Staten Island (AGB 5) - Naval Cruise Book

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HISTORY STATEN ISLAND, a Hind class ice breaker weighing over 6,000 tons is 269 feet long and 63 feet wide. She was constructed of individually formed steel plating up to one inch thick, in San Pedro, California. where the keel was laid in 1942. When ready for sea in 1944 she was designated as Lend Lease material and wa: loaned to the Soviet Union. To the Russians she became Sei.erng.' Yeter , S 'R F, Q -QMVW i .X Fr 1 1 ,.K 1 , meaning North Wind . Her aeeignrtfent was with the Northern Sea Router- C'uninnnd where Qhe Qerved until 1951, when -he '.-.ae rfftumefi to the lfniteii States in a ceremony at Brerrgr-rh-lien. fiwrnfiny. Six officers and aixtf. fixf- enlurf-fl re: were her crow as Hhf- :milf-ri inui Bfwtun In he r--fun-iitii1n+-'i and comnii:-isinnf-fi into tif- VA. Yu.-. -ie VISXTPIN lSl.1NU. llvr hfintf- port '.-.fu lin-4:-fri iirifxi T955 when Hin- vin-1 trnn-ffl-rr'-fl rn S---i'tii', Wi-is 'tw Since H952 FTXTIQN l4l.'lNli F1-1 ii --'- 1 1 ti im' of the Xrvtir' 'wifi Xnr-irf :A- It?'T:,' ti'-'-. Hn tlif-sw Yfly7lf'4'4 fhr- hw- !'lJY'fl'iifTl7, 'i i -'-wilt? of knovslwlggc- tn the fivlfi- uf lizf1i+i,'i,, ilf'+ t'l-i,'!'fi.' 0, Urniti'ifrln3gy, Q4'ir4flI'lill4':., lll.'irw.'rii:i'f., fi-afif,-., flnfi nth'-r gf-ug'r'ipi.if'-il fvivn if -. ii--it :wx 'i'- wf' 'Hr ' thc- job, ,-:iw hw-1 f'Ilf1lPif 4' ii-riil-i 'im -ii '-'e vf f'r-1:-521' :lnfi pliulfiyrfipixlf- lwimriif-ir'i+-+ -ir' ii-i arf. fiuliifnfi 'Hifi NN+'ii'fll wif fi'-' F:-f' iwiii r. 1- unions! S'liX'l'if'N lSl.XNl - i'ff'f-. 'ln F' firii will finii :L uwirz'gilf'f-- iii-nirx, :turf-, i fullrlifiin, pu-if offi :'f- , iwfii-P -illri, 'r'i'tiia'j,, nu'1'lii'fil mini 'li-ntwi fafilifi---1, ll-Il: '1.--gi A---raw. fm- K'UHtllll'fl'li in-vlxla. lil liifli sin' iwffiiiil -'ivvl 1 v'f v!'1i 1-- Vitifg :WU fllfllwl' Yuriix fluw inf :flier l',.4, Nrinil he-N4--l, ilith props-llvr-: iwivlranif t,, i fone- 1-ual-, 4'l'X'l'l'fN l9l.iNll ia liuilt tu rifiv- hifi' -larva' 'iw we :irifi t'ruSh liirwugii ivy Qiwe-r 'M-fgjlttg viii vin viii-te pm- gross, though slim, lfi1l'O'lLfiT ill Four ii'--. Her pro- pulsion plant iwnrists ?l',W H imrew it-over, :md n ninximum speed of 16 knots. liv-r ftiel ind food Stormie c:1P:u'il5' is Qiiffivierit to fer-fi her Q56 een and officers for one year and circle the globe twice while doing it. ' 7:4 f'Mfj:i-S: T? .15 F' or r 5 M is -1 ' W- 4. .V f- . ' wa, gg. 1 in 1 Q0 as I aft' W., .,:-2. h . ei., ,afvi r .,,. A if . r t i' iii

