Three-Year U.S. Expedition To Antarctic

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27629, 9 April 1955, Page 7

Three-Year U.S. Expedition To Antarctic

(Rec. 8 p.m.) WASHINGTON, April 7. The Defence Department said today that the United States Navy would launch a threeyear expedition to the Antarctic on November 1, when five ships, carrying 1393 officers and men would sail for Little America under the command of Rear-Admiral Richard Byrd.

The surface vessels would be followed next year by seven aircraft, which would be flown from Wellington, New Zealand, to snow-packed airfields in the Antarctic. Observation stations would be established and would be manned by American scientists taking part in the international geophysical year. The first objective of the expedition, scheduled to reach the edge of the Antarctic continent next January, would be to land supplies and equipment and to start construction of the main base camp and one snow runway.

The ships of the task force would leave the main base for the United State* some time next February,

leaving behind 121 officers and men, to spend a South Polar winter. They would complete the runway and have the base camp and airfield ready to receive the aircraft that would be flown in during October, 1956. About the time the first aircraft flew in, construction would begin of an overland road to a second base at 80 degrees south latitude and 20 degrees west longitude. The first planes to be flown in would be medium patrol craft equipped with skis. If these planes found that wheel landings were possible, two larger transports would be flown in.

They would be -followed by three of the largest types of military transports, which would be used to airlift supplies and equipment for the third observation stations, which would be established as near as possible to the South Pole itself. After two southernmost stations were completed, the construction crews would be flown out and civilian scientists, who would man the would be flown in.

Before the long expedition was completed early in 1959, the navy

ships would have made four round trips to the Antarctic. The first group of scientists would go south with the second trip, leaving the United States in November, 1956.

Captain George Dufek, like Admiral Byrd, a veteran of Polar explorations, would be acting task force commander of the expedition and in direct charge of Navy operations. The task force ships, detached from the Atlantic fleet, would be the icebreakers Glacier and Edisto, two cargo ships, the Arneb and Wyd. and the refuelling ship, Nespelen. Actual scientific observations conducted under the joint sponsorship of the National Academy of Scientists, would be to study and report on meteorology, cosmic rays, solar activity, and geomagnetism.