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NavSource Online: Service Ship Photo Archive
Patch at left contributed by Bill Valashinas, plaque at right by Jack Treutle

Contributed by Al Grazevich

USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280)
ex
 USS Atka (AGB-3) (1950 - 1966)
 USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) (1944 - 1945)

International Radio Call Sign:
November - Romeo - Foxtrot - Charlie
 NRFC
JANAP Tactical Voice Radio Call Sign - Jigger (V)ictor - Section 6A of JANAP 119(F) 1968
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - American Campaign Medal - Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal
Bottom Row - World War II Victory Medal - National Defense Service Medal - Antarctica Service Medal (3)
Burton Island Class Icebreaker:
  • Authorized as Miscellaneous Auxiliary (AG-90)
  • Laid down, 20 July 1942, at Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Pedro, CA.
  • Launched, 8 March 1943
  • Commissioned USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280), 15 July 1944, CDR. R. M. Hoyle, USCG, in command
  • Decommissioned, 25 March 1945 and transferred (loaned) under terms of the Lend-Lease Program, to the USSR, renamed Kapitan Belusov
  • Returned to US Naval custody 28 December 1949, at Yokosuka, Japan
  • Commissioned USS Atka (AGB-3), 1 October 1950, at Yokosuka
  • Decommissioned, 31 October 1966 and transferred to the US Coast Guard
  • Struck from the Naval Register, 1 November 1966
  • Commissioned USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280), 18 January 1967
  • Decommissioned, circa 1974
  • Final Disposition, sold for scrapping to Union Metals & Alloys Corp., of New York, 10 March 1976 for $231,079.00
    Specifications:
    Displacement
    As Built - 3,575 t.(lt) 6,515 t.(fl), 5,425 t.(lim)
    Coast Guard 1967 - 3,052 t.(lt) 6,481 t.(fl)
    Length 269'
    Beam 63' 6"
    Draft 25' 9"
    Speed
    Trial Speed 16 Kts.
    Max Sustained 13.4 Kts, 30,929-mi radius (1967)
    Economic 11.6 Kts, 32,485-mi radius (1967)
    Complement
    Navy
    Officers - 21
    Enlisted - 332
    Coast Guard 204
    Armament
    Navy
    two twin 5"/38 cal dual purpose gun mounts
    three quad 40mm AA gun mounts
    two depth charge tracks
    Coast Guard - none
    Aircraft two helicopters
    Fuel Capacities
    Diesel - 10,185 Bbls
    Gasoline - 7,200 Gals
    Propulsion
    six Fairbanks Morse 10-cylinder Diesel engines driving six Westinghouse DC generators
    two 200Kw 240V D.C. Diesel-drive Ship's Service Generators
    three propellers, two aft, 13,000shp, one forward
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280)
    Atka 1625k Shipyard workers laying down the keel for Hull # CR 98 (later USCGC Southwind) at Western Pipe & Steel Co. Shipyard, San Pedro, CA., 20 July 1942.
    US Coast Guard Historian's Office by "Dick Whittington" Photo # 12.    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka 50k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) moored pierside, during her commissioning ceremony, 15 July 1944, at Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Pedro, CA.
    USCG Photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka 169k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) possibly the ship's commissioning ceremony, 15 July 1944, at Western Pipe & Steel Co., San Pedro, CA. Paul Rebold
    Atka 165k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) at anchor probably in the vicinity of San Pedro, CA., in July 1944 sometime before or after her commissioning on 15 July 1944. Paul Rebold
    Atka 69k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) under way, date and location unknown. Robert Hurst
    USS Atka (AGB-3)
    Atka
    09080355     		65k
    Namesake
    Atka - Atka Island is the largest island in the Andreanof Islands of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The island is 50 miles east of Adak Island. It is 65 miles long and 20 miles wide with a land area of 404.6 square miles, making it the 22nd largest island in the United States. The northeast of Atka Island contains the Korovin volcano which reaches a peak of 5,030 feet. The city of Atka is on the east side of the island. On December 5, 2008, President George W. Bush created the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. A crashed B-24 Liberator on Atka is one of the nine sites included in the monument.(Wikipedia)
    Photo - City of Adak - Alaska Public Media
    Map - Showing US Naval Air Facility and the Naval Security Group Action area, courtesy US Navy    		 Tommy Trampp
    Atka 92k USS Atka (AGB-3) under way in Arctic pack ice with USS Wyandot (AKA-92), date unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, April 1952.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Atka 94k USS Atka (AGB-3) moored pierside at Boston Naval Shipyard , 12 February 1954, while preparing for a deployment to the Antarctic. Ron Reeves
    Atka 40k USS Atka (AGB-3) arriving at Boston Naval Shipyard, 13 April 1955, after a four month deployment to the Antarctic.
