SUBMARINE TRIP TO POLE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17436, 7 April 1931, Page 9

SUBMARINE TRIP TO POLE

SAILING UNDER ICEFIELDS HIDDEN OCEAN OF THE ARCTIC WILKIN'S' EXPEDITION Xi;W YORK. .March 10. Final preparations are almost completed for a daring submarine expedition to the North Pole, which will be led this summer by Sjir Hubert Wilkins, tho distinguished Australian explorer. Trials will be carried out until the end of April, when the expedition will start in its thrilling voyage U.> the Arctic circle. When it reaches tho Arctic regions it will submerge and pass through the great ice barriers by cruising 2oft under the surface. The submarine will be able to remain under the ice for two and a-lialf days, ami travel at au average speed of tlnfo and a-half miles an hour.

The purpose of the expedition is to study ice conditions in midsummer in the Arctic with a view to establishing a score of meteorological stations from which observations of weather conditions can lie 'made which may prove, of inestimable value to the remainder of the world. The submarine, which is named Nautilus, was formerly attached to the United .States Navy, and has been leased by flic Government to Sir Hubert. It is 375 ft. long, and is oi.' 350 tons.

Scientific apparatus has been fitted to the submarine which will enable it to bore through ice 50ft thick, while steel runners have been attached to the deck on both sides of the eonningtower. These runners are somewhat similar to those on a sled, and with them the explorer expects the submarine to slip along beneath the sur face of the ice cap, should conditions warrant. OBSEK VATTON BALLOON. The submarine will also be equipped with a balloon for observations, and will bo provided with both radio and television apparatus. Finding an uncharted way beneath the ice packs of the Arctic is not at all dangerous, according to Sir Hubert. "The expedition is absolutely foolproof," he said in an interview. "The more you look at it the more safe ir„ appears. "After we have crossed the Atlantic the danger will bo over. Down under the ice we will have no wave action to contend with. Tho submarine has a cruising radius of 7000 miles, while we will have only a .".000 "mile cruise to make.

"Our ice-cutting machine will bring us up through the floes whenever we need to come up. If this fails, or is damaged, we can butt the ice with metallic calcium. There are numerous ways of getting out. "The expedition will be international in character. There will bo IS aboard, including the British, American, German, and Dutch nationalities, and mvself, representing Australia. "When the Nautilus is ready, it

will be taken to Maine or Nova Scotia, where the crew will test the ice-cutting machinery and the equipment for coasting both along the bottom of the .ocean and beneath the ice pack. . "We will leave for London during the latter part of April. After a few days there, we will continue to Norway and Spitsbergen. 50 DAYS' TBIP.

"On July 1 wo shall start the long trip which will take us from Spitsbergen to Alaska by way of the North Pole. I figure that wo can do the trip in 50 days. "From Spitsbergen wo will head for the Bchriri'g Sea, circling the ~]( , bo The average thickness of the ice should be about 10ft but in order to avoid spikes we will probably submerge to a depth of 25ft "Our radio will keep us in-contact with the outside world intermittently. The drill will bore holes in the ice, and through- these holes we will hoist the radio antennae. "Tho Nautilus will carry an electric refrigeration system which will convert the interior of the submarine into a modified refrigerator. Sir Hubert said that e cctrical engineers estimate that if the temperainside the submarine was h.ghe , in the water outside it would result n condensation of moisture in the inor or .-king conditions nnbearalde. Tie refrigeration will keep the mJJr ttfferature at •W£™*g lhe same temperature as that of. tlte water. -