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Richard E. Byrd

1888-1957

Richard Evelyn Byrd was born into a famous Virginia family in 1888. Heentered the United States Naval Academy at the age of 20 and wascommissioned in 1912. His passion for the airplane began during WorldWar I when he learned to fly. Subsequently Byrd became a flying instructorfor the US Navy. Significant credit must be given Byrd for the presentAmerican interest in the south polar regions. His success as a naval aviatorand transatlantic flier, along with the North Pole flyover, instilled enoughconfidence in the public to make them financially assist in the support of his

first two Antarctic expeditions. From Byrd's first expedition in 1928-30 until1955, eleven expeditions, excluding the WILKINS-HEARST EXPEDITION,left the United States for Antarctica. Byrd was a conspicuous player in sixof them with four being sponsored by the United States government. Hissuccessful polar flights undoubtedly were due to his pioneeringexperimentation during World War I of flying over water out of sight of land.Navigation of these early seaplanes without visual landmarks as an aidprompted him to experiment with a number of scientific instruments rangingfrom drift indicators to bubble sextants. His reputation from this work wasresponsible for an appointment by the United States Navy to plan the flightnavigation for the transatlantic flight in 1919 of the US Navy Flying BoatsNC1, NC3, and NC4. The NC4 was the first plane to succeed in crossingthe Atlantic, via Newfoundland and the Azores, having done so in May1919. In 1926 he and Floyd Bennett made the first flight over the North

Pole and upon their return to New York, Byrd was asked by RoaldAmundsen what his next plans would be. His response? "Fly over theSouth Pole". At this point Amundsen had no reason to doubt him and theonly advice offered was to "take a good plane, take plenty of dogs and onlythe best men". With this as his background, Richard E. Byrd began themodern American assault on Antarctica.

Byrd Antarctic Expedition I1928-1930

The Byrd Expedition was the first American expedition to explore Antarctica since the U. S. Exploring

Expedition underCharles Wilkes in 1840. The expedition launched a revival of interest in theAntarctic for Americans, an area much in the public mind during the early 1800's.

The exploring expedition organized by Richard E. Byrd in 1928 may be considered the first of themechanical age of exploration in Antarctica. The program was the first of its kind to utilize theairplane, aerial camera, snowmobile and massive communications resources. Although Sir HubertWilkins, on November 6, 1928, was the first to fly an airplane in Antarctica, he preceded Byrd by onlyten weeks. (Byrd first flew on January 15, 1929). However, Byrd's flights, made with three planes(Ford monoplane, Fokker Universal and a Fairchild monoplane), were much more significant thanWilkins since they were made in higher latitudes and were tied in with ground surveys.Sir DouglasMawsonwas the first to use radio in the Antarctic, and the whalers, RRS DISCOVERY, the
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Norwegian exploring ship NORVEGIA and Sir Wilkins had all been using radio in the Antarctic at thetime the Byrd Expedition entered the field but Byrds use of communications equipmentovershadowed that of the others as regular wireless communications were established with theoutside world, as well as with all flights and field parties. As Byrd put it, "...this single departmentreceived more attention than any other, for our program called for the most elaborate system ofcommunication ever proposed in a Continent where radio conditions are notoriously bad".Assistance was provided for the selection of equipment by the US Navy, the New YorkTimes andseveral corporations. Five radio engineers were assigned to the communications team. Although

very costly, a total of 24 transmitters and 31 receivers were supplied for the two expedition ships, themain base at Little America, three airplanes, three dog teams and two sub-bases. As forphotography, Wilkins took photos from his plane while in flight, but they were taken with a hand-heldcamera. On the Byrd Expedition, Captain Ashley McKinley used a Fairchild K-3 for aerial mapping. Itwas the finest camera available at the time for this purpose and by present-day standards can stillprovide satisfactory results. Sir Ernest Shackleton, Robert ScottandSir Douglas Mawsonhad alltried, with mixed success, to use automobiles for land transportation. Byrd had more success with aFord snowmobile, but it too broke down only 75 miles from the base while hauling supplies.

