Departing Norfolk on 4 December , she crossed the Antarctic Circle on 25 December 1946 . Carrying one Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopter , one Curtiss SOC Seagull amphibian , and tending three Martin PBM-5 Mariner flying boats ; she contributed to the aerial exploration of Antarctica in Operation Highjump , and saved several downed aviators from the hostile climate . In addition a bay in Antarctica , Pine Island Bay , was named in honor of the ship . A glacier on Thurston Island was also named after the ship . Departing the Antarctic in March , she traveled from Rio de Janeiro via the Panama Canal to San Diego , California , arriving there in April 1947
downed aviators
1946 Antarctica PBM Mariner crash
USS Pine Island (AV-12)