On this day in 1941 two ships arrived in the Antarctic to evacuate personnel from Admiral Byrd's 1939-40 expedition, an event I would have been completely unaware of but for this item:
Today in World War II History—February 24, 1941
Two ships were involved, the USS Bear and the USCGC North Star.
The Bear was a combination steam powered and sail powered vessel, something that was very common in the late days of sail. She was acquired by the Coast Guard as she was a cold weather ship and the forerunner of ice breakers. Given her service in the Arctic and Antarctic, she's regarded as the most famous ship to serve in the Coast Guard. Built as a sealer in 1874, she was sold to the United States in 1884 and served under a variety of names, although normally they retained the name "Bear" in some fashion. She was resold to a Canadian owner, again for sealing, but never put back into that use, in 1948. In 1962 she was sold to a restauranteur who intended to make her into a floating restaurant but she sank while undertow, a sad end for the long serving ship.
The North Star was a cutter that had originally entered service with the Department of the Interior in 1932 for events such as this and then became a Coast Guard Cutter in 1941. She provided escort service with the Coast Guard starting in July 1941, prior to the U.S. entry into World War Two. She was decommissioned in 1945.
On the same day, the RAF bombed the French city of Brest.
Other events occurring on this day:
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