. The coast of Thurston Peninsula was sighted on February 6. and 1 headed into the Bellingshausen Seas. The coast of Thurston Peninsula was sighted on Feb- ruary 6. and I headed into the Bellingshausen. During Deep Freeze 60. if you remember. I had penetrated this ice4Illed sea. but this time I went still farther making observations and charting coastlines along the icebound Eights Coast putting scientists ashore where no man had stepped before. On February 11. I finally reached the eastern extremity, where my helicopters by chance spotted the University of Wisconsin ' s Ellsworth Highland Traverse, just completing its overland trek from Byrd Station to a site on the Eights Coast The meeting of the two expeditions ' leaders onboard commemorated a significant although unexpected, rendez- vous in Antarctic history. On March 23. having completed the season ' s operations, I beaded for the ports of Montevi- deo. PJo de Janeffo. and San Juan arriving home on .April 27. where 1 underwent repair and overhaul, spending most of the summer months in the Boston Naval Ship} nard Early faQ found me on my way to my seventh .Antarctic operation as a member of DF 62. Transiting the Panama Canal on October 14 I took a direct route to Lyttleton arriv- ing November 3 There I took on fuel and tons of cargo des- tined for Antarctic bases. Left Leytelton November 9. and entered the belt of pack ice gating the continent where 1 rendezvoused with a tanker, cargo vesseL and two smaller icebreakers. I led them through TOO rrdes of ice sometimes five to seven feet thick, arriving at McMurdo Sound on November 18. I then began breaking the earliest channel ever attempted in Deep Freeze history, progressing at the rate of two miles a day. On November 27. with a 16 mile channel broken through the ice I towed the tanker and cargo vessel to the mooring sites along side the ice shelf for offloading. This was the earliest date that supply ships had ever been able to reach and off load at McMurdo Base Returning to Wellington I entered drydock for replacement of my badly damaged propellers, my repetitive casualties of my annual battle with the ice of McMurdo Sound Drydock- ing also gave my bruised bottom a chance to rest Crunch- ing ice is like walking on graveL it smarts — believe me!! Getting my blades dinged up or ripped off doesn ' t exactly tickle either! How would you like getting one or two toes yanked off your foot even - year — know what I mean?? ADM Arieigh A. Bute. USV Chief of Nasal Operasons is presented witfi a plaque by a Belgian Officer while attending operation SHAPEX iff at Camp VoiuceauL near Paris. France, in June I960. The plaque, which win be deli- vered to the LSS GLACIER I AGB-4). commemorates ai ship ' s relief of fte Belgian Antarctic Exped on in February 1939L

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Let ' s see, what next? It ' s been a long time since anyone asked me to try and recollect. Oh yes! During Deep Freeze III, the IGY of 1957-58, I played icebreaker aircraft carrier, acting as a launching platform for extensive rockoon tests under the direction of Dr. James Van Allen, during which balloon-lifted rockets gained information useful to the Explorer satellite program. While assisting with these tests, 1 proceeded with my normal icebreaking, escorting ships and breaking channel into Little America, and conducting ocean- graphic studies in the Ross Sea Upon completion of my tour , I had broken out a record 26 million tons of ice. In December 1957, I received my third Commanding Officer at Little America in what is believed to have been the southern- most change of command afloat in the history of the U.S. Navy. After returning home, the summer of 1958, (I had been nick-named — Mighty G — by this time), found me venturing to the opposite end of the earth to participate in Operation SUNEC; the resupply of the North Polar radar and weather stations. While returning from Thule AFB Greenland, I rammed another uncharted shoal (Ouchee!), necessitating drydocking and overhaul of my bottom upon return to Bos- ton; having made my second boo-boo in three years. Oh well, — pobody ' s nerfect, whyht? Anyway, Deep Freeze IV (1958-59), which marked the end of the IGY programs, found me once agin the first ship penetrating the ice-pack. Following the resupply of McMurdo Station, I proceeded to Little America V to begin the de-acti- vation of that station. Then, while operating in the Terra Nova Bay area off the coast of Victoria Land, I conducted oceanographic studies; discovering two previously uncharted islands, and possibly the largest Emperor penguin rookery in the Antarctic! The rookery was home for more than 50,000 of these large penguins. (PHEW!! Know what I mean??) I discovered the disappearance of over 1,000 square miles of the Lady Newness Ice Shelf since it was first charted in 1912. I also became stranded for the first time for four days in the ice of Terra Nova Bay with a 10 degree list, a blade missing from each propeller, other blades damaged, and my starboard shaft bearing burned out; before finally being able to break free and head for Wellington, New Zealand, and 21 days of drydocking. Upon returning to the Ross Sea area, an unexpected mission came up which cut short my exploring curriculum for the season. That was the assistance I gave the Belgian Expedition ship POLARHAV near Breid Bay, halfway around the Antarctic continent from me. Upon completion of this goodwill mission, I headed for South America and the long trip home. With the United States con- tinuing its scientific programs in the Antarctic, I made Deep Freeze 1960 and the following annual Antarctic Operations; which became identified from