apparently was greatly accelerated by strong northwesterly winds 

 for, by the 24th, strings from the southeastern edge had moved 

 downstream along the 100-fathom curve to about 60 miles beyond 

 the limits observed on the 23d. 



The observation of the 24th, in addition to covering the area along 

 the southeastern edge of the field, searched an area along the north- 

 eastern edge of the banks just inshore of the 100-fathom curve, 

 traced the outer edge of the field northward to the northern limit 

 of the search on the 23d, and extended the searched area northwest- 

 ward an additional 60 miles. The inner limits of the field corres- 

 ponded closely with those observed on the 23d, but that part of the 

 field north of 49°30' N., was up to 20 to 30 miles wider than it had 

 been on the previous day. On the 26th, advantage was taken of clear 

 weather in the inshore area to make a flight along the coast from 

 Cape Pine to Cape Bonavista. No field ice was sighted in the coastal 

 area, but the southwestern edge of the main field was observed at 

 the extreme northeastern corner of the area observed. This edge 

 extended north-northwestward from 48°50' N., 51°37' W., and 

 curved eastward from that position. Although this observation was 

 very limited, it did indicate the eastward shift of the field that was 

 later observed on the 28th. 



On the morning of the 28th, two flights departed from Argentia 

 to scout again approximately the same area that had been covered 

 on the 23d. However, the plane searching the northeastern slope 

 of the banks developed engine trouble soon after reaching the area 

 and was forced to return to base. The other flight encountered strong 

 southeast to southwest winds (40 knots) in the area from the north- 

 ern slope of the banks north past Fogo Island, but completed satis- 

 factory coverage of that area with visibility generally greater than 

 12 miles. The strong winds had moved the field offshore to such 

 extent that the inner limits of ice were about 60 miles offshore at 

 Fogo Island and Cape Freels and about 100 miles east-northeast 

 of Baccalieu Island at the southern limit of the survey. The winds 

 had also done much to melt and scatter the ice until only the heavier 

 pieces remained. These were rather closely packed along the ex- 

 treme western edge, but the width of this concentration was not 

 great and the ice cover rapidly decreased eastward to strings cover- 

 ing one-tenth of the surface, then to scattered heavy pieces. The 

 width of the field of one-tenth or more cover varied from 15 to 25 

 miles and the eastward extent of scattered pieces varied from 5 

 or 10 miles at 49° N., to 35 miles at the northern edge of the search 

 area (about 50°50' N.). The field extended southeastward beyond 

 the scope of observation (about 48°40' N.), but by the next ob- 

 servation of the area on the 30th no field ice remained south of 

 48°20' N. 



The flight on the 30th did not cover the area completely. The com- 



17 



