ICEBERG-CARRIER

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 March 1946, Page 6

ICEBERG-CARRIER

PLAN THAT “MELTED" INTO

OBLIVION

MORE DETAILS OF STORY

WASHINGTON, March 2.

The best parts of the story of how the Allies proposed to build a 2,000,-000-ton aircraft-carrier to form. a huge iceberg for use in the invasion of Europe were omitted from the report released in London, Ottawa and Washington, states a correspondent of the New York Herald-tribune. Mr. Churchill called the plan the “Habbakuk project.” He took two scientists with him to the Quebec conference in August, 1943, and they thought up the scheme for a handmade iceberg. The.combined Chiefs of Staff met at the Chateau Frontenac one day and argued acrimoniously over what offensive step should be taken next. Every time the argument grew unusually bitter, the highest officers dismissed the small fry and fought in privacy. This day they sent the lesser lights to an anteroom. Most of the groundlings stayed in the room, but Air Marshal Sir William Welsh went out to lunch and when he returned he did not know spmething the rest of those waiting knew. Suddenly two shots rang out. Remembering the acrimony in the conference room when he left, Sir William Welsh exclaimed: “By God, the Americans 'are shooting the British Chiefs of Staff!”

A colleague asked: “How do you know it is not the other way?”

Bullets on the Ice

Air Marshal Welsh admitted .the possibility, but the mystery was soon solved.

The two scientists closeted "with the high-rankers had two cakes .of ice trundled in on a hand truck, one cake of ordinary ice and the other of pykrete resulting from microreinforcement of ice by woodpulp. One of the scientists, without warning, whipped out a revolver and fired into the cake of ice. He smiled as the bullet penetrated, splintering the ice in all directions. He then fired a bullet into the pykrete and with pride as the bullet bounded off the new compounds. Admiral E. J. King, United States Naval Chief, did not glow as he felt a breeze below one knee, looked down, and saw the leg of his trousers nicked.

The combined (Chiefs thought the pykrete stood a pretty good test and arranged for a demonstration for Mr. Churchill and President Roosevelt.

The scientists were not entirely happy over this test, because secret sc:’/icemen banned the using of a revolver, letting the inventors use only a h.drhet and a hammer bn the icccake. The hatchet and hammer merely bounced off the pykrete. Mr. Churchill waved his cigar gleefully, Mr. Roosevelt did not say no, and the construction of a model was ordered.

Project "Melted.” However, the project was allowed to melt away The secret was so well kept that when the story \Y as released many naval officers refused to believe it until shown the official report. Then the wisecracks flowed. Naval officers speculated freely about the possibility of sinking the carrier with an ice pick, of housing the admiral in an igloo, and of attacking submarines with snowballs. The great convenience,of the ice-berg-carrier to whisky ’ and soda drinkers was emphasised—if they only allowed Scotch aboard a Navy ship. __________________