Aircraft To Fetch Traverse Party

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31587, 26 January 1968, Page 1

Aircraft To Fetch Traverse Party

A United States Navy ski-equipped Hercules next Thursday will make an openfield landing and take-off at the highest altitude attempted in the Antarctic.

It will pick up 10 members of a scientific party which has spent two months traversing part of Queen Maud Land, one of the last unexplored regions of the Antarctic. It may be the last major traverse by the Americans in the Antarctic. A decision will be made soon whether to continue the traverse next year for a fourth summer season. If the traverse is to continue, the vehicles—three snocats—will be left where they are for the winter. If not they will be retrieved next week by the Hercules. The traverse may be deferred or cancelled as a result of the success this summer of the airborne icemeasuring programme by members of the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, in a Super Constellation. ' Since the traverse party set out from Plateau Station on its 1200-mile traverse on December 1 the Navy’s VX6 Squadron Hercules has dropped supplies to it four times. Over the 13,000 ft polar plateau the aircraft reduced its speed to 120 knots and made the cargo drops from between 500 ft and 1000 ft above the surface to reduce damage to the cargoes. This low-level drop technique was tested by the squadron at Williams Field, McMurdo Sound, in December. A United States major in the Marine Corps, who had experience with the method in Vietnam, was adviser. The aircraft dropped a

; total of 114 drums of diesel i fuel to the party. Other ■ cargo included petrol, white , gas, food supplies and scienl tific instruments, of a total t weight of 80001 b. Forty-four ■ cargo parachutes were used, i Most of the cargo sank 2ft to 3ft into the ice on ! landing but only 10 per cent ■ was damaged. ! Although there were some , visibility problems during f the drops because of haze , and fog, the aircraft had no ; difficulty finding the party, ; which has a radar beacon ' which sends a signal 60 to 80 miles.