The CITY OF NEW YORKOn the strength ofRoald Amundsen's recommendation, Byrd purchasedthe SAMSONat Tromsoe, Norway and ordered her sailed to New York.

Built in 1882, the Norwegian sealer arrived in New York in woeful shape.New sails had to be made, her entire rigging had to be renewed, a newboiler installed, rotted planks in her hull replaced, and the whole ship,from stem to stern, refitted and strengthened. However, in every sense ofthe words she was built for the ice. Her hull was made of thick spruceand oak, of the finest growth. The ribs, also of oak, were placed veryclose together and sheathed with a layer of heavy planking both on theinside and out. Her sides were 34 inches thick, growing to 41 inches nearthe keel. Her one great drawback was her small auxiliary steam engine,scarcely able to generate 200 horsepower. Byrd felt fortunate that anengine built in 1882 could still run and since funds had been exhausted,the tiny engine would have to suffice. The ship was rated 515 tons, with alength of 170 feet and beam of 31 feet. Due to her slow speed, the CITYOF NEW YORKwas the first to depart for the Antarctic. With 200 tons of

material aboard and 33 people, the renamed CITY OF NEW YORKputout from Hoboken on August 25, 1928, and made for Dunedin, NewZealand, via the Panama Canal.

The ELEANOR BOLLING The selection of the CHELSEA, later renamed the ELEANOR BOLLING,was a choice for which Byrd received much criticism. She would be thefirst ship with a metal hull to risk a full-blown exploration venture into theice pack of Antarctica. Despite the criticism, prior experience of the steel-hulled Norwegian whalers C.A. LARSENand SIR JAMES CLARKROSS, making seasonal passages to and from the Ross Sea withoutincident, only reassured Byrd. Besides, she was cheap, available andsuitable for the job which Byrd had planned for her. Without aviation,need for a second ship would have been doubtful. She was not muchlarger than the CITY OF NEW YORKbut she was a freighter capable ofhauling 800 tons of cargo. Her top speed? Nine knots! She was put intodrydock where she underwent extensive repairs, primarily instrengthening her hull against the inevitable blows from the ice pack. Thecost of purchasing the two ships and outfitting them was approximately$285,000. The work was done, at cost, by William Todd at the Todd ShipYard. Under the command of Captain Gustav Brown, the ELEANORBOLLINGput out from Norfolk, Virginia, on September 25, 1928, with300 tons of supplies and 28 men. The dog drivers and 94 dogs with 40tons of dog biscuit were taken aboard the SIR JAMES CLARK ROSSatNorfolk, Virginia. The greater speed of this whale ship meant less dangerto the dogs while crossing the tropics. The aircraft, aviation personnel,gasoline, oil and 100 tons of supplies were also shipped out of Norfolk on
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the C.A. LARSEN. Commander Byrd boarded the C.A. LARSENat SanPedro, California, from where she departed on October 10, 1928.Ford tri-motorFLOYD BENNETT

The purchase of the airplanes came after months of thought andexperimentation. A Ford tri-motor monoplane was selected formajor transport and investigative operations in the Antarctic. ACyclone engine was mounted in the nose. Charles L. Lawrance,

president of the Wright Company, had developed the powerful 525horsepower engine. The two outboard engines were the famousWright J-5 used on the trans-Atlantic flight. They were nine-cylindered, air cooled and rated at 220 horsepower. This gave theplane a total of nearly 1,000 horsepower which allowed a top speedof 122 mph and an easy load capacity of 15,000 pounds. Two otherairplanes were purchased as backups to the Ford as well asproviding transportation for the scientists into the field. A FokkerUniversal monoplane, with a 425 horsepower Pratt and WhitneyWasp engine, and a Fairchild folding-wing monoplane made the tripsouth. A fourth plane, manufactured by General Aircraft, wascontemplated but the plane failed to reach the Antarctic.

