USS Glacier ( AGB - 4 ) USS " Glacier " ( AGB - 4 ) ( later USCGC " Glacier " ( WAG / WAGB - 4 ) ) was a U . S . Navy , then U . S . Coast Guard icebreaker which served in the first through fifteenth Operation Deep Freeze expeditions . " Glacier " was first icebreaker to make her way through the frozen Bellingshausen Sea , and most of the topography in the area is named for her crewmembers . When built , " Glacier " had the largest capacity single armature DC motors ever installed on a ship . " Glacier " was capable of breaking ice up to thick , and of continuous breaking of thick ice at . Named for Glacier Bay , Alaska , the USS " Glacier " ( AGB - 4 ) was launched on 27 August 1954 at Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp . , Pascagoula , Mississippi , sponsored by Mrs . Roscoe F . Good ; and commissioned on 27 May 1955 , CDR . E . H . Mayer USN , Commanding . " Glacier " is the only icebreaker built in the Glacier class , and was in U . S . Navy service for 11 years , and U . S . Coast Guard service for 21 years . Construction . The Glacier was essentially an improved Wind class icebreaker , larger and more powerful . Like them , her entire hull was designed for great strength . With a relatively short length in proportion to the great power developed , her bow had the characteristic sloping forefoot that enabled her to ride up on heavy ice and break it with the weight of the vessel . The stern was similarly shaped to facilitate breaking ice while backing down . The sides of the icebreaker were rounded , with marked tumble home , and she had fore , aft and side heeling tanks that enabled the ship to break free from ice by heeling from side to side and changing trim fore to aft . Diesel electric machinery was chosen for its controlability and resistance to damage . Ship ' s history . Antarctic operations , 1955 – 1960 . " Glacier " s shakedown cruise and maiden voyage were combined in " Operation Deep Freeze I " , as flagship for RADM Richard E . Byrd USN , Ret . Her first encounter with the ice was in December 1955 , breaking through the Ross Ice Pack , she carved out an ice harbor in Kainan Bay to allow the discharge of cargo from vessels at the site for Little America V . " Glacier " continued west to break ice into an off - loading site to establish the U . S . Naval Air Facility at McMurdo Sound . In March 1956 , " Glacier " explored the Weddell Sea . " Glacier " then surveyed Vincennes Bay in Wilkes Land and made the first landing in history on the Princess Martha and Princess Astrid coasts . " Glacier " returned to Boston , her home port , on 6 May 1956 after these accomplishments . The ship returned to McMurdo Sound on 28 October 1956 for " Deep Freeze II " , having made the earliest seasonal penetration in history . " Glacier " then delivered stores and supplies at McMurdo and then Little America , she led seven other ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy ( RNZN ) through the ice pack to the two Antarctic bases . In January 1957 she led two cargo ships into Vincennes Bay where the last of the seven American bases for the International Geophysical Year was to be constructed . " Glacier " departed Wilkes Station on 17 February 1957 for the United States via Melbourne when the operation was completed . During " Deep Freeze III " and the IGY of 1957 - 58 , " Glacier " participated as a launching platform for " rockoon " tests during which balloon - lifted rockets gathered information of interest to the " Explorer " space satellite program . Additionally , " Glacier " continued her usual icebreaking and escort duties , and conducted oceanographic surveys in the Ross Sea . In the summer of 1958 , " Glacier " provided ice - escort for " Operation Sunec " for the resupply of North Polar radar and weather stations . By November 1958 , however , she was again near the South Pole at McMurdo Sound , and after resupplying the base , steamed to Little America V to begin the station deactivation . Subsequently , while operating in the Terra Nova Bay on the coast of Victoria Land , she discovered two unknown islands and what was likely the largest Emperor Penguin rookery in the Antarctic , home of over 50 , 000 of the large birds . " Glacier " then sped to the assistance of the Belgian expedition ship RV " Polarhav " near Breid Bay , halfway around the Antarctic continent from the Ross Sea . For " Operation Deep Freeze 5 " in 1959 – 1960 , " Galcier " sailed to McMurdo and then on an exploration of the Bellingshausen Sea . In late February 1960 " Glacier " raced to