    AP Wirephoto    		 Tommy Trampp
    Atka 70k USS Atka (AGB-3) hove to in Arctic ice. Notice the crew members on the ice, date unknown.
    US Navy photo from "All Hands" magazine, December 1956.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Edisto/Atka 70k USS Edisto (AGB-2) and USS Atka (AGB-3) moored together at Goose Bay, Labrador, 18 June 1960. Photo by PH1 Class Scott
    US Navy photo # USN 1051798.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Atka 117k USS Atka (AGB-3) leaving Thule Air Base, the US Armed Forces' northernmost installation, located 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
    Life Magazine Archives.    		 Mike Green
    Atka 105k
    Atka
    09080356    		 268k USS Atka (AGB-3) pushing the one and half million ton iceberg, nicknamed “Moby Dick” out of McMurdo Sound's man-made shipping channel, 20 February 1964.
    U.S. Navy photo # 330-PSA-44-64-1 by PH2 P.A. Kopp, USN.    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka
    09080357    		 189k USS Atka (AGB-3), one of the last ships to leave, is shown in this dramatic twilight silhouette just prior to departing the Ross Sea area, on 12 March 1964.
    U.S. Navy photo # 330-PSA-44-64-1    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka 379k USS Atka (AGB-3) underway, date and location unknown. David Buell
    Atka 222k USS Atka (AGB-3) underway, date and location unknown. David Buell
    Atka 101k USS Atka (AGB-3) underway in Boston Harbor in March 1965 following the addition of a helicopter hanger at her stern.
    Boston Naval Shipyard photo ASF #1533, Boston National Historical Park Collection, NPS Cat. No. BOSTS-10307.    		 Stephen P. Carlson, Preservation Specialist, Boston NHP, Charlestown Navy Yard. Boston, MA.
    Burton Island/Atka/Glacier 98k From left to right, USS Burton Island (AGB-1), USS Atka (AGB-3) and USS Glacier (AGB-4) pushing an iceberg out of the channel near McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 29 December 1965.
    US Navy photo from DANFS.    		 Joe Radigan MACM USN Ret.
    Atka 246k USS Atka (AGB-3) in the ice at Antarctica during Operation Deep Freeze 1966. David Buell
    Atka 26k USS Atka (AGB-3) in the ice at Antarctica during Operation Deep Freeze 1966. Jim Noble
    Atka 15k USS Atka (AGB-3) in the ice at Antarctica during Operation Deep Freeze 1966. Photo by Jim Noble
    Atka 96k USS Atka (AGB-3) transfer Ceremony program front page Jim Noble
    USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280)
    Atka 49k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) underway in the ice, circa 1966-74. Ken Laesser
    Atka 1625k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) transits the Panama Canal , 28 November 1967.
    US Coast Guard Historian's Office photo, copy sheet # 112867-13-16    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka 762k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) probably at the entrance to Arthur Harbor, Antarctica, 24 December 1967.
    US Coast Guard Historian's Office photo, copy sheet # 122474-13-16    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka 436k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) underway in Arthur Harbor, Antarctica, 24 December 1967.
    US Coast Guard photo sheet # 122467-(05-8)    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka 261k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) at anchor, date and location unknown.
    US Coast Guard photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka 176k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) underway, date and location unknown.
    US Coast Guard photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka 933k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) underway in the Port of Wellington, New Zealand, 13 November 1968. Photo from the Chris Howell collection with copyright
    Burton Island 501k USCGC Burton Island (WABG-283) meets up in McMurdo Sound, Antarctic, during "Operation Deep Freeze", 1969 with two sister Coast Guard icebreakers. USCG Glacier (WAGB-4) is close aboard to starboard and USCG Southwind (WAGB-280) is directly astern.
