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==Pre-World War II career== ==Pre-World War II career==
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After his successful completion of the ''Marion'' expedition, Smith was reassigned to ] duties as commanding officer of several cutters including the Coast Guard destroyers {{USS|Henley|DD-39|2}}, {{USS|Downes|DD-45|2}}, {{USS|Shaw|DD-68|2}}, {{USS|Tucker|DD-57|2}} and {{USS|George E. Badger|DD-196|2}} from 1928 to 1936. He was promoted to lieutenant commander on 21 April 1929. During times when the cutters he was assigned had maintenance availabilities at dockside, Smith worked on his doctorial thesis at ] and was awarded a ] degree in geologic and oceanographic physics on 19 June 1930 using his ''Marion'' expedition research as a basis of his dissertation.<ref name="USCG02" /> Smith was recommended by Harvard University, the ] and the ] to go on an expedition aboard the German ] ] in 1931.<ref name="USCG02" /> The original plan was to fly from ] to ] and return passing over the ]; however, the plans changed and a shorter flight was made from ] over the ] during the week of 24 July to 1 August 1931.<ref name="USCG02" /><ref name=Johnson122>Johnson, p 122</ref> After his successful completion of the ''Marion'' expedition, Smith was reassigned to ] duties as commanding officer of several cutters including the Coast Guard destroyers {{USS|Henley|DD-39|2}}, {{USS|Downes|DD-45|2}}, {{USS|Shaw|DD-68|2}}, {{USS|Tucker|DD-57|2}} and {{USS|George E. Badger|DD-196|2}} from 1928 to 1936. He was promoted to lieutenant commander on 21 April 1929. During times when the cutters he was assigned had maintenance availabilities at dockside, Smith worked on his doctorial thesis at ] and was awarded a ] degree in geologic and oceanographic physics on 19 June 1930 using his ''Marion'' expedition research as a basis of his dissertation.<ref name="USCG02" /> Smith was recommended by Harvard University, the ] and the ] to go on an expedition aboard the German ] ] in 1931.<ref name="USCG02" /> The original plan was to fly from ] to ] and return passing over the ]; however, the plans changed and a shorter flight was made from ] over the ] during the week of 24 July to 1 August 1931.<ref name="USCG02" /><ref name=Johnson122>Johnson, p 122</ref>


Smith was promoted to the rank of commander 1 October 1934.<ref name="USCG02" /> In June 1936 he was assigned as commanding officer of ] but was transferred in February 1937 to the newly commissioned {{USCGC|Spencer|WPG-36|6}} as her first commanding officer.<ref name="USCG02" /> While Smith was assigned to ''Spencer'' he was cited by the Department of the Navy for his role in the rescue of the crew of {{USS|Swallow|AM-4|6}} after she ran aground at ] on 19 February 1938.<ref name="USCG02" /><ref name=DANFS01>"Swallow (AM-4)", Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History & Heritage Command, U.S. Navy</ref> Smith was promoted to the rank of commander 1 October 1934.<ref name="USCG02" /> In June 1936 he was assigned as commanding officer of ] but was transferred in February 1937 to the newly commissioned {{USCGC|Spencer|WPG-36|6}} as her first commanding officer.<ref name="USCG02" /> While Smith was assigned to ''Spencer'' he was cited by the Department of the Navy for his role in the rescue of the crew of {{USS|Swallow|AM-4|6}} after she ran aground at ] on 19 February 1938.<ref name="USCG02" /><ref name=DANFS01>"Swallow (AM-4)", Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History & Heritage Command, U.S. Navy</ref> In October 1938 he was transferred to Boston and was designated as Commander, International Ice Patrol and also assumed command of {{USCGC|Chelan|CG-45)6}}. He commanded the Ice Patrol for the 1939 and 1940 seasons.<ref name="USCG02" />


==Greenland Patrol and World War II== ==Greenland Patrol and World War II==

Revision as of 20:42, 20 January 2014

Edward Hanson Smith
Nickname(s)"Iceberg" Smith
Born(1889-10-29)29 October 1889
Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts
Died29 October 1961(1961-10-29) (aged 72)
Quissett, Massachusetts
Place of burialMartha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
Allegiance United States of America
Service / branch United States Navy
Years of service1910–1950
RankRear Admiral
AwardsNavy Distinguished Service Medal
Other workDirector of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1950–1956

Edward Hanson "Iceberg" Smith was a United States Coast Guard admiral, oceanographer, and Arctic explorer. He was born 29 October 1889 at Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. He received a Ph.D. in oceanography from Harvard, and commanded the USCGC Marion and the USCGC Northland. Most famously, he commanded the Northeast Greenland Patrol, and led Coast Guard efforts to defend Greenland against the Germans in World War II.

