[6] In January 1941, the German cruiser Pinguin attacked the unarmed and unescorted Norwegian whaling fleet. Admiral Byrd was an American explorer who led many expeditions to Antarctica. It won the 1948 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film.[17]. The United States refused to recognise any foreign territorial claims to Antarctica, initiating Operation Highjump. Operation Tabarin veterans Reece, White and Russell remained at their bases and continued their work for the FIDS. In 1947, after the Nazi craft defeated the Byrd expedition to Antarctica, "the U.S. military, alarmed about the Nazi antigravity fighter disks housed in their secure ice-bound redoubt in NEUSCHWABENLAND in Antarctica, knew the U.S. was vulnerable to invasion by these crafts and defenseless against such an assault. According to legend, he was the first to reach the North and South Poles via airplane. On December 2, 1946, the ship sailed from Norfolk, VA, reaching the Bay of Whales, New Zealand on January 16, 1947. A secondary objective was to increase knowledge of hydrographic, geographic, meteorological, geological and electromagnetic conditions of the area. [Our Real War of the Worlds"]. Meanwhile, the Marquesa, on leaving Liverpool wharf, had grounded on a submerged wreck and the Tabarin contingent were ordered to re-join the rest of the expedition. By the time Operation Highjump was completed on March 1, a dozen helo flights had been made to the base. [73], James Marr at Base A, Port Lockroy, 5 Nov 1944, Base A, Port Lockroy, Goudier Islet, Wiencke Island, 6 Jan 1945. The operation involved 13 ships, more than 4,700 personnel and a variety of aircraft, including newly purchased helicopters. [33], Potential recruits were identified by Marr, assisted by Wordie and Mackenzie, and interviewed by him at the Colonial Office in September. The city's leader told him that he was concerned about surface issues. The flight deck was only 300 feet long, but with the JATO assist the first aircraft, with Byrd aboard, was airborne in 100 feet. The author of A Flight to the Land Beyond the North Pole describes a man with delicate features and years etched on his face. There is a major problem with Sayersons quote. By December 24, the USS Currituck had begun launching aircraft on reconnaissance missions. What is the most likely answer is that the Soviet era report released in the 2006 Russian Documentary was substantially correct. These were to dispatch the armed merchant cruiser HMSCarnarvon Castle to the Dependencies to make landings, carry out administrative activities and remove marks of Argentine claims, and, crucially, to establish permanently occupied bases at strategic locations. [57], William Scoresby visited Base A twice more before winter set in. Flying in subzero conditions meant that the oil in each aircraft had to be heated, special fuel was used and the engines were warmed up for a long time prior to takeoff. According to Byrd, his expeditions had resulted in the discovery of massive quantities of gold. Since it was impossible to land in the area, messages were dropped directing the survivors to make their way to the open water about 10 miles to the north. [79], Among other accomplishments, it brought Chilean President Gabriel Gonzlez Videla to inaugurate one of its bases personally, and he thereby became the first head of state to set foot on the continent. Base B occupied one of the buildings. In response to the activities of Germany, Chile, Argentina, and the United States, Britain launched Operation Tabarin in 1943. Both these factors added to the pressure Marr was under. The PBM flight crews were all inexperienced volunteers, having only had a month to train for the mission. After Admiral Byrd and his team established the Little America IV base near where three previous bases had been situated, aircraft would photograph as much of Antarcticas land surface as possible during the three-month operation. Pinguin seized a haul of 20,320tons of whale oil, one of the largest prizes seized by a commerce raider during the war. On 3 February 1945, Fitzroy and the 550 ton sealer Eagle arrived at Port Lockroy, with Victor Russell and David James, Norman Bertram Marshall, Gordon Lockley, Frank White, Alan Reece, Thomas Donnachie and Norman Layther aboard. [2], In the Antarctic summer of 1944/45, Captain Andrew Taylor became leader, following the resignation of Marr due to ill health. Bond, included Currituck with the other three Mariners. Rather than deny the heavy casualty reports, Admiral Byrd revealed in a press interview that Task Force 68 had encountered a new enemy that could fly from pole to pole at incredible speeds.. Previously classified files on the mysterious Byrd led naval expedition to Antarctica were released by the KGB following the Soviet Unions collapse in 1991. The resupply of the bases included men, supplies and equipment, together with 25 sledge dogs to extend field work on the mainland of the Antarctic Peninsula. Operation Windmill (OpWml) was the United States Navy's Second Antarctica Developments Project, an exploration and training mission to Antarctica in 1947-1948. Several were well known to them through the Discovery Investigations, including the chief steward Thomas Berry, ship's carpenter Lewis Ashton, senior wireless operator James Farrington, handymen John Matheson and Gwion Davies. In 1947, as a result of his daring flight, Adm. Richard Byrd left Base Camp Arctic and went north. We are talking about the well-known battle of Antarctica, also known as Operation Highjump, during which, in 1946, U.S.A. [12], Rear Admiral Richard H. Cruzen, USN, Commanding, Rear Admiral Richard H. Cruzen, USN, Commanding Officer, Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd, Jr. USN, (Ret), Officer in Charge, Capt. The base comprised large tents, weather equipment, Quonset huts, three packed-snow runways and one short runway made of steel matting. He was best known for his Antarctica expeditions, which were most likely aided by airplanes and other technical resources. Siple was the same Eagle Scout who accompanied Byrd on the previous Byrd Antarctic expeditions. The media covered the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition nearly as thoroughly as the first, but the men from Little America broadcast the radio programs that were played throughout American homes. The US Navy has long been notorious for falsifying the identity of its ships and re-writing their histories if they embarrass official policy. The pilot was rescued but the accident was indicative of the hard lessons learned by pilots and crew in the early days of helicopters. The admiral explained that he was not trying to scare anyone, but the cruel reality is that in case of a new war, the United States could be attacked by planes flying over one or both poles. [44], The two ships left Port Stanley on 29 January. 