The SIR JAMES CLARK ROSSwas the first to arrive in New Zealand. The C.A. LARSENarrived inWellington on November 5, unloaded the men and supplies, and then embarked on a whalingmission. The ELEANOR BOLLINGarrived at Dunedin on November 18 and soon left for Wellingtonto pick up the supplies left there by the C.A. LARSEN. The CITY OF NEW YORKdidn't arrive atDunedin until the 26th of November, after being at sea three months. At Dunedin, the cargo wasreloaded so that if the CITY OF NEW YORKwas the only ship to make it through the pack into theBay of Whales, she would have enough supplies aboard to maintain a limited scientific expedition forone year. The Fairchild airplane was lashed to her deck. Heavily laden, the ELEANOR BOLLINGand CITY OF NEW YORKleft Dunedin for the Antarctic at 6 a.m. on December 2, 1928. There werea total of 29 men on board the CITY OF NEW YORKand 54 aboard the ELEANOR BOLLING.

The expedition experienced fine weather at the beginning. If the wind was right, the CITY OF NEWYORKcould proceed under both sail and steam; when the wind died, the ELEANOR BOLLINGwould take her in tow. The first storm hit during the evening of December 6. The tow line broke butother than a torn sail on the CITY OF NEW YORK, no other serious damage occurred as the storm

subsided the following day. The first iceberg was sighted on Sunday, December 9. Snow squalls andfoggy weather was encountered the following day which made for difficult navigation. Scott Islandwas sighted the same day, after which the course was set due south until reaching the edge of theice pack. The following day the C.A. LARSENwas sighted. By 11 a.m. the next morning some 90tons of coal had been transferred in sacks from the ELEANOR BOLLINGto the CITY OF NEWYORK. The ELEANOR BOLLINGthen steamed for Dunedin (arriving December 20) while the CITYOF NEW YORKstood by to be taken in tow by the C.A. LARSEN. On December 15 the leadsopened sufficiently for Captain Nilsen to enter the pack in about 178 E. The struggles were greatbut the C.A. LARSENfinally broke through into the open water of the Ross Sea on December 23. At2 p.m. the tow line was cast off and the CITY OF NEW YORKwas now on her own. The edge of theRoss Ice Shelf was reached in about 177 W. on Christmas Day. Following the shelf eastward, theCITY OF NEW YORKreached the Bay of Whales on December 28.

Unfortunately, the Bay of Whales was nearly full of ice. The CITY OF NEW YORKfound a placealong the edge of the ice to tie up and once accomplished, Byrd, Balchen, Petersen, Vaughan andWaldon went ashore with two dog teams to locate a suitable place to build the base camp. Afterseveral days of exploration in the vicinity, a site was selected on top of the Ross Ice Shelf on theeast side of the bay, approximately eight miles from where the ship was tied up and four miles northofAmundsen's base camp, Framheim. On January 2 the unloading began and soon teams of menand dogs were hauling supplies over the ice to their new home, Little America. On a good day, eachteam made two round trips, totaling 30 miles until a total of 650 tons of stores and materials hadbeen transferred. The CITY OF NEW YORKhad successfully transported one airplane, 1200 gallonsof gasoline, 75 tons of coal, 54 men, 80 dogs and enough food for 15 months. Two main buildingswere constructed at Little America along with several prefabricated buildings which were used forspecial purposes. The primary building was used for a library, hospital, radio laboratory and housing
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quarters for the physician, geologist, meteorologist and physicist. Another building, built from boxesand crates, served as the machine shop while a third building was used for the mess hall, bunkhouse and photographic laboratory. A magnetic observatory and weather station was also built. Theradio storeroom and aviation workshop were also built from boxes while other rooms were simplycarved out of the snow and roofed with tarpaulins. As a prevention against fire, all main structureswere built with some distance between them and connected by a series of snow tunnels.