then on by fiscal year, rather than by Roman numerals. They told me that during the IGY Years I - IV, U.S. participation had average 44 aircraft, 10 ships, and 4200 personnel each year. I feel pretty good about having been a part of that important era of Antarctic history. Let ' s see, to get back to Deep Freeze 60 (1959-60), that was the Navy ' s fifth Antarctic support operation. Once again I went into McMurdo, and followed that by the first explora- tion and penetration of the Bellingshausen Sea area I recorded depth soundings and collected oceanographic and cartographic data in the vicinity of Thurston Peninsula, and along the ice shelf of the Eights Coast; as well as setting up an automatic weather station on Noville Peninsula In late February, I was called uppon to assist the Argentine ice- breaker GENERAL SAN MARTIN and the Danish ship KISTA DAN. Both ships were beset in ice in the vicinity of Marguer- ite Bay along the Palmer Peninsula The GENERAL SAN MARTIN managed to free herself, but it was necessary for me to free the KISTA DAN from the ice trap and escort her to open water, — my first rescue mission! On my way home I stopped at Buenos Aires, Argentina and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Here my crew learned that a major flood had occurred in northeastern Brazil, so we departed Rio and proceeded to the distressed area to assist the flood victims. We spent two weeks in the Fortaleza and Pamaiba, Brazil area; using my helicopters and two LCVP ' s to aid in the flood relief program; then we proceeded homeward arriving in Boston April 20. That was an exciting Deep Freeze - I thought.

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The USS GIACIER (AGB-4) opening up the channel of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica during Operation Deep Freeze 63. ■ • • v. A ». Are you sure I ' m not boring you? I ' m trying to give you just some of the high-lights without going into too much detail. Why d on ' t you get another cup of coffee before I continue? There; — better? Okay now, where did I leave off? Oh, yes. We departed New Zealand ' s capital January 3, and spent a week at Port Lyttelton provisioning before returning to the ice at McMurdo to take aboard observers and special personnel trained in Antarctic research. On January 21, I steamed independently from McMurdo on a voyage of sur- vey and exploration along the Ross Ice Shelf, and the little- town coast of Marie Byrd Land. During the latter half of the month, a survey of 400 miles of the shelf was completed. While confirming charts of the Marie Byrd Land coast and carrying out hydrographic work, events a thousand miles away brought an end to my scientific endeavors on Febru- ary 5. The fast ice at McMurdo had begun to break out, threatening equipment and cargo still in the process of being transferred from offloading sites to McMurdo Station. On February 9 I was back at McMurdo, the voyage of explo- ration, however, it achieved some highly significant results; namely, the plotting of over 1,000 miles of shoreline from 167 E to 130 W. I remained at McMurdo most of February to assist with the mooring of other ships, provide helicopter support, and aid in the preparation for the seasonal evacua- tion of the station. Finally on February 28, I took on cargo and passengers for the return trip to New Zealand. Arriving there March 6, we received word that my services would be required for yet another mission in the ice. Boy, was my crew ticked; we were supposed to head for home! It was reported that the vessel REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA resupplying the South African scientific station on the Prin- cess Martha coast of Antarctica ' s Queen Maud Land, was caught in the ice with a damaged propeller. More than half- way around the Antarctic continent from McMurdo, the ship was unable to free herself from the thick ice. On March 8, the South African government made an official request for U.S. icebreaker assistance, and I received my orders to — GO!. Looking back, I guess my reputation as Mighty G had become world-wide. Anyway, off I went on March 15 for the long 5,400 mile journey to the stricken ship. While halfway there, on March 22, the South African ship informed us that the ice had broken up. The next day, word was re- ceived that the ship had freed herself and was progres- sing northward to open water. Our rescue mission was terminated, we turned toward Capetown, South Africa, arriving April 2. I was escorted into port by the South African Navy and received a fly-over from their Air Force. The South African government and citizenry of Capetown did everything possible to make our visit a happy, interesting, and rewarding experience for my crew. I in turn, had open house , with more than a thousand persons visiting me for guided tours. Depar- ting April 5, we then visited Rio de Janeiro and San Juan before completing my around the world voyage which was a neat trip, even if we did get back later than planned. Mighty G (name does sort of grow on you, doesn ' t it?) turned right around and departed September 17 for the eighth season of Antarctic operations (1962-63). We tran- sited the Panama Canal September 28, and arrived in Lyttel- ton on October 21 for 11 days of final preparations, before heading for the continent on November 2. By the 14th 1 had reached the fast ice and was breaking a channel into McMurdo Station, 63 miles farther south. Upon completion of that job, it was back to Wellington (Yeeeah!) for drydock- ing and my annual new blades. Upon completion of repairs, I returned to McMurdo to tow cargo ships to their offloading sites. Due to the unusually heavy ice conditions in