21 men over-wintered in 1945. William Scoresby proceeded through the sea ice and landed a reconnoitering party, but, though urged to follow, the Fitzroy's captain, Keith Pitt, and Captain David Roberts (a representative of the Falkland Islands Company), decided they could not risk the ship. A plaque honoring the three killed crewmen was later erected at the McMurdo Station research base,[13] and Mount Lopez on Thurston Island was named in honor of killed airman Maxwell A. Lopez. Stores, equipment and crew members destined for the erection of an unmanned Base E on Stonington Island moved into Eagle, others boarded William Scoresby and Fitzroy in order to build Station D on Hope Bay. Unissued / unused materials.Shots taken during Admiral Byrd's expedition to the South Pole, Antarctic. [14], Upon reaching Deception Island, Carnarvon Castle replaced the Argentinian flag with the Union Jack and placed four British Crown Land signs. Other articles where Operation High Jump is discussed: Antarctica: Technological advancements in exploration: Byrd's fourth expedition, called "Operation Highjump," in the summer of 1946-47, was the most massive sea and air operation theretofore attempted in Antarctica. [5], The important trade routes round Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope made the waters of the South Atlantic Ocean a particular target, with a corresponding threat to the Falkland Islands and its Dependencies. The experiences of the PBM-5 Mariner George 1 were indicative of the difficulties airmen faced during Operation Highjump. [20][21], An Expedition Committee was established in June 1943, chaired by A.B. As such, the United States sought to establish a presence in Antarctica and explore the frigid continent using naval and air assets. [51] Signs of Argentine territorial claims left by Primero de Mayo were removed. [52], The main hut, named Bransfield House in memory of their original expedition ship, was a prefabricated design by the Norwich firm of Boulton and Paul. [3], The expedition was relieved in March 1946 by members of the newly formed Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FIDS). Operation Highjump, officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946-1947, was a United States Navy operation organized by RADM Richard E. Byrd Jr. USN, (Ret), Officer in Charge, Task Force 68, and led by RADM Richard H. Cruzen, USN, Commanding Officer, Task Force 68. An aircraft [Martin flying-boat] from the Currituck that took off just a few moments later was struck with an unknown type of ray from the object, and almost instantly crashed into the sea near our vessel. Though plausible, this is highly unlikely given that the US and USSR were still allies at the time of Operation Highjump, and had a common interest in finding and destroying any hidden Nazi base(s) in the South Atlantic. measures in Antarctica testify that American military circles are seeking to subject the polar regions to their control and create military bases.. [42] She had very limited cargo capacity but the Falkland Islands Company vessel SS Fitzroy had also been assigned to the expedition to transport cargo and most of the personnel. Pilot LeBlanc would lose both of his badly burned and frozen legs. The Soviets eyed the Operation Highjump announcement warily. A month later Primero de Mayo returned and duly replaced the Union Jack with the Argentinian flag. Then the men would move inland to establish Little America IV, headquarters for Byrd and his six R4Ds. The three Navy airmen who in 1946 became the first U.S. casualties in Antarctica (see "Executive Editor Paul Hoversten asked Dian Olson Belanger, a historian of polar exploration and the author. IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. The interview appeared in the Wednesday, March 5, 1947, edition of the Chilean newspaper El Mercurio and read in part as follows: Admiral Richard E. Byrd warned today that the United States should adopt measures of protection against the possibility of an invasion of the country by hostile planes coming from the polar regions. The R4Ds fuel, oil and other fluids were drained. During his flight to the North Pole, Admiral Byrd is said to have flown past the Pole and into an opening leading to the Earth. The Life And Legacy Of Admiral Chester Nimitz, African-Americans In The Navy: A History Of Overcoming Racism And Discrimination. The incident took place in the winter of 1916, during World War I, when a group of American sailors attempted to seize a Norwegian whaling station in the Antarctic. [43] The Fitzroy had already collected the cargo carried to Montevideo on other vessels. Determining the feasibility of establishing, maintaining, and utilizing bases in the Antarctic and investigating possible base sites; Developing techniques for establishing, maintaining, and utilizing, Amplifying existing stores of knowledge of, This page was last edited on 1 May 2023, at 22:14. The operation involved significant planning and equipment, from gloves, coats and provisions to tiny snow boots to protect sled dogs paws, and even a Christmas tree and Santa Claus suit since the ships would be at sea on December 25. Pentagon plans for Alien invasion exist according to military professor A geological survey was also undertaken, and aspects of glaciology and physiography observed. Categories Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. FILM ID:2369.04A VIDEO FROM BRITISH PATH. Many people died during the eight weeks that the Byrd expedition lasted. Raimund Goerler, the chief archivestroy, discovered the diary while rummaging through a box of artifacts in the collection. On 19 March she brought Falkland Islander John Blyth, who joined the team as a cook/handyman in place of Blair.
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