After leaving the CITY OF NEW YORKat the edge of the ice pack on December 11, the ELEANORBOLLINGsailed for and arrived at Dunedin on December 20 where she promptly took on a secondcargo, departing on January 14 for the return trip to the Bay of Whales. She arrived at the bay onJanuary 27 with two airplanes, additional dogs and 7500 gallons of gasoline. The ice in the baycontinued to break up which forced both ships, on January 29, to move and two days later a largepiece of shelf ice broke off and nearly capsized the ELEANOR BOLLING. The ELEANORBOLLINGwas unloaded in little more than five days and on February 2 she departed for NewZealand, arriving in Dunedin on February 16. Meanwhile, the CITY OF NEW YORKcontinued tobattle the ice conditions. Forced from her moorings time and time again, Byrd finally cruised hereastward to the vicinity of Edward VII Land but was again stopped by the pack ice. Abandoning anyfurther attempts to tie up, the CITY OF NEW YORKdeparted on February 22 for New Zealand.Captain Nilsen of the C.A. LARSENmet the expedition ship on February 28 and transferred 90 tonsof coal to her. Meanwhile, the ice conditions were so poor that Byrd radioed orders to the ELEANORBOLLING, which was returning to the Bay of Whales with a third load of cargo, to wait at the edge of

the ice pack for theCITY OF NEW YORK

and return with her to New Zealand.

The Fairchild airplane had been unloaded on January 14 and assembled the following day afterwhich seven short flights took place. Byrd, with Bernt Balchen as pilot and Harold June as radioman,left on January 27 for a longer flight eastward to the Alexandra Mountains, which had beendiscovered in 1902 by Robert F. Scott. They flew in fine weather and soon spotted the two inlets eastof the Bay of Whales, Kainan Bay and Okuma Bay, that had been named afterNobu Shirase'sJapanese expedition in 1911-12. They flew to the Scott Nunataks and Alexandra Mountains andthen were forced south due to intermittent snow showers. Suddenly, at an altitude of 4,000 feet, anew mountain range came into view which Byrd named the Rockefeller Mountains. Running short onfuel, the men turned back for Little America and arrived having completed a five-hour flight. OnFebruary 18, Byrd and Balchen took off in the Fokker while June and Harold Parker left in theFairchild on another flight to the east. Byrd's course took him east to the Rockefeller Mountains andthen south for 100 miles further than his previous mission. High land appeared in the distance but

once again they were forced to turn back to Little America. When they had landed, permission wasgiven to McKinley to make a photographic flight to the Rockefeller Mountains. He too saw the othermountains east of the Rockefellers. In the afternoon of March 7 Gould, Balchen and June flew out ofLittle America aboard the Fokker for the Rockefeller Mountains. Two hours and ten minutes laterthey arrived and landed at the southern extremity of the range. Over the next few days extensivesurvey work was accomplished. By March 13 they were able to finish a triangulation survey andcollect a few geological specimens but the following day turned tragic as high winds overwhelmedthem. They struggled to save the plane but a huge gust of wind in the evening ripped the plane fromits moorings blowing it airborne for half a mile before smashing it to pieces on the ice.

By March 18 the weather had cleared enough for Byrd, Dean Smithand Malcolm Hanson to fly out in the Fairchild to look for the lost men.Once the crash site was located, the Fairchild landed, picked up

Balchen and June, and returned to Little America. Meanwhile, Byrdand Hanson stayed back with Gould until the following day when asecond rescue mission ferried the remaining men back to LittleAmerica.

Once the geological party had been rescued from the base of theRockefeller Mountains, the planes were hangered in blocks of ice forthe winter. While the geological party had been out at the RockefellerMountains, four dog teams layed depots of supplies, gaining valuabletrail experience. Between March 7 and 13 some 1,350 pounds ofsupplies, in three depots marked with flags and snow cairns, had been
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successfully stowed for the winter. This would only be the start to amore aggressive campaign the following spring. On April 19 the sunset and 42 men settled in at Little America for the winter. The little citywas buzzing with activity as equipment was prepared for the summerflights and sledging. Frank Davis took daily magnetic observations,William Haines and Henry Harrison took daily meteorologicalobservations and the radio operators kept regular schedules with theoutside world. Between January 16, 1929 and February 5, 1930, a

total of 414 balloon observations were taken.

The lowest temperature recorded at Little America was -72.2F on July 28. However, according toHarrison, "...a far more severe condition than this prevailed in July when a combination of a 25-milewind and a temperature of -64 was experienced", creating a wind-chilled equivalent -2800F.Subzero temperatures were recorded every month throughout the winter at Little America with thehighest temperature being 17F on August 19. The sun came up on the horizon for the first time onAugust 23.

