View source for USCGC Staten Island (WAGB-278)

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{{Infobox Ship Image
|Ship image=[[Image:Statenisland colorinice 1.jpg|300px|USCG Staten Island]]
|Ship caption=''USCG Staten Island''
}}
{{Infobox Ship Career
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|Ship country=USSR
|Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|Soviet Union|naval}}
|Ship name= ''Severny Veter''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Western Pipe and Steel Company]], [[San Pedro, California]]
|Ship laid down=9 June 1942
|Ship launched=28 December 1942
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=26 February 1944 
|Ship decommissioned=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship fate=Returned to the US Navy, 19 December 1951
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox Ship Career
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|Ship country=
|Ship flag= {{USN flag|1966}}
|Ship name=USS ''Northwind''
|Ship namesake=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=26 January 1952
|Ship decommissioned=1 February 1966
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship struck=1 March 1966
|Ship renamed=USS ''Staten Island'', 25 February 1952
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship homeport=[[Boston, Massachusetts]] (1951-1955)<br/>[[Seattle, Washington]] (1955-1974)
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname=
|Ship honors=
|Ship fate=Turned over to the [[United States Coast Guard]]
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox Ship Career
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|Ship flag={{shipboxflag|United States|coast guard}}
|Ship name= USCGC ''Staten Island'' (WAGB-278)
|Ship namesake=
|Ship acquired=
|Ship commissioned=1 February 1965
|Ship decommissioned=15 November 1974
|Ship struck=
|Ship renamed=
|Ship reclassified=
|Ship homeport=
|Ship motto=
|Ship nickname="White Arctic Garbage Barge"
|Ship honors=[[Meritorious Unit Commendation]] (1971)<br/>2 × [[Coast Guard Unit Commendation]]s (1969 & 1973)
|Ship fate=Sold for scrap
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox Ship Characteristics
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|Header caption=
|Ship class= {{sclass|Wind|icebreaker}}
|Ship displacement={{convert|6515|LT|t|0|abbr=on}} full load
|Ship length= {{convert|269|ft|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam= {{convert|63|ft|6|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship draft= {{convert|25|ft|8|in|m|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship hold depth=
|Ship propulsion=6 × {{convert|2000|hp|0|abbr=on}} [[Fairbanks Morse]] [[diesel engine]]s, driving 6 [[Westinghouse Electric (1886)|Westinghouse]] DC generators which in turn drove 3 electric propulsion motors<br/>2 propellers aft, and 1 forward (detachable and seldom used)
|Ship speed= {{convert|16.8|kn|lk=on}}  
|Ship range= {{convert|32485|nmi|km|abbr=on}}  
|Ship complement=21 officers, 295 enlisted (1942)<br/>12 officers, 2 warrants, 205 men (1967)
|Ship armament=• 2 × twin [[5"/38 caliber gun|5"/38 caliber]] [[dual purpose gun]]s<br/>• 3 × quad [[Bofors 40 mm|40 mm/60 AA guns]]<br/>• 6 × [[Oerlikon 20 mm cannon|20 mm/80 AA guns]]<br/>• 2 × [[depth charge]] racks, [[Y-gun]] projectors<br/>• 1 × [[Hedgehog (weapon)|Hedgehog]] [[anti-submarine mortar]]
|Ship armor=
|Ship aircraft=1 × [[Grumman]] [[J2F Duck]] [[seaplane]]
|Ship aircraft facilities=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
'''USCGC ''Staten Island'' (WAGB-278)''' was a [[United States Coast Guard]] {{sclass|Wind|icebreaker}}. Laid down on 9 June 1942 and launched on 28 December 1942, the ship was commissioned on 26 February 1944, and almost immediately afterward transferred to the [[Soviet Union]], under the [[Lend Lease]] program, under the name '''''Severny Veter''''', which loosely translates as ''Northwind'', until 19 December 1951. When returned to the United States Navy, she was designated '''USS ''Northwind'' (AGB-5)''' until 15 April 1952, when she was renamed ''Staten Island'' to distinguish her from her successor {{USCGC|Northwind|WAGB-282}} which had been laid down shortly after WAGB-278 was lent to the Soviets. The ship was transferred to the US Coast Guard as '''USCGC ''Staten Island'' (WAGB-278)''' in February 1965, and served until November 1974, before being scrapped.

==Service history==
===Soviet Union, 1944&ndash;1951===
''Severny Veter'', ({{lang-ru|Северный Ветер}}), was transferred to the [[Soviet Navy]] in February 1944 through the Lend Lease Program, serving in the [[Northern Route Command]]. In 1946 she was renamed ''Kapitan Belousov'' ({{lang-ru|Капитан Белоусов}}) after Soviet icebreaker captain M.P. Belousov. Custody of ''Belousov'' was returned to the United States Navy on 19 December 1951 at [[Bremerhaven]], Germany.

