BULLETI NUSARP LIBRARY U.S. ANTARCTIC PROJECTS OFFICER VOLUME I NUMBER 9 MAY 1960 PETER I ISLAND On 13 March 1960, Izvestia reported that members of the Soviet Antarctic expedition based on Ob had made a landing on Peter I Island. The account then went on to state that this was he first landing since a Norwegian survey team went ashore on 10 February 1948 This brief news item received wide circula- tion in the press both here and abroad. In the interests of accuracy, it is pertinent to point out that one and probably two American scientific survey parties landed on Peter I Island be- tween the Norwegian and Soviet landings. During Operation "WIND MILL" on 15 February 1948, just five days after the Norwegians, Captain E. A. McDonald and other personnel from USS BURTON ISLAND went ashore by small boat. A second American landing was made during Operation DEEP FREEZE 60 on 28 Febru- ary 1960, almost simultaneously with the Russians. Both boats and helicopters again operating from BURTON ISLAND were used. Like the Soviet expedition, BURTON ISLAND carried out a thorough reconnaissance, and found as a result that the island was smaller than as reported earlier by the Norwegians. How- ever, the U. S. party managed to land by helicopter on the summit of Lars Christensen Peak, which proved to be 5750 feet high, rather than 4003 feet as previously reported. The only previously recorded landing on Peter I Island was that made by members of the Norwegian research vessel Norvegia on 1 February 1929. This team engaged in sounding, dredging, and charting the island on which it erected a small depot. Peter I Island lies in the Bellingshausen Sea, 68 0 50 1 S, 90 0 35 1 W, 250 miles off the cvalgreen Coast of the Antarctic Continent. It is about 15 miles long and five miles wide and rises to a height of 5750 feet. It is completely ice-covered except for some of the steeper slopes. Named after the famous Russian Czar, this island was discovered by Cap- tain Thaddeus Bellingshausen in .January 1821. This two-ship Russian Antarctic expedition viewed the island from a distance of about 14 miles and made notes of its position and main topographical features, but no landing was attempted because of impenetrable pack ice. Many ships of other nations have sighted the island including Admiral Byrds Bear and North Star in 141 and the USCGC WESTVVIND, which conducted a helicopter connaissance in 1958. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Peter I Island 1 Track of tJSS BURTON ISLAND (AGB-1) at Peter I Island 28-29 February 1960 4 Summary of 61st Troop Carrier Squadron DEEP FREEZE 60 Operations 5 Discovery Deep Traverse 6 New Byrd Station 8 Now Zealanders Award Plaque to VX-6 9 DEEP FREEZE 60 Statistics 9 Foreign Observer and Scientific Exchange Programs 10 Gold Star Awarded to Lt. Col. Merle FL Dawson, USA 11 Ships Which Have Participated in Operations DEEP FREEZE 12 Paotolus Bank 12 Winter Parties - DEEP FREEZE 60 13 Ship-Based Helicopter Operations 15 Staff Notes -- Reserve Trainees 16 Additions to the Library Collection 17 Additions to the Map Collection 19 Architectural and Construction Plans 20 The issuance of this publication approved by the Secretary of the Navy on 19 April 1960. The photograph on page 1 is from Sailing Directions for Antarctica, 1943 (H.o. 138 9 p . 171). The original is by Lars Christenson. The base map used for compiling the map on page 7, "Discovery Deep Trav- erse," is Hydrographic Office Chart 6636, "Ross Sea." ERRATA: On page 11, Bulletin No. 7, March 1960, the Master of USNS PRIVATE JOHN R. TOWLE was listed as C. D. Cappello, The Master of TOWLLE is Knud T. Mortonson. 3 I p • I. • k ••a it 4 1 S 1t5 4 U tt:f I •1 .. ..•. A I •• t OF E.OURTON ISLAM,) AT PETER I I3LND 28-29 FEBRUPRY 1960 Ship Track and Direction Island as Plotted on Existing Charts Island as Plotted by Radar v" Exposed Rock Face Rock and Shoal Areas Lars Christensen Peak, 5750 ft Glacier SUMMARY OF 61ST TROOP CARRIER SQUADRON DEEP FREEZE 60 OPERATIONS (Narrative summary and additional details appear in "C-130 Operations Begin," page 3, Bulletin No. 5, January 1960.) Operation ICE FLOW: The introduction of ski-equipped, four-engine, oargq aircraft in Antarctica was conducted by the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron (Medium), Sewart Air Force Base, Tennessee, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Wilbert Thrk,:USAF. Deployrent from Sewart Air Force Base 7 January Arr1valChrjstohurch: 13 January. (5 p1anes)(and 17 Jnüax (3 planes) Deployment from Christchurch: 23 January Byrd Station resupply begun: . 