USCGC Westwind ( WAGB - 281 ) USCGC " Westwind " ( WAGB - 281 ) was a " Wind " - class icebreaker that served in the United States Coast Guard as USCGC " Westwind " ( WAG - 281 ) , the Soviet Navy as the Severni Polius , and again in the U . S . Coast Guard as USCGC " Westwind " ( WAGB - 281 ) . Construction . " Westwind " was one of the icebreakers designed by Lieutenant commander Edward Thiele and Gibbs & Cox of New York , who modeled them after plans for European icebreakers he obtained before the start of World War II . She was the fourth of seven completed ships of the " Wind " - class of icebreaker s operated by the United States Coast Guard . Her keel was laid on 24 March 1972 at Western Pipe and Steel Company shipyards in San Pedro . She was launched on 31 March 1943 and commissioned on 18 September 1944 . Her hull was of unprecedented strength and structural integrity , with a relatively short length in proportion to the great power developed , a cut away forefoot , rounded bottom , and fore , aft and side heeling tanks . Diesel electric machinery was chosen for its controlabiity and resistance to damage . " Westwind " , along with the other Wind - class icebreakers , was heavily armed for an icebreaker due to her design being crafted during World War II . Her main battery consisted of two twin - mount deck gun s . Her anti - aircraft weaponry consisted of three quad - mounted Bofors 40 mm anti - aircraft autocannons . and six Oerlikon 20 mm autocannons . She also carried six K - gun depth charge projectors and a Hedgehog as anti - submarine weapon s . After her return from Soviet service she received a single 5 ” 38 cal . mount forward and a helicopter deck aft . Sometime after 1966 she had the forward mount removed . Notes . The exact date that " Westwind " was transferred to the Soviet Union under the Lend - lease program depends on which source you choose to believe . The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships ( DANFS ) lists " Westwind " ' s date of transfer as 21 February 1945 , while the United States Coast Guard ' s history site is ambiguous , stating only that " Westwind " was transferred in 1945 . A crew museum website lists the transfer date as Thanksgiving day 1945 . At this time it seems most prudent to use the DANFS date until other sources can be found to verify the Thanksgiving transfer date . It is believed that the final disposition of the " Westwind " was sale for scrap based on a former crewman ' s report . The crewman , transferred to the USCGC " Polar Sea " returning from Antarctica in 1988 , saw the " Westwind " and the CCG " Labrador " moored to a pier in Honolulu . The two dead ships were en route to Far Eastern shipscrappers when the consort tugboat broke down . A request made to the United States Coast Guard yielded a response implying that " Westwind " has been preserved as a museum ship by the USCGC Westwind Polar Icebreaker Museum group . That response seems to conflict with the group ' s own information stating that they are a repository for crew messages and images preserved for the purpose of remembering the " Westwind " and her many crew members . Given the lack of evidence for " Westwind " having been preserved it is probably safe to assume that " Westwind " was sold for scrap .