passes in the plane were erratic and the Loran equipment appar- 

 ently was out of adjustment. After endeavoring to navigate the in- 

 tended route for about 7 hours, the plane sighted the U. S. C. G. C. 

 Duane and circled that vessel to check position. The position re- 

 ported by the Duane and the plane's estimated position were so far 

 at variance that it was considered inadvisable to continue the search 

 and the flight departed from the ship on a direct course for Argentia. 

 It was while on this leg that the field ice was sighted and by using 

 the vessel's position and point of landfall as checks, such observa- 

 tions were considered comparatively accurate. The ice observed was 

 apparently the southern extremity of the remaining field ice and 

 consisted of an area of scattered pieces many of which were the size 

 of small growlers, but which were so widely separated that they 

 covered less than 1 percent of the surface. The southern limit of 

 this area was at 48°26' N., 49°40' W., and the east-west width was 

 about 15 miles. A few loose broken strings of sludge were observed 

 extending south-southeast from 48°30' N., 50°16' W., but this ice 

 was so light as to be of little importance to navigation. 



Although an isolated berg or growler might have escaped detec- 

 tion in the coverage of the Grand Banks area on the 1st and 2d and 

 the 9th and 10th, the weather conditions favored such a thorough 

 search in both instances that it is considered improbable that any 

 glacial ice was present in the offshore areas. Only two bergs were 

 sighted south of the 48th parallel between the 1st and the 20th of 

 the month, and of these one was the berg that had grounded in 

 Chance Cove during March, and the other, first sighted on 9 April, 

 had grounded along the north side of Bell Island in Conception Bay. 

 Nor was any glacial ice evident in the field ice observed prior to the 

 19th. All bergs and growlers sighted before the 19th were close 

 inshore and few were likely to drift free to cross the 48th parallel. 



On the 19th two bergs were noted in the inner part of the field ice, 

 a number of small growlers were sighted off the eastern edge of the 

 field and a few were scattered south of the field, but the field ice 

 was still abnormally free of glacial ice. 



On 23 April a small berg was sighted about 17 miles east-south- 

 east of Cape Spear. The same berg was sighted about 12 miles south- 

 southeast of that position on the 24th, but was not relocated on the 

 26th, 28th, or 30th, although these observations covered the area 

 of probable drift. Several other bergs were sighted on the 23d and 

 24th, but all were north of 48°35' N., and with the exception of the 

 one at 48°35' N., which was 2 or 3 miles east of the beach just south 

 of Cape Bonavista, all bergs sighted were west of 53 W. An occa- 

 sional growler was observed, however, as far south as the 48th 

 parallel and as far offshore as the 50th meridian, and an isolated 

 growler was reported on the 23d at 48° N., 49°30' W. 



On the 26th a growler was sighted at 47°38' N., 51°18' W., and 



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