USS Yancey (AKA-93) - Operation Highjump

Operation Highjump

In compliance with her new orders, Yancey proceeded back to the west coast, sailing via Cristobal and the Panama Canal. After arriving at San Pedro, California, Yancey reported for duty with TF 68 and was reassigned to the Pacific Fleets Service Force and homeported at San Francisco, on 11 November. The next day, she shifted to Port Hueneme, California, where she began loading cargo for Operation Highjump, the U.S. Navy expedition to Antarctica.

Departing Port Hueneme on 2 December, Yancey pressed southward, headed for Antarctica, and spent Christmas at sea. Two days later, she saw her first icebergs—visible evidence that she was entering the polar latitudes. She sighted the northern limit of the Antarctic pack ice on the 28th and spent the next two days investigating ice conditions. She fueled from USS Canisteo 10 nautical miles (19 km) south of Scott Island, Antarctica, purportedly becoming the first ship to conduct an underway refueling below the Antarctic Circle.

After threading her way through the pack ice over the ensuing weeks, Yancey finally arrived at Bay of Whales, Antarctica, mooring at the shelf ice on 18 January 1947. Subsequently departing that "port" on 6 February for the area to the north of the ice floes, the attack cargo ship entered the pack ice on the 9th. Over the next three days, she pressed through the floes that extended for a width of almost 275 nautical miles (509 km).

On 13 February, Yancey joined TU 68.1.2 which also included the Coast Guard icebreaker, Northwind, towing the attack cargo ship Merrick. Within a week, the ships were riding out a fierce storm that justified—at least to Yancey sailors—the Antarctic's title as "The World's Stormiest Sea". Yancey reached Port Chalmers, New Zealand, on 22 February and departed that port on 5 March, bound for Samoa.

Subsequently departing Pago Pago on 27 March bound for Hawaii with YTL-153 in tow, the attack cargo ship arrived at Pearl Harbor on 14 April. She soon got underway for the west coast of the United States and reached Port Hueneme on 2 May 1947. There, Yancey disembarked a unit of a construction battalion ("Seabees") and discharged TF 68 cargo. Her duty with TF 68 thus completed on 15 May, Yancey reported for duty with Service Division (ServDiv) 12. Shortly thereafter, Yancey shifted to San Pedro before heading to Terminal Island, California, for restricted availability on 20 May. After that period of repairs and alterations, Yancey returned to Port Hueneme to load cargo earmarked for shipment to Pearl Harbor and Guam.