Early life and career

Smith attended high schools at Vineyard Haven and New Bedford, Massachusetts. After attending one year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Smith was appointed a cadet at the Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction on 8 May 1910 and after graduation was commissioned as a third lieutenant 7 June 1913. His first assignment was aboard USRC Seminole home-ported at Wilmington, North Carolina where he served as the cutter junior engineering officer. In February 1915 he was transferred to USCGC Acushnet and USCGC Apache before be returning to USCGC Seminole. He remained assigned there until 4 August 1917 when he was transferred to USCGC Manning which escorted troop and supply convoys to Europe during World War I. During his tour of duty aboard Manning, Smith was promoted to second lieutenant on 7 June 1918. After short tours aboard USCGC Tallapoosa and USS Antigone from January to November 1919, Smith was assigned to USCGC Seneca, which was one of two cutters assigned annually to the International Ice Patrol.

International Ice Patrol

Because the Coast Guard had been tasked with staffing the International Ice Patrol as a result of the sinking of the SS Titanic in 1912, the service had always looked for ways to predict the path of icebergs that entered North Atlantic shipping lanes. President Woodrow Wilson issued an executive order on 7 February 1914 requiring the Coast Guard to assign two vessels to derelict destruction and patrol work in the North Atlantic for the remainder of the year, except that "the study and observation of ice conditions shall be effectively maintained, in particular from the beginning of February to the opening of the ice season." Although patrol activities had been suspended during World War I, the resumption of patrol work in 1919 included the Coast Guard hydrographer for the first time so that the Interdepartmental Board on International Service of Ice Observation, Ice Patrol and Ocean Derelict Destruction established by Wilson in 1916 could prepare a systematic program of scientific observations and publish the findings.

Smith was promoted to first lieutenant on 12 January 1923. He became interested in the scientific study of oceanograghy and the movement of icebergs during his assignment aboard Seneca, and remained assigned as an Ice Patrol hydrographer until August 1924 when he was directed by Coast Guard Headquarters to work with Vilhelm Bjerknes at the Bergen School of Meteorology. Bjerknes was internationally known for his studies of how wind currents interact with ocean currents to produce weather patterns and Smith studied his methods of measuring ocean currents. In August 1925, Smith spent three months at the British Meteorological Institute collecting data for use with the Ice Patrol before returning the United States and Ice Patrol duties. He received permission to study at Harvard University when Seneca wasn't on Ice Patrol duties. In 1925, Smith published A Practical Means for Determining Ocean Currents, which was utilized as a work bulletin throughout the Coast Guard.

Marion expedition

Main article: USCGC Marion (WSC-145)

In early 1928, Frederick C. Billard, Commandant of the Coast Guard, directed that Smith outfit USCGC Marion for an oceanographic expedition of the Davis Strait to study the formation of icebergs and study their movement as well as take scientific readings of the sea water and depth soundings. Marion left Boston, Massachusetts on 11 July with Smith as commanding officer of a crew of 26 bound for the Strait of Belle Isle off the Labrador coast. At intervals, Smith oversaw the taking of temperature and salinity readings at various depths as well as bottom sample and depth soundings at each observation station. Upon the expedition's completion on 18 September, some 2,000 observations of temperature and salinity had been taken along with numerous bottom samples together with soundings. The soundings were added to existing charts and added to the general knowledge of the 450,000 square miles of the Davis Strait that the expedition encompassed.

