In the old days, the Patrol Vessel relied heavily on reports of ice 

 sightings by passing ships. In many cases the first knowledge of an 

 iceberg in the shipping lanes was obtained from passing ships. In 

 reality, the Patrol Vessel's action as a clearing house for ice reports 

 was its major contribution to reducing the danger of icebergs. The 

 Patrol Vessel often performed the valuable duty of maintaining con- 

 tinuous surveillance of the southernmost or most dangerous known 

 iceberg while hoping that most if not all vessels would pass to the 

 south of her and therefore probably steer clear of the dangerous 

 areas. While the southern limits were guarded, the southwestern 

 and southeastern limits could not possibly be guarded. Occasionally 

 icebergs were sighted by ships south of what was believed the southern- 

 most iceberg. As the current patterns are very complex near the Tail 

 of the Banks, the southernmost berg one day might not be the south- 

 ernmost the next day, unknown to the Patrol Vessel. Ships using 

 the northern tracks E and F were more or less on their own, as the 

 Patrol Vessel was infrequently able to observe ice conditions upstream 

 from the Tail of the Banks. The inability to observe ice conditions 

 upstream was a severe handicap and made the study of ice conditions 

 difficult. As a result, bergs often drifted into the shipping tracks 

 undetected and therefore unannounced. Needless to say navigation 

 was poor. This combined with the poor visibility generally encoun- 

 tered made it difficult for the Patrol Vessel to relocate icebergs. In 

 spite of its shortcomings, the Patrol Vessel served its purpose well 

 considering the magnitude of its task. In 1946, after the termina- 

 tion of World War II, the International Ice Patrol became a land 

 based headquarters at U.S. Naval Station, Argentia, Newfound- 

 land. Commander, International Ice Patrol had an operations office, 

 a radio station, and a force of three aircraft, two cutters for Ice 

 Patrol duty, and an oceanographic vessel. The Ice Patrol was oper- 

 ated from 1946-48 with the dual force of aircraft and the Ice Patrol 

 Vessel, now equipped with radar and loran, for guarding the ice 

 limits and observing ice conditions. In 1949, for the first time, the 

 services of the International Ice Patrol were performed without the 

 use of the Ice Patrol Vessel. The Ice Patrol aircraft were now recog- 

 nized as the major force with the Patrol Vessel a supplementary force 

 in the conduct of the International Ice Patrol, and so it has been 

 since 1949. Aircraft have been able to do the job of amiually guard- 

 ing the ice limits and observing ice conditions without the support of 

 the Patrol Vessel all but 3 years of the past 15. 



We should not be deluded into believing that tlie Patrol Vessel is no 

 longer necessary to the successful operation of the International Ice 

 Patrol. While it is true that the Patrol Vessel has not been required 

 12 of the past 15 years, it is also perhaps true that we have been 

 undergoing a warm climate cycle during the last two decades or more, 



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