Taconic (AGC 17) - Naval Cruise Book

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In order to conduct the convoy safely through the ice, the ice- breaker EASTWIND took the lead. The rest of the convoy fell in behind the EASTWIND in one long column. The TACONIC was the second ship behind the icebreaker. A Each of the three icebreakers had about one third of the ships for which they would break ice. Immedi- ately following each icebreaker was an LSD. I In this column formation, each ship followed the one ahead as clos- ely as possible. In,spite of that, as the column moved northward, twis- ting and turning, the last of the ShiP8 in column, some LST'S, were l 8 most below the horizon. To the officers and men on the bridge it 0PPeared as though the icebreaker '33 tryin! to spell out the name of her CHPtain in the ice field as she turned and twisted northward.

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1 As the convoy moved north it had gradually picked up other ships. It had also picked up-a great deal more ice. Although the first icebergs were few and far between, they soon began to thicken up so that if any one wanted to see one he could just look. , We began to look forward to our rendezvous with the icebreakers - two Coast Guard and one Navy - that had been up north for a long while scouting the ice conditions and preparing to lead the convoy up to North Star Bay and Thule. x The icebreakers turned out to be very compact little ships with a special bow. The bow was indented under the stem to permit the ship to ride up on the ice slightly and thus break the ice by its own weight. X Additionally, the lcebreakera carried one or two helicopters which soon became a very familiar aight aa they took off from the lcebreakei at any time of the day or night to seek ' open water leads for the convoy. An icebreaker equipped with a helicopter can cover much more ground with a group of lhlpa ln a ' glven time than lt could without a helicopter. ' i g 5 N

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Although there were a few patches of clear water, once the convoy started to follow the icebreakers there was a great deal of ice. . Before meeting the icebreakers, the ice had been for the most part bergs. Each bit of ice was separated from the next. On entering the pack ice, how- ever, it seemed that at times a person could climb over the side and walk for miles on the ice field. A The icebreaker ahead was breaking up the ice ahead of us, but sometimes it seemed that they needn't have bothered, we were breaking plenty of ice our- selves. The convoy's progress was quite steady, thanks to the use of the helicopt- ers. The TACONIC was fortunate in having a pointed bow. When the icebreaker broke the ice, the TACONIC could make her own path. Some of the LST'S, how- ever, were not so fortunate. After the icebreaker had carefully broken the ice for them, they with their flat bows would push the ice back together and in some cases would get iced in. The convoy, however, proceeded along without other incident, arriving in North Star Bay, our destination, on the last day of june. of wwif ?