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- 1 is my esire t at 15 you always l'Bl'U0l1'IlJBl' the inua .-.F +L:.. -U - - THE COMMANDING OFFICER Commander Wesley L. Larson, USN, a'vef,9,.gn of 32 years naval service, assumed comman STATEN ISLAND in August 1959 north of the Arctic Circle. He was born in Goldfield, Colorado in 1911. After formal schooling in Waterloo, Iowa Commander Larson entered the Navy in 1929. The early years were spent on the battleship COLORADO where he had advanced to Warrant Bos'n by 1938, At the beginning of World War H he was at Pearl Harbor, the Officer of the Deck of a seaplane tender TANGIER. Commander Larson was promoted to Ensign in 1942 and saw much action in the Asiatic - Pacific Theatre. He has been decorated with the Bronze Star Medal and the Commendation Medal both with the coveted combat V , In Korea Commander Larson was Commanding Officer of the Military Department of the Transport JAMES OHARA making landings at lnchon and Pusan. Married since 1933 Commander and Mrs. Larson reside in Seattle. They have two sons. THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER Lieutenant Commander Paul J. Hoffman, USN, a native of New York was born in Jamaica in 1922. r 1 He graduated from Jamaica High School in 1941 and entered the Navy in 1942. Later selected for flight training he received his Navy Wings and was com- missioned an Ensign in 1944. Mr. Hoffman was flying patrol missions from Curacao, Netherland's West Indies until the end of World War II. During the Korean Conflict he served on the staff of Com- mander Carrier Division One as photo intelligence officer. For his outstanding work in photo intelli- gence he received the Commendation Medal. He was also awarded the Navy Unit Commendation for service in Korea. Mr. Hoffman earned his bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico through the Navy's Five Term program. He was married in 1946 and resides with his wife and four children in Seattle, Washington. CAP TAIN'S MESSAGE Our participation in Operation DEEP FREEZE '61 was a challenge to each of us in a different way. At one time or another we all experienced some hardships, frustrations, and diSaPP0iHUH0Ilt, and yet there were also many humorous, enjoyable, and exciting moments. 1 To some the mission of the STATEN ISLAND was dubious and unimportant, but tv Ellie Navyf and to our country we knew it was vital and we worked together as a crew for 1 e satis action of accomplishing that mission. ' In the frozen world down d I . un er we saw awe inspiring wonders of nature pass before y us in unique and mammoth displays as few men before us have seen. Iknow W9 are more mature and better men be ' cause of our experiences over the past seven months. t a f f Q g .Now as orders take many of us to new duties 't ' d ' h th' book will ASQ., 115 .'.' C dof

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4.'N Q, 'Hex . pf wg, I .' ,,,a Af Presidential Review, Son Diego FORWARD Preparations for DEEP FREEZE '61 consumed many extra hours of hard work by all hands. Hun- dreds of tons of supplies, provisions and special sc-it-ntific apparatus were brought aboard before ST XTICN ISLAND cleared Pier 91, Seattle, Washing- ton. on 12 October 1960, enroute to San Diego, falifornia. Each man underwent a rigid phySiCf1l i-wamination to qualify for the venture which lay ahead. lt would be rigorous and lonely duty. ST NTEN lSLAND's power plant also received much attention and proved its capability by completing 11 full trial run prior to arrival at San Diego on 18 October. The ship became apart of DEEP FREEZE '61 on 24 October. Infomation about the Aurora, cosmic rayS, solar activity, and radio wave propagation is in' valuable to our nation's rocket and missle program- Modern day pioneers are blazing a trail for trans- Antarctic polar air routes, and discovery of p0SSibl0 sources of mineral resources, and of new food supplies from the rich ocean bottoms around the great ice-bound continent. , A team of 3000 men in 9 ships and 28 aircraft were assigned to assault the Frozen Continent - The GOAL: To increase man's knowledge of this vast unexplored area of the Earth's atmosphere, surface, underwater bodies and magnetic 56159- With opportunities unlimited for adventure, STATEN ISLAND departed San Diego's Harbor 111 the sun on 24 October with a highly trained CNW and scientific specialists aboard. Two helicopb0l'S with their crews from HUTRON ONE became part of 3hiP'S 00IDPBny, to serve as mobile reconnaissance and rescue teams in ice operations.