25 January Pole Station resupply begun: 27 January Return to Christchurch from MoMurLo: 7 February Complement: 7 C-130D Hercules, ski-equipped aircraft 1 C-130A Hercules, wheel-equipped aircraft (remained at Christchurch) 131 Officers and men, including: • 10 Flight crews • ,37.Squadron maintenance personnel 12 Loadmasters 45 CAMS specialist personnel Resupply Mission: 25 January - 5 February Total tonnage 406.9 Average tonnage per day 41.3 Most tonnage in one, day 62.9 Average flights per day 7 Total hours • 1104 Hours at NAF McMurdo 379 Average missions per crew 7.3 Total ski landings 128 Byrd 30 Pole 28 McMurdo 70 5 DISCOVERY DEEP TRAVERSE The last traverse of Operation DEEP FREEZE 60 left NAF McMurdo Sound on 25 February (local time). It was sent to investigate an area of the Ross Ice Shelf known as "Discovery Deep, hence its name, and to test two new Sno(Jats. "Discovery Deep" is an area on the sea floor, under the ice shelf, discovered by Dr. Albert Crary and the Victoria Land Traverse party of DEEP FREEZE III (1957-58). The area was to be revisited to determine the shape and depth of this 4,590-foot depression -- more than 1,000 feet deeper than the arsa surrounding it -- located at 790 South, 165° East; and to find out whether it is a basin or part of a trough. The four-man party led by Edwin S. Robinson (geophysicist, University of Wisconsin) included Sveneld Evteev (glaciologist, ex- change scientist from the Soviet Union); Jack B. Long (traverse en- gineer, University of Wisconsin); and Martin D. Wise (electronics technician, second class, U. S. Navy). The party used two new Tucker 843 SnoCats which had been shipped down on the USNS PRIVATE JOHN R. TOWLE. These 23,000-pound vehicles each pulled a ten-ton sled. Using an R4D gyroscopic compass for navigation, the vehicles made the 510-mile trip at five miles per hour. They averaged .76 miles per gallon of gasoline. The vehicles were found to be very comfortable for living and working at forty- below-zero temperatures. Men were able to sleep in the vehicles while traveling over the be shelf. Brought to McMurdo for use in the DEEP FREEZE 61 traverse pro- gram, the new model SnoCats developed mechanical pr:is. Although the traverse was set up to be self-sustaining, resupply flights were made by an R4D, an Otter WC-1), and an HUS-1A, to bring spare parts to the party. The trip by helicopter, on 9 March, was complicated not only by radio blaokouts but also because the oil in the HtJS-1A overheated and it was forced to land eighteen times to cool its system on the return trip. During the entire trip, the party carried on a scientific pro- gram. Four major stations were made where glaciological pits were dug and seismic reflection and refraction shots made. In addition, gravity, magnetic, glaciological, altimetrica1 and meteorological data were gathered at regular intervals throughout the trip. Snow investigations were made at 77 stations. Preliminary results show that the "Deep" is probably a 4,300- foot trough, trending south-southwesterly but closer to the coastal mountains on the west than had been expected. Further investigation in crevassed areas will be needed to complete the profile of the undersea features. 6 J DISCOVERY DEEP TRAVFRSE 1960 Approximate route deatvoc, frcm provisional data 4 Scale 1:1, 500, 000 / 1 1 ,--\ ( / Mi T t 1, jI ¶ ..!, Tr. rse route and Is W69 fr/P direction (25 Feb 28 Max) 4N411" , If — Route of helicopter ( (9 Mar) 1 fl - H\ .- \ \ Mtf - - L \i \f 4 Y ,, J I I I 4 / ) 4S p I —--- 1 .. I A •..f A here ' -I--- "4.. welral \ \S I \\ a - .. ,.- tft I dttbt s I ct -- IF mtit NYW BYRD STATION Herbert W. WHITNEY, Captain, USN (Ret.) Operations Development Consultant Following an "on site" inspection of Byrd Station, It was decided that a completely new station would be preferable to an expensive rehabilitation of the existing facilities. At its best, the old station, with repairs, could last but a few more years. Admiral Tyree then sent a message to Washington requesting a de- sign for the new station, an estimate of its costs, and asked that necessary funding action be undertaken. Based on experience gained at Greenland and Antarctic inland stations over the past few years, it was decided that structures and related facilities built on the surface would be of short lire, with drifting snow burying them in a short time. Two other possi- bilities -- under the surface, or elevated over the surface -- were then explored. A study of these o methods dertaken. Both the Army and the Air Force had oonstruoted,r were in the process of constructing, facilities in the Arotiobed on these concepts. The elevated structures, although of ex eI4ent desigpand of long potential life, in the drifting snow were believed to be economi- cally unfeasible.