===United States Navy, 1951&ndash;1966===
The ship was renamed USS ''Northwind'' (AGB-5) under the command of [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|LCDR]] [[Edmund L. Andronik]], USN. On 25 February 1952 the ''Northwind'' arrived at [[Boston Naval Shipyard]], [[Boston, Massachusetts]], for overhaul and fitting out as a unit of the [[United States Atlantic Fleet]].

On 15 April she was renamed ''Staten Island'' to distinguish her from her successor ship {{USCGC|Northwind|WAGB-282}}, which had been laid down shortly after the ship was sent to the Soviets. Overhaul was completed by 30 June, and on 1 July she sailed from Boston to [[Grenfell Sound]], [[Labrador]], to conduct ice reconnaissance in [[Frobisher Bay]], returning to Boston on 8 September. USCGC Staten Island (WAGB-278) was named for the [[New York City]] borough of [[Staten Island]]. Ironically the major [[interstate highway]] that runs through the borough is numbered as [[Interstate 278]].

''Staten Island'' departed Boston for [[Resolution Island (Nunavut)|Resolution Island]] on 25 April 1952 to relieve {{USS|Edisto|AGB-2|3}}, returning to Boston on 10 June. During August, ''Staten Island'' became the first Navy ship to cut through the [[Davis Strait]] from Thule to [[Ellesmere Island]]. 

In the following year, 1954, ''Staten Island'' was involved in three ice breaking operations through 15 December.

In 1955 her home port was changed to [[Seattle]], [[Washington (U.S. state)|Washington]]. ''Staten Island'' sailed for Seattle on 19 May, and arrived there on 10 June for duty with [[Service Squadron 1]]. From June through September, she broke ice for ships resupplying the [[Distant Early Warning Line|Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line radar stations]], returning to Seattle on 28 September.

''Staten Island'' departed Seattle on 5 July 1956 to lead another convoy of resupply ships bound for the DEW Line through the ice, returning to Seattle on 6 September. She was then assigned to  [[Operation Deep Freeze|Operation Deep Freeze II]] and departed Seattle for [[Antarctica]] on 3 November. ''Staten Island'' rendezvoused with cargo ship {{USS|Wyandot|AKA-92|3}} near the [[Panama Canal Zone]] before both continued on for Antarctica, arriving on 15 December at the [[Weddell Sea]] [[pack ice]], and then breaking through the [[Antarctic Circle]] on 20 December en route to [[Cape Adams]]. The icebreaker led ''Wyandot'' from Cape Adams to [[Gould Bay]] where [[Ellsworth Station]] was then assembled. She departed Gould Bay on 15 February 1957 to return home to Seattle, arriving there on 5 April.

On 15 October 1963 while on the summer Arctic mission, the Captain, Cdr. John Metschel, USN, and a Navy helicopter pilot were lost at sea doing ice reconnaissance. The only remains found were one of the helicopter's pontoons floating at sea.

On 1 February 1966, ''Staten Island'' was decommissioned by the United States Navy and struck from the [[Naval Vessel Register]] on 1 March.

===United States Coast Guard, 1963&ndash;1973===
She was then transferred to the [[United States Coast Guard]], where she was redesignated USCGC ''Staten Island'' (WAGB-278), and home-ported at Seattle. During the summer of 1966, the engineering plant was upgraded and modifications were made to the flight deck and hangar to allow operation of a [[Sikorsky S-62|HH-52A Seaguard Helicopter]]. The Coast Guard then deployed her to Antarctica as part of that season's "[[Operation Deep Freeze]]" on 22 September.

''Staten Island'' returned from her Antarctic voyage on 6 April 1967 and was then sent into the [[Arctic Ocean]] above [[Alaska]] for four months during the spring and summer during which time she ran aground while traveling west from [[Prudhoe Bay]] and sustained minor damage. ''Staten Island'' then broke ice to assist her sister ship, {{USCGC|Northwind|WAGB-282|3}}, twice during the fall ice season; in September ''Northwind'' lost a propeller and became locked in the ice, and she was trapped again in October-November {{convert|450|nmi|km}} north-northwest of Point Barrow, Alaska.

During July and August 1968 ''Staten Island'' was assigned to conduct an [[Oceanography|oceanographic survey]] of the [[Chukchi Sea]]-[[Bering Strait]] area as part of a cooperative effort between the [[Coast Guard Oceanographic Unit]], the [[University of Alaska]] and the [[University of Washington]]. 