assist Argentine Navy icebreaker ARA " General San Martín " and Danish cargo ship MV " Kista Dan " . When this rescue mission was accomplished , " Glacier " sailed to Rio de Janeiro Brazil on 2 April 1960 and provided emergency assistance to flooded areas there for twelve days . " Glacier " also did relief operations ; providing helicopter and boat transportation , and emergency supplies to residents of Paramaribo , Suriname after the floods . " Glacier " then got underway for Boston , MA on 17 April 1960 . Antarctic operations , 1960 – 1966 . The icebreaker departed Boston Massachusetts on 13 October 1960 on her sixth Antarctic voyage and reached Lyttelton , New Zealand on 21 November 1960 to unload cargo . Most of December 1960 was spent in breaking a channel through McMurdo Sound to open the way for supply ships . " Glacier " returned to Wellington New Zealand for repairs , and to receive the U . S . Navy Unit Commendation for her Bellingshausen Sea expedition success . She then returned to the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas on another expedition . Oceanographic work continued until March 1961 when she sailed for Boston Massachusetts ; arriving on 27 April 1961 . Underway again on 8 October 1961 for " Deep Freeze 62 " , she loaded cargo at Lyttelton , New Zealand in early November 1961 and entered the Ross Sea ice pack on 13 November 1961 , reaching McMurdo Sound by the end of the month . After repairs at Wellington , New Zealand , " Glacier " returned to McMurdo Station and to the site of Little America V for cartographic studies . She returned to New Zealand on 6 March 1962 and then put in at Boston Massachusetts on 5 May 1962 after steaming . " Glacier " stood out of Boston Massachusetts on 17 September 1962 for " Deep Freeze 63 " , entering the pack ice on 6 November 1962 and reaching the edge of the bay ice of McMurdo Sound a week later . " Glacier " sustained minor damage in the thick ice and proceeded to Wellington for repairs . On 31 December 1962 , " Glacier " cut through McMurdo Sound en route to McMurdo Station . She continued operations off McMurdo Station through 1965 . Her diverse duties included keeping the channel open for supply ships . On 29 December 1965 , US Ships " Atka " and " Burton Island " assisted her in pushing an iceberg out of the shipping lane . After further participation in her 11th " Operation Deep Freeze " , " Glacier " returned to her home port , Boston , Massachusetts , in the late spring of 1966 . On 1 July 1966 , " Glacier " was struck from the Navy List , the day after her transfer to the United States Coast Guard . Coast Guard operations , 1966 – 1987 . Prior to her transfer to the U . S . Coast Guard , " Glacier " had her smaller armament removed . In 1968 , the 5 - inch guns were also removed . Only M2 Browning machine gun s , M60 machine gun s and small arms were retained for law enforcement purposes . During 1973 , she and her helicopters were painted red for improved Arctic visibility . In 1975 , the " Glacier " was trapped in ice in Antarctica for six days , finally breaking free and escaping into the waters of Antarctic Sound on 10 March 1975 , the Coast Guard in Long Beach , California , reported , the vessel ' s homeport . " She backed and rammed her way to the open sea with the use of only one of her two propellors , " said the Coast Guard . Two of the three blades on her other screw were sheared off by " steel hard ice " on Wednesday 5 March , while en route to assist an Argentine icebreaker , the " Gen . San Martin " , which had engine trouble while on a supply mission to a south polar scientific base . The Argentine ship made its way to freedom on its own . Decommissioning . Following 29 Antarctic and 10 Arctic deployments , " Glacier " was decommissioned in 1987 . She went under the control of the U . S . Maritime Administration , located in the U . S . Naval Reserve Fleet , Suisun Bay , on the Sacramento River , California . The Glacier Society saved " Glacier " from the scrapyard in 2000 , and planned to convert the ship into a hospital or research vessel . However , on 16 February 2012 " Glacier " was sold for $ 146 , 726 to be broken up by ESCO Marine in Brownsville , Texas . Efforts to save the vessel from the breakers continued as the ship was taken to the former Naval base at Mare Island , Vallejo , on 17 April 2012 for cleaning . Nevertheless , she was towed away to Brownsville , arriving on 19 June . A last - minute stay of execution was rejected , and MARAD ordered her scrapping to begin on 2 July 2012 .