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This image is copyrighted by the artist and all reproduction rights are held by the U. S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association. Reproduction or other use without the permission of both parties is strictly prohibited.
Theme Polar Class Icebreaker in Antarctica
Period 1983—1990
Artist Tony Falcone, Prospect, Connecticut
Size (framed) 7’-0” wide x 4’-4” high
Champion Wade Moncrief, Class of 1962
Sponsor Class of 1955
Story This mural depicts the 399-foot Polar Class icebreaker Polar Star escorting a resupply ship through the ice channel to McMurdo Base with Mount Erebus in the background.
United States activities in both the Arctic and Antarctic increased following World War II with Coast Guard and Navy icebreakers supporting defense and science programs in the polar regions. Through the 1970s, operations were supported in both the Arctic and Antarctic by the 269-foot class icebreakers Eastwind, Southwind, Westwind, Staten Island, Northwind, Burton Island, and Edisto, and the 310-foot Glacier. Permanent scientific stations were constructed starting in 1955 during Deepfreeze I in preparation for the 1957 International Geophysical Year. Thereafter, annual Deepfreeze deployments were made by U.S. icebreakers. The primary mission of the icebreakers was the opening of a channel through the "fast ice" in McMurdo Sound to enable the annual resupply of the McMurdo Base. Other logistical and scientific operations were also performed by icebreakers. Since the early 1980s, a single Polar class icebreaker has generally been able to perform annually all required icebreaker support that previously required two or more icebreakers. A sister ship, Polar Sea, became the first U.S. surface vessel to reach the North Pole in 1994.