On the basis of an estimated average ground speed of 150 nautical 

 miles per hour for the PBIG aircraft, it is estimated that the 2 PBIG 

 aircraft flew a distance of 95,610 miles during the 1948 season. As 

 search courses are usually laid out parallel and 25 miles apart it is esti- 

 mated that the area covered was 2,390,250 square miles. As coverage 

 is never 100 percent complete, it is estimated that the total area covered 

 lies somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,500,000 square miles. 



During 1948 the use of aircraft made it possible for the patrol cutters 

 assigned to the Ice Patrol to standby in their home ports until the ice 

 situation combined with the poor visibility over the Grand Banks region, 

 a characteristic of the late spring and early summer months, to make a 

 surface vessel patrol mandatory. Although the first aerial reconnais- 

 sance flight was made on 6 Februarj^ and the first regularly scheduled 

 ice broadcast to shipping was transmitted on the 15th of March, it was 

 not necessary to call the first patrol cutter out until late in April. 



To sum up, the use of planes for ice reconnaissance results in additional 

 safety for the surface traffic in the Grand Banks by providing more ac- 

 curate and extensive knowledge of the ice situation. The cost of this 

 increased efl&ciency arising from the use of planes is counterbalanced in 

 part by safely delaying the beginning of surface-patrol vessel activity. 



ICE CONDITIONS IN 1948 



FEBRUAHY 



Up to the first of the month reports from weather ships proceeding to 

 and returning from station indicated that it was probable that no field 

 ice existed south of 49° N., or east of 52° W. In addition, there had 

 been no bergs reported in the Grand Banks area or in the Newfoundland 

 coastal waters. On the 6th, the first aerial survey b\^ ice patrol planes 

 showed the southeastern limits of the field ice to run from 49°10' N., 

 53°00' W., to 50°50' N., 52°05' W., and thence northwesterly. The 

 field was open and still comparative^ light although a few arctic cakes 

 were in evidence. Sludge was present from Fogo Island to Gape Freels 

 extending from the beach to 15 miles offshore. 



The field moved southward until on the 17th an ice patrol flight ob- 

 served the southern edge of the field extending from Cape Bonavista 

 easterly to about 48°30' N., 51°20' W., thence northwesterly to 49°10' N., 

 52°00' W. From this point the field extended eastward to 49°20' N., 

 51°15' W., and thence northwesterly. South of 49°30' N., the field 

 consisted of light sludge and north of 49°30' N., the field was heavier 

 with some cakes 20 to 30 feet in diameter. On the 20th, the field was 

 observed from Funk Island northwest to approximately the latitude of 

 Hamilton Inlet, Labrador. In general, the eastern limits of the field 

 followed the coastUne about 70 miles offshore. From Hamilton Inlet 

 to Belle Isle the field was closely packed. South of Belle Isle the field 

 was more open, cover ranging from eight-tenths to three-tenths. Numer- 



