The USCGC Northwind (WAG/WAGB-282) was a Wind-class icebreaker laid down in 1944, launched and commissioned in 1945. During her career, the ship conducted extensive studies in oceanography, hydrography, and cartography. The icebreaker's first major mission was Operation Nanook in 1946, and a year later, she participated in Operation Highjump as part of Task Group 68, undertaking icebreaking operations to establish the research base Little America IV. The ship was the only U.S. Coast Guard vessel to participate in the naval exercise. In 1948, the icebreaker conducted its first Bering Sea Patrol, serving as a "floating court" for a U.S. federal judge and staff while performing law enforcement, search and rescue tasks, ice escort for other ships, and weather observation and reporting. During her 44 years of service, the ship performed several oceanographic and hydrographic surveys, participated in Operation Deep Freeze II and IV with U.S. Navy Task Force 43, and cleared the passage for expeditions to Antarctica and cargo ships. The USCGC Northwind was decommissioned as the last of the Wind-class icebreakers in 1989 and scrapped in 1999. Due to its insulating properties, asbestos was heavily used in ships built before the 1980s, including Coast Guard cutters, exposing Navy personnel to inhaling or ingesting the toxic mineral’s fibers.
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