USS ''Burton Island'' (AG-88) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Wind-class icebreaker that was later recommissioned in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

as the USCGC ''Burton Island'' (WAGB-283). She was named after an island near the coast of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Construction

''Burton Island'' was one of the icebreakers designed by Lt Cdr

Edward Thiele Edward Thiele was a rear admiral in the United States Coast Guard. Biography Thiele was born on September 4, 1905, in Washington, D.C. He graduated from McKinley Technology High School. Thiele died in 1981. Career Thiele was originally a member ...

and

Gibbs & Cox Gibbs & Cox is an American naval architecture firm that specializes in designing surface warships. Founded in 1922 in New York City, Gibbs & Cox is now headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The firm has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C ...

of New York, who modeled them after plans for European icebreakers he obtained before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. She was the sixth of seven completed ships of the Wind-class of

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

s operated by the

. Her

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

was laid on 15 March 1946 at Western Pipe and Steel Company shipyards in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; Spanish: "St. Peter") is a neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles, California. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. The Port of Los Angeles, a major international seaport, is partially located wi ...

, she was launched on 30 April 1946, and commissioned on 28 December 1946 with Commander

Gerald L. Ketchum Rear Admiral Gerald L. Ketchum (5 December 1908 – 22 August 1992) was a career officer in the United States Navy. He served during World War II and the Korean War. He was a recipient of the Silver Star and also participated in four expeditions ...

in command. Her hull was of unprecedented strength and structural integrity, with a relatively short length in proportion to the great power developed, a cut away forefoot, rounded bottom, and fore, aft and side heeling tanks. Diesel electric machinery was chosen for its controllability and resistance to damage. ''Burton Island'' was built during peacetime, so she had a much lighter armament than her war-built sisters, one 38 cal.

deck gun A deck gun is a type of naval artillery mounted on the deck of a submarine. Most submarine deck guns were open, with or without a shield; however, a few larger submarines placed these guns in a turret. The main deck gun was a dual-purpose ...

and three quad-mounted Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft

autocannons An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...

when in Navy service, and unarmed for the Coast Guard.

Ship's history

U.S. Navy, 1947–1966

On 17 January 1947, ''Burton Island'', loaded with supplies, steamed from

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

to the

Ross Sea The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

where she met with units of TF 68 on the first Antarctica Development project, Operation Highjump. After returning from Antarctica, ''Burton Island'' departed 25 July 1947 for the

Point Barrow Point Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska, northeast of Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow). It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at , south of the North Pole. (The nor ...

expedition to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

. From April 1948 to December 1956, ''Burton Island'' participated in 19 Arctic and Alaskan cruises, including

Operation Windmill Operation Windmill (OpWml) was the United States Navy's Second Antarctica Developments Project, an exploration and training mission to Antarctica in 1947–1948. This operation was a follow-up to the First Antarctica Development Project known as O ...

. During

in the Antarctic, ''Burton Island'' was the flagship of

, commander of Task Force 39. Duties on the cruises varied including, supply activities,

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

reconnaissance of ice flows, scientific surveys, underwater demolition surveys, and convoy exercises. In March 1949, ''Burton Island'' was redesignated AGB-1. In February 1958, ''Burton Island'' assisted '' Sōya'', which had become iced in near

carrying a replacement crew of Japanese geophysical researchers. A helicopter carried out the original crew, stranded at the Japanese base at Showa Station, but was forced to leave 15 dogs behind, including

Taro and Jiro Taro (タロ; 1955–1970) and Jiro (ジロ; 1955–1960) were two Sakhalin Huskies which survived for eleven months in Antarctica after being left behind by the 1958 Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. Due to poor weather conditions, the exp ...

, who survived an Antarctic winter without human accompaniment. One prominent excursion was with the submarines USS ''Seadragon'' (SSN-584) and USS ''Skate'' (SSN-578) in 1962, in which torpedoes were tested underneath the polar ice pack after the two submarines had rendezvoused at the North Pole.

US Coast Guard, 1966–1978

On 15 December 1966, the U.S. Navy transferred the vessel, along with all of its icebreakers, to the United States Coast Guard and it was renumbered WAGB-283. After its transfer, ''Burton Island'' was stationed at

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

and used for icebreaking operations. Starting in 1967 through 1978, ''Burton Island'' went on eight different Deep Freeze operations to the Antarctic. In the operations, ''Burton Island'' was responsible for creating and maintaining aids to navigation, clearing channels through the ice for supply vessels, laying cables, delivering and dispatching the U.S. Mail at remote stations and vessels, search and rescue, fisheries patrol, law enforcement, and giving dental and medical treatment at remote Native Alaskan communities. In addition to Deep Freeze operations, ''Burton Island'' served as a floating platform for scientific surveys and research around Alaska and other isolated polar areas. ''Burton Island'' also conducted numerous search and rescue missions. From October 1967 to April 1968 she participated in

Operation Deep Freeze Operation Deep Freeze (OpDFrz or ODF) is codename for a series of United States missions to Antarctica, beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There w ...

1968. From October 1968 to April 1969 she participated in Operation Deep Freeze 1969. From November 1969 to April 1970 she participated in Operation Deep Freeze 1970 and her accompanying icebreaker USCGC ''Edisto'' (WAGB-284) was disabled. From November 1970 to April 1971 she participated in Operation Deep Freeze 1971 and again her accompanying icebreaker USCGC ''Staten Island'' (WAGB-278) was disabled. From August to September 1971 she conducted an oceanographic survey along the

Alaska North Slope The Alaska North Slope ( Iñupiaq: ''Siḷaliñiq'') is the region of the U.S. state of Alaska located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range along the coast of two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Chukchi Sea being on the western sid ...

. From February to March 1972 she conducted a scientific survey in

Cook Inlet Cook Inlet ( tfn, Tikahtnu; Sugpiaq: ''Cungaaciq'') stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage. On its so ...

, Alaska. From November 1972 to April 1973 she participated in Operation Deep Freeze 1973. From June to July 1973 she conducted oceanographic research in Alaskan waters. From November 1974 to April 1975 she participated in Operation Deep Freeze 1975. From 13 November 1975 to 26 February 1976 she participated in Operation Deep Freeze 1976. From July to September 1976 she deployed to the Arctic. From 9 November 1976 to 7 April 1977 she participated in Operation Deep Freeze 1977. During that deployment in December 1976, she carried out numerous search-and-rescue missions at

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, New Zealand, following a torrential downpour. From 9 July 1977 to 8 September 1977 she undertook a cruise to the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

, during which time her crew constructed several radar navigation towers along the north coast of Alaska and conducted gravity surveys of the Arctic Ocean. From 20 November 1977 to 1 April 1978 she participated in Operation Deep Freeze 1978. From mid-1977 to 9 May 1978 she was stationed at Naval Supply Center Oakland in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

and used for icebreaking.

Decommissioning and sale

She was decommissioned on 9 May 1978. An excerpt from a Maritime Administration letter dated 21 November 1995 indicates her ultimate fate: The Maritime Administration sold the vessel by auction under PD-X-1033 dtd. 17 August 1980. The vessel was awarded to Levin Metals Corporation,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

Levin Metals Corporation, 1800 Monterey Highway, San Jose, California 95112 on 7 October 1980, under contract No. MA-9868 for $261,000.00 The "Burton Island" was scrapped as of 28 April 1982.

Notes

References

USCGC ''Burton Island''

External links

* United States Coast Guard, Historian's Office. United States Coast Guard. U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Retrieved 20 DEC 2021. {{DEFAULTSORT:Burton Island Wind-class icebreakers Ships built in Los Angeles 1946 ships