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On 4 July 1946,
Atule headed for the frozen north as a member of Operation "Nanook." The
purpose of this mission was to assist in the establishment of advanced
weather stations in the Arctic regions and to aid in the planning and
execution of more extensive naval operations in polar and sub-polar
regions. In company with USS NORTON SOUND (AV-11), USS WHITEWOOD (AN-63),
USS ALCONA (AK-157), USS BELTRAMI (AK-162), and USCG NORTHWIND (WAG-282),
Atule
was to transport supplies and passengers, conduct reconnaissance of
proposed weather station sites, train personnel, and collect data on
Arctic conditions.
Atule rendezvoused with NORTHWIND
and WHITEWOOD off the southwestern coast of Greenland on 11 July 1946 and
put into Melville Bight, Baffin Bay, on 20 July, while a PBM reconnoitered
Thule Harbor and the approaches to the harbor. Following engine trouble
the PBM had made an emergency landing; and Atule was dispatched to recover
the plane,
becoming the first ship of the
operation to enter the harbor.
Atule then conducted tests and exercises in Smith South-Kane Basin with
WHITEWOOD. During one such exercise, she reached latitude 79 degrees 11 minutes
north in the Kane Basin, setting a record for the United States Navy.
On 29 July, Atule
departed Thule, having completed all of her scheduled projects, stopped at
Halifax, Nova Scotia, and reached New London late in August to resume her
former duties. |
