 USCGCSouthwind in December 1970 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
  United States | |
| Name | USCGCSouthwind |
| Builder | Western Pipe and Steel Company |
| Cost | $9,880,037.00 |
| Yard number | CG-98 |
| Laid down | 20 July 1942 |
| Launched | 8 March 1943 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Ona Jones |
| Commissioned | 15 July 1944 (USCG) |
| Decommissioned | 23 March 1945 (USCG) |
| Identification | WAG-280 |
| Fate | transferred to USSR on 25 March 1945 |
 Soviet Union | |
| Name | Admiral Makarov |
| Namesake | Stepan Makarov |
| Acquired | 25 March 1945 |
| Fate | Returned to the United States, on 28 December 1949 |
| United States | |
| Name | USSAtka |
| Namesake | Atka Island |
| Acquired | 28 December 1949 |
| Commissioned | 13 April 1950 |
| Decommissioned | 31 October 1966 |
| Identification | AGB-3 |
| Fate | Transferred back to USCG, 31 October 1966 |
| Stricken | 1 November 1966 |
 United States | |
| Name | USCGCSouthwind |
| Acquired | 31 October 1966 |
| Recommissioned | 31 October 1966 |
| Decommissioned | 31 May 1974 |
| Identification |
|
| Nickname(s) | The Polar Prowler |
| Fate | Sold for scrap on 17 March 1976 |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Wind-classicebreaker |
| Displacement | 6,515 tons (1945) |
| Length | 269 ft (82 m) oa |
| Beam | 63 ft 6 in (19.35 m) mb |
| Draft | 25 ft 9 in (7.85 m) max |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × Westinghouse Electric DC electric motors driving the 2 aft propellers, 1 × 3,000 shp (2,200 kW) Westinghouse DC electric motor driving the detachable and seldom used bow propeller. |
| Speed |
|
| Range | 32,485 nmi (60,162 km) |
| Complement | 12 officers, 2 warrants, 205 men (1967) |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | 1Grumman J2F seaplane or 2 helicopters |
| Aviation facilities | Retractable hangar |
USCGCSouthwind (WAGB-280) was aWind-classicebreaker that served in theUnited States Coast Guard asUSCGCSouthwind (WAG-280), theSoviet Navy as theAdmiral Makarov, theUnited States Navy asUSSAtka (AGB-3) and again in the U.S. Coast Guard asUSCGCSouthwind (WAGB-280).
Southwind was the third of theWind class oficebreakers operated by theUnited States Coast Guard. Herkeel waslaid on 20 July 1942 at theWestern Pipe and Steel Company shipyards inSan Pedro,California, she was christened by Mrs. Ona Jones andlaunched on 8 March 1943, andcommissioned on 15 July 1944.[1][2][3][4][5]
Wind-class icebreakers had hulls 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.[6]
Southwind, along with the other Wind-class icebreakers, was heavily armed for an icebreaker due to her design being crafted during World War II. Her main battery consisted of two twin-mount 5-inch (127 mm) deck guns. Her anti-aircraft weaponry consisted of three quad-mountedBofors 40 mm anti-aircraft autocannons[2] and sixOerlikon 20 mm autocannons. She also carried sixK-gundepth charge projectors and aHedgehog as anti-submarine weapons. After her return from Soviet service she had a single5"/38 caliber gun mount forward and ahelicopter deck aft. In 1968 the forward mount was removed.[3][5]
On 15 July 1944, she wascommissioned as USCGCSouthwind (WAG-280).
After service on theGreenland Patrol, and assistingUSCGC Eastwind in capturing theGerman weather ship Externsteine,Southwind was transferred to the Soviet Union on 23 or 25 March 1945 as part of theLend-Lease Program.
The ship served in the Sovietmerchant marine under the nameAdmiral Makarov (Russian:Адмирал Макаров, named in honor ofStepan Makarov) until being returned to the U.S. Navy on 28 December 1949 atYokosuka, Japan.
In 1950 the ship was transferred to the U.S. Navy and rechristened as USSAtka (AGB-3), after the smallAleutian island ofAtka. Upon arrival at herhome port ofBoston,Atka entered theBoston Naval Shipyard for a thoroughoverhaul and modernization. The work was completed late in May 1951, andAtka began operations from Boston, Massachusetts in July 1951.
Throughout her career in the American navy, the icebreaker followed a routine established by the changing seasons. In the late spring, she would set sail for either the northern or southernpolar regions to resupply American and Canadian air bases and weather and radar stations. In early fall, she would return to Boston for upkeep and repairs. In the winter, the ship would sail various routes in the NorthAtlantic Ocean to gather weather data before returning to Boston in early spring for repairs and preparation for her annual polar expedition.
The ship often carried civilian scientists who plotted data onocean currents and ocean water characteristics. They also assembledhydrographic data on the poorly charted polar regions.Atka was also involved in numerous tests of cold weather equipment and survival techniques.
She served in the Atlantic fleet and completed threeArctic tours.
Atka conducted a notable expeditionary cruise toAntarctica forOperation Deep Freeze, scouting locations for science stations in support of theInternational Geophysical Year. She departed Boston on 1 December 1954, and after stops atRodman Naval Station andWellington, she sightedScott Island and first ice on 12 January 1955, and encountered theRoss Ice Barrier on 14 January, marking her arrival at the continent.Atka conducted surveys, samplings, and experiments from theRoss Sea eastward toPrincess Martha Coast until she departed the region on 19 February 1955. After stops atBuenos Aires andRio de Janeiro,Atka returned to Boston on 12 April 1955, completing her mission.[7][8]
On 31 October 1966 she was transferred to the United States Coast Guard and christened again as USCGCSouthwind (WAGB-280), changed homeport to theUnited States Coast Guard Yard atCurtis Bay, Baltimore, Maryland.
After a shakedown cruise toBermuda she proceeded on its first operational cruise north toThule, Greenland.
She deployed to the Arctic in 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973, as well as to the Antarctic in December 1967, December 1968 and January 1972. In 1968 she was involved in a diplomatic incident between Chile and Argentine about navigation rights in theBeagle channel.[9]
In September 1970,Southwind visited the port ofMurmansk, being the first U.S. naval vessel to visit a Soviet port since the start of the cold war. During that visit, she took aboard aboilerplate (BP-1227) from theApollo program. The boilerplate had been lost in theNorth Sea in early 1970, recovered by a Soviet fishing trawler in theBay of Biscay, transferred to the Soviet Union, and passed toSouthwind on 5 September 1970.[10][11]
From December 1972 to 31 May 1974Southwind was stationed inMilwaukee to do icebreaking on theGreat Lakes.[12]
Southwind wasdecommissioned on 31 May 1974, and sold for scrap on 17 March 1976 for $231,079.00 to Union Mineral & Alloy Corporation of New York.
This article incorporates text from thepublic domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. The entry can be foundhere.
Media related toUSCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) at Wikimedia Commons
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