the latter part of the month the eastern edge of the ice receded 

 westward and the southern edge moved southward until at the 

 end of the month it was at about latitude 45° N., between longitudes 

 58° and 60° W. 



An estimated 67 bergs entered the area south of the 48th parallel 

 during March, nearly all of them during the second half of the 

 month, and none of them coming south along the Avalon Peninsula 

 of Newfoundland. Figure 42 shows the distribution of bergs and 

 field ice during March. 



April 



During the first part of the month the field ice along the eastern 

 edge of the Grand Banks was undergoing rapid deterioration and 

 breaking into detached fields and patches. The southern end of 

 the main field early receded north of 45° N., although individual 

 patches and strings were reported as far south as 44°09' N., 48°32' 

 W., on the 13th. Along the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland 

 patches of field ice were reported extending to Bull Head on the 

 7th and loose strings and patches continued to move southward 

 into this area until the middle of the month when they reached the 

 latitude of Cape Race. After that melting was rapid and the 

 southern limits of all field ice east of Newfoundland receded north- 

 ward until at the end of the month an ice patrol flight found the 

 edge to extend from its southwestern extremity at a point 40 miles 

 east of Cape Freels to its southeastern corner at 49° 19' N., 

 48°25' W. 



During the early part of the month the St. Lawrence ice coming 

 out of Cabot Strait began to undergo rapid deterioration. The 

 southwestern end of this ice moved to about the 61st meridian 30 

 miles south of Cape Canso but oflPered little hindrance to navigation. 

 As is usual, Cabot Strait cleared first along the Cape Ray side and 

 during the second week in April navigation into the gulf along the 

 Cape Ray-Bird Rocks route was possible. By the 17th practically 

 no ice remained south of a line from Cape St. George to Anticosti 

 Island and north of a line from St. Paul Island to the Magdalen 

 Islands and only a few unimportant narrow strings remained off 

 shore from Flint Island to Cape Canso. 



The break-up of the field ice released a quantity of bergs along 

 the eastern edge of the Grand Banks. These drifted southward 

 toward and beyond the Tail of the Banks and southeastward from 

 the area between Flemish Cap and the Grand Banks with several 

 being reported in the vicinity of 44° N., 45° W., from the 20th to 

 the 24th. These represented two distinct areas in which there 

 was hazard to traffic following track B. The period was one in 

 which conditions did not permit aerial reconnaissance of these 

 critical areas. The surface patrol vessel could not effectively patrol 

 more than one of the areas. Danger, the degree of which could not 



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