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

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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 Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

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

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Construction

''Burton Island'' was one of the icebreakers designed by Lt Cdr Edward Thiele 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. 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 of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

was laid on 15 March 1946 at

Western Pipe and Steel Company The Western Pipe and Steel Company (WPS) was an American manufacturing company that is best remembered today for its shipbuilding, construction of ships for the Maritime Commission in World War II. It also built ships for the U.S. Shipping Board ...

shipyards in

San Pedro, California San Pedro ( ; ) is a neighborhood located within the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay and Los Angeles Harbor Region, Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los ...

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

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

Gerald L. Ketchum in command. 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 The forefoot is the anterior aspect of the foot, composed of the five metatarsal bones, the fourteen phalanges and associated soft tissue structures. It is a common site of pathology in podiatry, and is the anatomic region involved in such conditi ...

, 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 w ...

and three quad-mounted Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft

autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...

s 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 coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

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 (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

where she met with units of TF 68 on the first Antarctica Development project,

Operation Highjump Operation HIGHJUMP, officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946–1947, (also called Task Force 68), was a United States Navy (USN) operation to establish the Antarctic research base Little America (exploration b ...

. 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 Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow). It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at , south of the North Pole. (The northe ...

expedition to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. 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 Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost enti ...

. During

in the Antarctic, ''Burton Island'' was the flagship of Gerald L. Ketchum, commander of Task Force 39. Duties on the cruises varied including, supply activities,

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

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 Husky, Sakhalin Huskies who survived for eleven months in Antarctica after being left behind by the 1958 Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. Due to poor weather co ...

, 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 coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

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 is the code name 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 was an init ...

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 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 side of Point Barrow, and the Beau ...

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

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

, 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 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, 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 oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

, 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 a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

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 the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

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