Image: USS Bear (AG-29) Antarctica c1939

Description: The U.S. Navy survey ship USS Bear (AG-29) pictured in Antarctic waters during operations with the U.S. Antarctic Service. Note the aircraft on the ship. "One of two ships that supported the 1933-1935 Byrd Antarctic Expedition, Bear was built in Scotland in 1874, and purchased by the U.S. Navy ten years later specifically for use in the rescue of members of the Greeley expedition in the Arctic. Along with another ship, Thetis, she rescued six survivors on 23 June 1884. Transferred to the Revenue Cutter Service (later U.S. Coast Guard), she served until 1929, making 34 voyages to Alaskan and Arctic waters. She was sold to the City of Oakland, California, in 1929 for use as a museum. After participating in the Byrd expedition of 1933-1935, during which she was known by the name Bear of Oakland, the ship was repurchased by the Navy in 1939. Commissioned as Bear (AG 29), she made two voyages to the Antarctic as part of the U.S. Antarctic Service and subsequently operated with the Northeast Greenland Patrol until decommisioned in 1944." (NMNA)
Title: USS Bear (AG-29) Antarctica c1939
Credit: U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation photo No. 1985.131.036
Author: U.S. Navy
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No