USCGC Northwind (WAGB-282)
USCGC Northwind in Baffin Bay on 10 July 1986. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Name | Northwind |
| Builder | Western Pipe and Steel Company |
| Yard number | CG-184 |
| Laid down | 10 July 1944 |
| Launched | 25 February 1945 |
| Sponsored by | Mrs. Mabelle C Dempwolf |
| Commissioned | 28 July 1945 |
| Decommissioned | 20 January 1989 |
| Nickname(s) | "The Grand Old Lady of the North" |
| Fate | Scrapped in 1999 |
| Notes | Callsign: NRFJ |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Wind-class icebreaker |
| Displacement | 6,515 short tons (5,910 metric tons) |
| Length | 269 ft (82 m) |
| Beam | 63 ft 10 in (19.46 m) |
| Draft | 29 ft 1 in (8.86 m) |
| Ice class | Heavy (up to 13 ft (4.0 m) ice) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 × Westinghouse Electric DC electric motors driving the 2 aft propellers, 1 × 3,000 shp (2,200 kW) Westinghouse DC electric motor driving the detachable and seldom used bow propeller. |
| Speed | 13.4 knots (24.8 km/h) top speed |
| Range | 32,485 mi (52,280 km) |
| Boats & landing craft carried | 4 lifeboats, 1 LCVP, 1 Arctic Survey Boat |
| Complement | 219 officers and men |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | One fixed wing amphibious aircraft or two helicopters. |
| Aviation facilities | Flight deck with retractable hangar. Two booms for lifting aircraft. |
| Notes | Northwind sometimes carried one M29C Weasel. |
USCGC Northwind (WAG/WAGB-282) was a Wind-class icebreaker, the second United States Coast Guard Cutter of her class to bear the name. She was built to replace USCGC Staten Island which was in Soviet lend-lease service.
During her career, Northwind conducted extensive oceanography, hydrography and cartography studies, as well as icebreaking, during Operation Nanook and Operation Highjump. Northwind was the last Wind-class icebreaker when she was decommissioned in Wilmington, North Carolina on 20 January 1989 after 44 years of service.