Pre-World War II career

After his successful completion of the Marion expedition, Smith was reassigned to Rum Patrol duties as commanding officer of several cutters including the Coast Guard destroyers Henley, Downes, Shaw, Tucker and George E. Badger from 1928 to 1936. He was promoted to lieutenant commander on 21 April 1929. During times when the cutters he was assigned had maintenance availabilities at dockside, Smith worked on his doctorial thesis at Harvard University and was awarded a doctor of philosophy degree in geologic and oceanographic physics on 19 June 1930 using his Marion expedition research as a basis of his dissertation. Smith was recommended by Harvard University, the American Geographic Society and the National Academy of Sciences to go on an expedition aboard the German dirigible Graf Zeppelin in 1931. The original plan was to fly from Spitzbergen to Fairbanks, Alaska and return passing over the North Pole; however, the plans changed and a shorter flight was made from Leningrad over the Kara Sea during the week of 24 July to 1 August 1931.

Smith was promoted to the rank of commander 1 October 1934. In June 1936 he was assigned as commanding officer of USCGC Tahoe but was transferred in February 1937 to the newly commissioned USCGC Spencer as her first commanding officer. While Smith was assigned to Spencer he was cited by the Department of the Navy for his role in the rescue of the crew of USS Swallow after she ran aground at Kanaga Island on 19 February 1938. In October 1938 he was transferred to Boston and was designated as Commander, International Ice Patrol and also assumed command of USCGC Chelan (CG-45)6). He commanded the Ice Patrol for the 1939 and 1940 seasons.

Greenland Patrol and World War II

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Smith was promoted to the rank of captain 1 December 1941.

Post-war Coast Guard assignments

With the end of World War II, Smith was reassigned to be Commander, Third Coast Guard District based at New York City in August 1945 with additional duties as Commander, Eastern Area being assigned after May 1946. As a colateral duty he was also Captain of the Port of New York during this assignment and also oversaw all Captain of the Port activities within the Third District. Smith was promoted to the rank of rear admiral 30 June 1947. From 1946 to 1949 Smith also served on the staff of the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University. Beginning in 1949 he served as a project leader for the Weapons System Evaluation Group at the Department of Defense and worked in that capacity until his retirement on 30 June 1950.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Through his former Harvard master's degree advisor, Dr. Henry Bryant Bigelow, then scientific advisor to the International Ice Patrol, Smith become elected to the board of trustees of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1945; a post he served in until 1961 when he became an honorary trustee. On 1 July 1950, Smith was named director of the institution and served in that capacity until 1956. After he retired as director he remained on the staff of the institution until his death. During his tenure as director, he was responsible for the construction of the Laboratory of Oceanography building at the institute as well as the acquisition of Research Vessel Crawford, which was the former Coast Guard Cutter Crawford.

Personal history

Smith was a member of theAmerican Geophysical Union, theArctic Institute of North America, the Aero-Arctic Society, and the Propeller Club of New York. He held an unlimited Merchant Marine master mariner license. He was married to Isabel R. (Brier) Smith and was the father to three sons, Porter, Stuart, and Jeremiah. Upon his death he was cremated and is buried at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

See also

Notes

Footnotes
  1. After 28 January 1915 the Revenue Cutter Service was merged with the United States Life-Saving Service to form the United States Coast Guard. The prefix for Revenue Cutter Service vessels was changed from USRC to USCGC, thus; USRC Seminole became USCGC Seminole.
Citations
  1. ^ "Edward H. Smith Biography", Retired U.S. Coast Guard Flag Officers, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office Cite error: The named reference "USCG02" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ Johnson, p 121
  3. ^ "Edward Hanson Smith", Annual Report, 1961, p 6, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  4. Tilley, John A., "The Coast Guard & the Greenland Patrol", The Coast Guard in World War II, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office
  5. Noble, p 67
  6. "Register of the Officers, Vessels, and Stations of the United States Coast Guard, January 1, 1918", (1918), Government Printing Office
  7. Johnson, pp 21-22
  8. Johnson, p 26
  9. Johnson, pp 116-117
  10. ^ Johnson, p 117
  11. Johnson, p 118
  12. Johnson, p 122
  13. "Swallow (AM-4)", Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History & Heritage Command, U.S. Navy
References cited
  • Johnson, Robert Irwin (1987). Guardians of the Sea, History of the United States Coast Guard, 1915 to the Present. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland. ISBN 978-0-87021-720-3.
  • Register of the Officers, Vessels, and Stations of the United States Coast Guard, January 1, 1918. Government Printing Office. 1918.

External links

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