Coast Guard Operates International Ice Patrol Half a Century. Aerial ice reconnaissance work of the International Ice Patrol is performed today by modern Coast Guard turbine-powered four-engine HC-130B "Hercules" planes based at Argentia, Newfoundland. Here a "Hercules" tracks an iceberg in the Grand Banks region during a recent Ice Patrol flight. The first aerial ice scouting flights started during the 1946 International Ice Patrol season. Within a period of forty-four days of that season, seventy-one flights frequently averaging eight to ten hours long were performed by Catalinas, Liber
Coast Guard Operates International Ice Patrol Half a Century. Aerial ice reconnaissance work of the International Ice Patrol is performed today by modern Coast Guard turbine-powered four-engine HC-130B "Hercules" planes based at Argentia, Newfoundland. Here a "Hercules" tracks an iceberg in the Grand Banks region during a recent Ice Patrol flight. The first aerial ice scouting flights started during the 1946 International Ice Patrol season. Within a period of forty-four days of that season, seventy-one flights frequently averaging eight to ten hours long were performed by Catalinas, Liberatos and converted B-17 "Flying Fortresses" of World War II Fame. Operations improved so noticeably that since that time the Ice Patrol has relied mainly on aerial reconnaissance flights. Coast Guard cutters which had solely performed the work of tracking icebergs and warning ships passing through the dangerous ice zone of the North Atlantic from the formal inception of the Ice Patrol in 1914 until 1941, were relegated to standby duty. Only in emergencies are Coast Guard cutters now used on Ice Patrol reconnaissance as when icebergs drift too near the shipping lanes and require constant monitoring. Also when the patrol planes are grounded because of dense fog or foul weather.
Size: 5629px × 4965px
Photo credit: © NB/USC / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 17-a2-187, 26-, coast, guard, history, job, rdss, rg