Geological investigation of the Queen Maud Mountains would be a primary effort as spring arrived.This would require significant depots layed across the Ross Ice Shelf. Five teams started out fromLittle America on Sunday, October 13, with 1,600 pounds of supplies. The dogs soon tired frompulling in soft, dry snow so the loaded sledges were abandoned at this point and the entire team

jumped on an empty sled and returned to Little America to wait for more favorable conditions. OnOctober 15 a supporting party of four, led by Arthur Walden, started on a southern journey. Joiningthem were the geological party and Peterson, who went along to test the radio equipment. Theypicked up the loaded sledges that had been left a few days before and proceeded on to 20-miledepot. Upon arrival the geological party cached their supplies and along with Peterson returned toLittle America. Meanwhile, the supporting party headed south with two sledges carrying a total of800 pounds. Depots were built and supplied every 50 miles. On November 1 the last depot (Depot#4) was laid at 81 45'S, 220 miles from Little America. At this point the men turned for Little Americaand arrived back at base camp on November 8. After returning from the 20-mile depot, thegeological party on Sunday, October 20, started hauling supplies again to the depots out on theRoss Ice Shelf. By October 25 they had reached the 100-mile depot where they cached theirsupplies and prepared for the return journey. The return was uneventful with the crew arriving atLittle America on October 29. Meanwhile, on October 25 Strom, Black and Feury set off in the Fordsnowmobile, pulling three sledges loaded with supplies. The men had to abandon the vehicle when it

broke down 75 miles south of base camp. Walking back to Little America, the men arrived onNovember 5. Finally, on the same day, the geological party departed for the Queen MaudMountains. The party consisted of Gould, who was the leader, Vaughan, Crockett, Thorne, Goodaleand O'Brien.

While the sledge parties were busy with depot-laying, the aviation crew were likewise busy diggingout the planes and preparing them for exploratory flights. On November 18 with Dean Smith as pilot,Commander Byrd, Harold June and Captain McKinley took off in the Ford tri-motor, the FLOYDBENNETT, on a base-laying flight to the edge of the Queen Maud Mountains, 440 miles distant.About 200 miles out the men spotted the geological party struggling along so they swooped low anddropped mail and additional equipment to them before heading off for the mountain range. Theylanded at the foot of the Liv Glacier where, leaving the engines running, they deposited gasoline, oiland 350 pounds of food along with a pressure cooker and trail equipment. They were soon back in

the air heading for Little America. About 100 miles south of Little America, on the edge of the worstcrevassed area, the plane was forced to land as a leak had developed and they'd run out of fuel. Theemergency radio failed to work but fortunately Balchen and Petersen flew out in the Fairchild,suspecting they had run out of fuel, and quickly located them on the ice below. They landed and fuelwas loaded aboard but, unfortunately, the engines were too cold to start. Besides, 100 gallons of fuelwas not enough to get the plane back to Little America. The Fairchild returned to Little America,loaded additional fuel and brought it out the following day. With help from the booster on theFairchild, the engines on the Ford tri-motor were started and together both planes arrived back atLittle America about midnight.

At 3:29 p.m., on November 28,1929, the FLOYD BENNETTtook off from Little America on its


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historic first-flight over the South Pole. With Byrd as navigator, Harold June as co-pilot and radiooperator and McKinley as aerial photographer, the heavily loaded plane proceeded to climb towardsthe Queen Maud Mountains. For purposes of navigation, magnetic compasses were useless soclose to the South Magnetic Pole. Thus, reliance was solely on the sun compass. Balchen flew southon the meridian of 16345'W and when they reached 85S they scanned the horizon, in vain, forAmundsen's Carmen Land. At 8:15 p.m. the geological party was spotted below, 100 miles from thebase of the Queen Maud Mountains. A bag containing messages and photographs taken during thebase-laying flight were dropped by parachute. The geological party radioed their position from which