    US Coast Guard photo from the collections of the US Coast Guard Historian's Office.    		 Robert Hurst
    Burton Island 36k USCGC Glacier (WAGB-4), followed by USCGC Burton Island (WAGB-283), and USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) as they crush a path through heavily iced McMurdo Sound, in the Antarctic for cargo ships to follow to the main base at Hut Point, Ross Island, during "Operation Deep Freeze", 1969.
    US Coast Guard photo # GAP1-01-00-69; 1969    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka
    09080343    		 66k Apollo BP-1227 capsule being returned by the Soviet Union to USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) at Murmansk, 8 September 1970.
    Photo sources:
    (09080343) Hungarian press photo, courtesy Nandor Schuminszky;
    (09080344) USCGC photo from the Southwinds 1970 cruise book, courtesy Mike Malone;
    (09080345) Hungarian space history book, courtesy Tamas Feher.    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka
    09080344    		 46k
    Atka
    09080345    		 49k
    Atka 292k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) crewmen chip away at ice while in Baffin Bay, November 1970. Note the Apollo BP-1227 training capsule, lost at sea, found by a Russian trawler, and picked up by Southwind at Murmansk on the deck. Photo scanned from Southwind's Arctic East 70 scrapbook. Robert Hurst
    Atka 412k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) crewmen in dress blues pose in front of the Apollo training capsule. Photo scanned from Southwind's Arctic East 70 scrapbook. Robert Hurst
    Atka 47k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280) heads "Home For Christmas", December 1970, after visiting the North Pole. Note the Apollo capsule on her main deck forward.
    USCG photo.    		 Robert Hurst
    Atka 26k USCGC Southwind (WAGB-280), date and location unknown. Tommy Trampp

    For more photos and information about USS Atka / USCGC Southwind, see;
  • Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
  • US Coast Guard Historian's Office
  • Photo Collections
  • Operation Deep Freeze 63 Cruise book Contributed by Bob Judith
    • Commanding Officers
    01CDR. Hoyle, Richard M., USCG15 July 1944 - 25 March 1945USCGC Southwind WAGB-280)
     Decommissioned25 March 1945 - 10 January 1950To Soviet Union
    02CDR. Kelly, Robert Bolling USN, (USNA 1935)10 January 1950 - 12 December 1951USS Atka (AGB-3)
    03CDR. Flynn, Leonard John USN, (USNA 1934)12 December 1951 - 6 February 1953USS Atka (AGB-3)
    04CDR. Mansfield, Jack Emerson USN, (USNA 1938)6 February 1953 - 28 June 1954USS Atka (AGB-3)
    05CDR. Jacobsen, Glen USN28 June 1954 - 7 August 1956USS Atka (AGB-3)
    06CDR. Bulfinch, Charles USN7 August 1956 - 5 April 1958USS Atka (AGB-3)
    07CDR. Reinhardt, William Henry USN, (USNA 1941)5 April 1958 - 1 September 1959USS Atka (AGB-3)
    08CDR. Toon, Buster Eugene USN1 September 1959 - 17 October 1961USS Atka (AGB-3)
    09CDR. Draper, Murray Edmond USN17 October 1961 - 28 February 1963USS Atka (AGB-3)
    10CDR. Judith, Joseph Henry USN28 February 1963 - 5 June 1964USS Atka (AGB-3)
    11CDR. Martin, William "J" USNR5 June 1964 - 19 July 1965USS Atka (AGB-3)
    12CDR. Blake, John Sanborn, USN, (USNA 1946)19 July 1965 - 31 October 1966USS Atka (AGB-3)
    12Decommissioned31 October 1966USS Atka (AGB-3)
    13CAPT. Dolber, Sumner R. USCG31 October 1966 - 6 June 1969USCGC Southwind WAGB-280)
    14CAPT. Cassidy, Edward D. USCG6 June 1969 - December 1970USCGC Southwind WAGB-280)
    15CAPT. Schwob, William S. USCG :RADMDecember 1970 - July 1972USCGC Southwind WAGB-280)
    16CAPT. Knapp, Richard J. USCG :RADMJuly 1972 - December 1972USCGC Southwind WAGB-280)
    17CAPT. Lonsdale, Adrian Lorence USCGDecember 1972 - 31 May 1974USCGC Southwind WAGB-280)
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler and Ron Reeves
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
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    Last Updated 22 March 2024