U.S. OPERATIONS IN ANTARCTIC

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 28003, 25 June 1956, Page 10

U.S. OPERATIONS IN ANTARCTIC

Eleven Ships To Use New Zealand Ports

'’soo MEN IN SPRING TASK FORCE

A 10-ship task force with a destroyer escort would operate between New Zealand ports and the Antarctic this spring, said the United States Antarctic expedition’s deputy-commander (Captain Gerald L. Ketchum, U.S.N.), who arrived in Christchurch by Globemaster on Saturday.

The force is the naval arm of America’s part in the 1957 geophysical year programme, which will include a study of the world’s least-known continent and its atmosphere from about 50 polar stations. Two or three of the force’s ships may go direct to the Weddell Sea from east coast United States ports before coming to New Zealand.

The force is much bigger than the one which operated from Lyttelton last summer. It will be too big for Lyttelton alone this year and Wellington, and possibly Auckland and Dunedin, will be used by the American navy.

The destroyer escort is required at Lyttelton early in October to get on station between New Zealand and McMurdo Sound for a fly-in by a naval air squadron and Air Force Globemaster transport planes. The Navy’s most powerful icebreaker is wanted at the pack-ice edge by October 19. Other ships will stage through New Zealand early in December. The ships will carry 2500 men and 16,600 tons of food and equipment to resupply existing bases in the Antarctic and set up new ones. One or more of the ships will be used to lift 1000 tons of material for the New Zealand expedition. Lieu-tenant-Commander Donald F. Kent, the American logistics officer, said on Saturday he had reserved 40.000 cubic feet of space in the ships for the material Tonight Commander Kent will travel to Wellington by inter-island steamer express to hold talks with Sir Edmund Hillary and the Ross Sea Committee concerning New Zealand requirements. The material will go to McMurdo Sound. He will return to Christchurch on Wednesday, and begin a search for office space for an advance party due at Harewood in late July.

Surface Group Composition The surface group will comprise five cargo ships, four icebreakers and one tanker. The United States Navy’s most up-to-date icebreaker, the year-old 8775-ton Glacier, will lead the force. The other icebreakers are the Atka, which called at Wellington and Dunedin 18 months ago when on an Antarctic reconnaissance; the Staten

Island, and the coastguard breaker, Northwind. The Staten Island (6500 tons) and the Northwind are of the same class as the Edisto, which was, at Lyttelton last summer, and the Atka. Neither the Staten Island nor the Northwind has been in New Zealand waters before. The icebreakers will carry one helicopter each, with the exception of the Glacier, which will carry two. The helicopters will be used for spotting passages through heavy ice. The group’s tanker will be the Nesoelen, which was at Lyttelton six months ago. The cargo component includes three other ships that accompanied the Nespelen. They are the Arneb, which will again be the flagship of the group; the 12,800-ton attack cargo ship Wyandot; and the Military Sea Transportation Service’s Greenville Victory (12.450 tons). The destroyer escort will be the 21knot Erough, an Edsall class vessel of 1850 tons, of the Navy’s Atlantic fleet. The ship carries triple 3in armament. Its task will be to act as a station ship between New Zealand airports and McMurdo Sound for the fly-in by naval and Air Force planes. The ship will carry a powerful radio beacon.

Once into Antarctic waters the force will split into three separate groups. The Glacier and the Staten Island, under Captain Ketchum, will head the Ross Sea group; the Northwind, under Captain C. W. Thomas (a Coastguard officer on Rear-Admiral George J. Dufek’s staff), will lead a second group in the Knox coast area; and the Atka, under Captain E. A. Macdonald, will take a group into the Weddell Sea.