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ups. Carry a medical officer and dental officer if feasible. Require 

 men using spectacles to equip themselves with a spare pair before 

 sailing. 



22. Miscellaneous supplies. — ^Provide poles and extra boat hooks 

 for fending blocks of ice away from the ship's side and the screws in 

 particular. Provide crowbars, which should be short, four-sided, and 

 wooden-handled. Provide demolition charges, detonators, and fuzes 

 or cable and blasting machine. Allow for the possibility of being 

 forced to winter in the ice by loading provisions for all hands for 15 

 months, or providing sporting rifles, shot guns, ammunition, fishing 

 gear, and vitamin supplies. Provide ice saws for cutting docks in 

 ice floes, or freeing the ship if frozen in. 



BOATS 



Any ship operating in polar waters should carry boat capacity for 

 150 percent of personnel aboard, since life jackets, floater nets, and 

 small rafts are worthless if men are not rescued within a few minutes. 

 Unless this requirement is met, operation plans should be formulated 

 so that two or more ships are always in company. The Navy standard 

 40- or 50-foot motor launches are considered to be practical lifeboats 

 for such regions, if they are provided with sail and with a canvas 

 weather-cloth covering in the wa:3t. 



Both the 40-foot motor launch and the Coast Guard 26-foot self- 

 bailing surf boat have been operated satisfactorily under adverse con- 

 ditions. The former has penetrated deep into pack ice with little 

 difficulty. Motor whaleboats and LCVP's are also considered desir- 

 able for operations in which landings are to be made in ice. 



Not only may the boats be damaged by contact with ice, but they 

 may also be cut off from the ship by drifting floes brought in by a 

 wind shift or tide, or by poor visibility. Therefore, all boats should 

 contain emergency rations and survival kits including sleeping bags, 

 firearms, a Very pistol, and medical supplies. In addition, all boats 

 should be radio-equipped. Boat crews should have their full outfits 

 of cold weather clothing with them at all times while in the boats. 



Hoisting slings on all boats should be reinforced for handling in 

 rough weather. 



Wooden motor boats to be used in ice, particularly young ice, should 

 be copper-sheathed forward along the waterline, as otherwise they 

 may receive serious damage from ice cutting into the stem. Since 

 this protection adds greatly to weight, it has been recommended that 



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