Byrd checked his navigation. From this point the plane began to gain altitude as it neared the glacier-filled passes of the Queen Maude Mountains. By 9:15 p.m. they had climbed to 9,000 feet but werestill 2,000 feet too low to attain the Polar Plateau. As the plane ascended the Liv Glacier, empty tincontainers of gasoline and 300 pounds of food were dumped out in order to reduce weight. For thenext 30 minutes the FLOYD BENNETTstruggled to gain the necessary altitude to clear the 11,000-foot pass between Mount Fridtjof Nansen and Mount Fisher at the head of the Liv Glacier. With onlya few hundred yards to spare, the plane gained enough altitude to attain the Polar Plateau. As theyflew over the Polar Plateau, a new mountain range, the Grosvenor Mountains, was viewed to thewest and southwest. Looking back, they could identify the Mount Thorvald Nilsen massif, now calledNilsen Plateau. On the Polar Plateau the plane passed over a heavily crevassed area, the Devil'sBallroom, named by Amundsen. Observations at 12:30 a.m. showed them to be 50 miles from thePole. Shortly after midnight on November 29, 1929, the FLOYD BENNETTflew over the South Pole.They flew a few miles beyond the Pole and then to the right and left to compensate for any possiblenavigational errors. Byrd dropped a small American flag and at 1:25 a.m. directed the plane for LittleAmerica. They descended down the Polar Plateau and the Axel Heiberg Glacier on the east side ofMount Fridtjof Nansen. At the foot of the glacier they flew along the front of the Queen MaudMountains to the base of Amundsen Glacier. At this point a short fuel supply forced them to turnwest for the gasoline that had been cached at the foot of the Liv Glacier on November 18. Theylanded beside the gasoline, took aboard 200 gallons and left 350 pounds of food for the geologicalparty. Within an hour, they took off again and landed at Little America at 10:10 a.m. on November29...they had been gone 18 hours and 41 minutes.

By the time the polar flight had been completed, the geological party still had some distance to go toreach the Queen Maud Mountains. On November 30 they managed 35 miles and that night campedat the foot of the Liv Glacier. Heavily crevassed folds in the ice prevented them from reaching theedge of Mount Fridtjof Nansen via the Liv Glacier. However, a smaller glacier on the north side of themountain was accessible and subsequently allowed them to ascend. During the climb, Gould

determined the low ragged mountains to be composed of "...an extensive complex of ancientgneisses, schists, and granites which later investigation have shown to be pre-Cambrian". Abovethis, a series of sedimentary rocks 7,000 feet thick was found. Extensive geological studies wereconducted over the course of the next few weeks. On December 20 the party reached the mouth of aglacier which Gould named Leverett Glacier. Their easternmost camp was located a short time laterat the base of a small mountain, properly named Supporting Party Mountain, on the north side of thefoot of Leverett Glacier...their bearings were 8525'17"S, 14755'W. The next day, December 21, themen built a cairn on top of the mountain and deposited a record of their visit and a claim, in the nameof Commander Byrd, of all the land east of 150W as part of Marie Byrd Land and territory of theUnited States. The geological party had now mapped 175 miles along the front of the Queen MaudMountains and had been the first to set foot on Marie Byrd Land. On December 21 they turned forLittle America and on Christmas Day discovered the cairn built by Roald Amundsen. Inside, Gouldfound a small tin containing a page from Amundsen's notebook on which he had written a shortaccount of his journey to the South Pole. They took the page and continued on towards base camp.

From December 26 to 30 they camped at Strom Camp, in front of Mount Fridtjof Nansen, as theymade preparations for their final push to base camp. They left on December 30, sledging at nightand camping during day, with as light a load as possible. Despite the heavily crevassed area southof Little America, base camp was reached without serious injury on January 19, 1930 after sledging1500 miles in two-and-a-half months.