On 10-11 March 1969, she rescued the crew of the fishing vessel (F/V) ''Martindale'' which had run aground off [[Akun Island]]. ''Staten Island'' was dispatched to the Arctic Ocean on 7 July as an oceanographic research platform and escort vessel for supply operations. There she helped {{USCGC|Storis|WMEC-38|3}} reach open water off [[Point Barrow]] on 7 September, relieved ''Northwind'' on 22 September after that vessel suffered engine trouble, and assisted the Canadian icebreaker {{ship|CCGS|John A. Macdonald}} in escorting the tanker {{SS|Manhattan|1962|6}} eastward through the [[Northwest Passage]]. ''Staten Island'' arrived in New York on 9 November, and departed for Seattle on 9 December by way of the Panama Canal with stops in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]], and [[Acapulco, Mexico]]. Upon her arrival back in Seattle, ''Staten Island'' became the fourth United States ship to [[circumnavigate]] the [[North America|North American continent]], traveling over {{convert|23000|mi|km}} in the process. 

She departed Seattle on 6 July 1970 to conduct scientific tests and evaluation of crude oil spread rate in the Arctic Ocean. Later that summer when a large group of 20 tugs and 40 barges bound for [[Prudhoe Bay]] with vital supplies became trapped in pack ice, ''Staten Island'' worked around the clock for 3½ days to tow and push the barges to open water. She freed the fouled screw of the tug ''Active'' {{convert|30|nmi|km}} southwest of [[Point Barrow]] on 14 August, and returned to Seattle on 20 August. ''Staten Island'' departed Seattle once more later in the year as part of "[[Operation Deep Freeze|Operation Deep Freeze 1971]]".


On 28 February 1971, while en route to [[Mawson Station]] she struck an uncharted [[pinnacle]] {{convert|14|nmi|km}} north of the station, suffering significant damage, including a punctured hull that flooded four compartments, but no crew injuries. After completing temporary repairs in [[Melbourne, Australia]] and certified seaworthy, {{USCGC|Burton Island|WAGB-283|3}} was ordered to escort the ''Staten Island'' home to Seattle.

In mid-March 1972, during "Operation Deep Freeze", while en route from [[Dunedin]], [[New Zealand]], to [[Suva]], [[Fiji]], ''Staten Island'' was broadsided by a [[rogue wave]] and came within 2 degrees of capsizing. While ascending the ladder to the bridge to relieve the helmsman, Seaman Cotten hailed the [[Officer of the Day]] moments before an {{convert|80|ft|m|abbr=on}} wall of water struck the port beam. With the bridge doors open the bridge instantly filled with water, as well as the stairwell in which Seaman Cotten was prevented from ascending. The ship listed heavily to starboard, began to shake with one propeller turning in the air, then rolled back to port causing the starboard wing to scoop up seawater, sending everyone splashing toward the overhead (again). Only one man was injured - a fireman climbing up from the engine room who twisted an ankle. In early March ''Staten Island'' became the first United States Government vessel to enter the port in Dunedin.

Later in the year the ship departed Seattle for Arctic Summer North carrying scientists from the [[University of Alaska Anchorage|University of Anchorage]], the [[University of Washington]], and the [[Smithsonian Institution]] to make determinations on the effects drilling for oil on the [[Alaska North Slope|north slope of Alaska]] would have on the environment.

During February 1973 ''Staten Island'' participated in the [[Bering Sea Experiment]] as part of her [[Arctic West Winter]] activities, {{convert|475|nmi|km}} north of [[Adak Island]], with the Soviet [[research vessel]] ''Priboy'', and several aircraft. From 7 March through 3 April, she was attached to [[Task Unit]] 57.0 of the [[Pacific Fleet]] during [[SUBICEX 1-73]], during which time she received the [[Coast Guard Unit Commendation]]  with Operational Distinguishing Device. Her crew received refresher training between 5 and 16 November, at which time she departed Seattle to escort ships in "[[Operation Deep Freeze|Operation Deep Freeze 1973]]".

''Staten Island''  was decommissioned on 15 November 1974, and sold for scrap.

==References==
*{{DANFS|http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/s18/staten_island.htm}}
* {{navsource|09/08/0805|Staten Island}}
* [http://www.uscg.mil/history/webcutters/statenisland_1965.asp United States Coast Guard : ''Staten Island''] 
* [http://stratocat.com.ar/bases/60e.htm Historical record of balloons launched from the USCGC ''Staten Island'']

{{Wind class icebreaker}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staten Island}}
[[Category:Ships of the United States Coast Guard]]
[[Category:United States Navy ships transferred to the United States Coast Guard]]
[[Category:Icebreakers of the United States]]
[[Category:Icebreakers of Russia]]
[[Category:United States Coast Guard ship names]]
[[Category:Ships built in Los Angeles, California]]
[[Category:Staten Island]]
[[Category:1942 ships]]

[[Category:2Fix]]