Icebreakers

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 One of five powerful Navy icebreakers, the USS Edisto was launched May 29, 1946 by Western Pipe and Steel Co., San Pedro, CA and commissioned as AG-89 by the US Navy on March 20, 1947. She was later reclassified in late 1949 to AGB-2.  Named after an island near Charleston, SC, the Edisto sailed the frozen waters of the Arctic and Antarctic continents until October 1965 when she was decommissioned and transferred to the US Coast Guard and became the US Coast Guard Cutter Edisto (WAGB-284) until she was decommissioned November 1974 and then transferred to the GSA and sold 29 September 1977 to Boston Metals Co. She was then resold to Union Minerals Company, Carey, NJ and was later dismantled in Baltimore, MD. 

The Edisto was known as the "Steady Eddy," She was among seven ships known as the "Wind Class" Icebreakers having being built from the same plans used to construct the icebreakers for both the US Navy and US Coast Guard.  The US Navy icebreakers were named after islands; USS Burton Island (AG-88/AGB-1), USS Edisto (AG-89/AGB-2) USS Atka (AGB-3) and USS Staten Island (AGB-5). The latter two were built for the US Coast Guard but were loaned to Russia for a period before being returned in 1950 and commissioned by the US Navy. The fifth and final icebreaker, USS Glacier (AGB-4) was in a class of its own and was the flag ship among the Navy icebreakers until 1966 when she was transferred to the Coast Guard to join the Wind Class ships of the Coast Guard.

A visit to our web site www.ussedistoagb2.com will provide an understanding of the camaraderie shared by the men of the USS Edisto. Unlike many of the larger ships, the Icebreaker crews – civilians, officers and enlisted - were a close-knit group that worked side-by-side and shared the same rigors of the frozen Arctic and Antarctic waters. Whether a midshipmen, Kiddy-cruiser, 4-year enlistee or a career Salt, completing a northern or southern cruise were life-altering experiences. It is this unique experience that sets an icebreaker sailor apart from other sailors and is the bond that keeps them together. It is these men and their surviving spouse that make up the USS/USCG Edisto Association. 

This website is dedicated to all the US Navy and US Coast Guard Ice Water sailors and in particular to those who sailed on the Steady Eddy.  Please note that the Roster page lists the status of shipmates who sailed on the USS Edisto during the years 1947-1965 and the USCGC Edisto WAGB-284 from 1965 -1972. If you have any new information or clues to the whereabouts of missing shipmates, please email to Glenn Smith.