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iOE PATROL 



by CDR J.J. Muray, 



Commander International 



Ice Patrol 



Since its beginning 

 Coast Guard aviation has 

 played an important role in 

 many Coast Guard missions, 

 but it perhaps has been most 

 vital tothe unique International 

 Ice Patrol (IIP) mission. IIP 

 was established by interna- 

 tional convention shortly fol- 

 lowing the tragic sinking of 

 RMS TITANIC after the ship 

 struckan iceberg in April 1912. 

 MP's job is to warn mariners of 

 the threat posed by icebergs 

 in the vicinity of the Grand 

 Banks of Newfoundland. The 

 key to determing the extent of 

 the iceberg threat is iceberg 

 reconnaissance. Although 

 historically IIP did and contin- 

 ues to receive iceberg reports 

 from a variety of sources, the 

 primary source of iceberg in- 

 formation, particularly that 

 which helps establish the "lim- 

 its of all known ice", has been 

 reconnaissance conducted by 

 IIP itself. Through 1942 IIP 

 iceberg reconnaissance was 

 conducted by Coast Guard 

 Cutters patroling the southern 

 ice limits. When IIP was re- 

 Page 50 



commenced after the end of 

 World War II, Coast Guard 

 aircraft were introduced as 

 surveillance platforms to 

 supplement surface patrols. 



Coast Guard aviation's 

 support for the IIP mission 

 clearly reflects the history of 

 Coast Guard fixed wing air- 

 craft. APBY-5A"CATALINA" 

 flewthe first IIP flight in Febru- 

 ary 1946. That same yearthe 

 PB4Y-1 "LIBERATOR" wasin- 

 troduced as the first dedicated 

 IIP aircraft. From 1947 to 1958 

 the PB1G "FLYING FOR- 

 TRESS" served as the IIP re- 

 connaissance aircraft. The 

 1949 season was the first in 

 which aircraft were the sole 

 reconnaissance platform 

 used. The R5D "DOUGLAS 

 SKYMASTER" took over as 

 the IIP aircraft from 1959 to 

 1963. During 1959 and 1960 

 the HU-16E "ALBATROSS" 

 participated in iceberg demo- 

 lition experiments. In late 1962 

 the HC-130 "HERCULES" 

 (SC-130B) assumed the role 

 of IIP aircraft. The HC-130 

 remained the sole IIP opera- 

 tional aircraft through 1988, a 

 period of 26 years. In 1989 

 the HU-25B "FALCON" was 

 introduced as an operational 

 surveillance aircraft providing 

 an alternative to the HC-130. 

 Both of these aircraft flew IIP 

 operational missions during 

 the 1990 and 1991 seasons. 



As the type of aircraft 



used for IIP has varied, so has 

 the base of operations. From 

 1 946 through 1 966 IIP recon- 

 nai ssance ai rcraft we re based 

 at Coast Guard Air Station 

 Argentia, Newfoundland dur- 

 ing the ice season. In June of 

 1 966 Air Station Argentia was 

 disestablished. However, IIP 

 reconnaissance continued to 

 fly out of Argentia as a detach- 

 ment based at the U. S. Naval 

 Station through 1970. In 1971 

 and 1972 the reconnaissance 

 detachment operated out of 

 the Canadian Forces Base at 

 Summerside, Prince Edward 

 Island. The detachment 

 moved its base of operations 

 to St. John's, Newfoundland 

 in 1973 to get closer to the 

 patrol area. Operations con- 

 tinued out of St. John's until 

 moved to Gander, Newfound- 

 land in 1982. Finally the base 

 for the IIP reconnaissance 

 detachment returned to St. 

 John's in 1989 and remained 

 there in 1990 and 1991. 



The nature of IIP re- 

 connaissance also has 

 changed through the years. 

 In the early years surface pa- 

 trol vessels were employed in 

 conjunction with aircraft to ef- 

 fectively accomplish the nec- 

 essary reconnaissance. Early 

 aerial reconnaissance was in 

 essence purely visual since 

 aircraft radar was ineffective 

 at detection of icebergs and 

 unable to discriminate be- 

 tween icebergs and ships. 