Meanwhile, after the successful polar flight plans were made for a second major flight of discovery.With favorable weather conditions, Byrd, Alton Parker, June and McKinley took off at 10:50 a.m. inthe FLOYD BENNETTon December 5 heading northeast into the area Robert Scotthad explored in1902 called Edward VII Land. They flew along the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf to Okuma Bay andsubsequently passed over the Scott Nunataks. Byrd could now see a great expansion of water
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extending southeast which he named Sulzberger Bay. They flew northeast across 35 miles of openwater in the bay and at 1:13 p.m. changed course to a little east of north in order to follow what theybelieved to be coastline. At 1:48 p.m. they found themselves opposite the mouth of a large baywhich extended considerably inland. Byrd named this Paul Block Bay and named the glacier whichentered the bay for Balchen. The associated mountain range, with the glacier in its valley, wasnamed the Edsel Ford Range. At this point they changed course again to the northeast and at 2:10p.m. they turned south to fly across the mouth of Paul Block Bay. They were now at 150W whichwas the extremity to which any prior explorers could have made discoveries. Byrd named the land,

including the Edsel Ford Range, Marie Byrd Land in honor of his wife. On the trip back to LittleAmerica, they flew to the north of Sulzberger Bay to investigate the great ice island that appeared tobe aground and surrounded by old sea ice. At 3:10 p.m. they flew across the open water ofSulzberger Bay and the large, grounded ice island. From the air it was obvious to Byrd that Scott'sEdward VII Land was actually a peninsula between Sulzberger Bay and the Ross Sea. The planenow set a course to the southwest, passing near La Gorce Mountain at the southern end of theAlexandra Mountains. At 6:42 p.m., after nearly eight hours of flight, the FLOYD BENNETTlandedsafely at Little America. The accomplishments were great as many miles of previously unknowncoastline and a new mountain range had been photographed for the first time.

The final flight was made on January 21 when Byrd, Smith, Peterson, June and McKinley took off inthe FLOYD BENNETTand flew 100 miles west to Discovery Inlet, then south for 140 miles acrossthe middle of the Ross Ice Shelf, and then returning to Little America. Meanwhile, the geological

party concluded their investigations and ground survey of the Bay of Whales so that preparationscould begin to close Little America. Radio reports were coming in from the whalers that the pack icewas unusually thick. The CITY OF NEW YORKleft Dunedin for Little America on January 6, 1930.Fighting a fierce storm along the way, she made it to the edge of the ice pack on January 20 andrendezvoused with the whalerKOSMOS. The ELEANOR BOLLINGleft Dunedin on January 20 andreached the CITY OF NEW YORKon January 29. The CITY OF NEW YORKhad used up so muchof her coal while steaming around the edge of the ice pack waiting for the arrival of the ELEANORBOLLINGthat Byrd instructed the ELEANOR BOLLINGto return to Dunedin for more coal, whichshe did on January 31. While this was going on, the men at Little America were packing up theirequipment in three different classes, each with a lower priority, in the event there would not beenough room for all the gear. McKinley was put in charge of transporting the equipment to the edgeof the Bay of Whales where a camp was established in order to load the gear aboard as quickly aspossible once the ship arrived. Byrd was fairly certain that only one ship would make it through sothe planes were secured nearby where the wind would keep the snow swept away after they were

left behind. On February 6 the CITY OF NEW YORKtook on 50 tons of coal from the whalerSOUTHERN PRINCESSand immediately started her journey into the pack for Little America.Incredibly, it took 12 days to reach the men at the edge of the Bay of Whales. On February 8 astrong gale struck and lasted for 24 hours. On February 10 another storm hit with such ferocity thatthe ship was in danger of sinking as ice accumulated faster than the men could chip it off. She wasblown 300 miles off course, to the vicinity of Ross Island, over the four-day gale. It was 6:45 p.m. onNovember 18 before the CITY OF NEW YORKreached the Bay of Whales. She was loaded at nightand cast off at 9:30 a.m. on February 19. By February 26 she was clear of the pack ice. She met upwith the KOSMOSand ELEANOR BOLLINGand transferred the dogs along with medical officer Dr.Haldor Barnes, from the ELEANOR BOLLING, and radio operator Howard Mason, who had beensuffering from appendicitis. The ELEANOR BOLLINGtransferred a new supply of coal to the CITYOF NEW YORKand the two sailed together for Dunedin, arriving on March 10, 1930. The expeditionreached New York on June 18, 1930. Many questions were left unanswered upon conclusion ofByrd's first Antarctic expedition and the Admiral was all too aware of the necessity for a quick return

to the ice. Plans were soon made for a second expedition as many of the experienced men wouldstill be available and polar interest in America was thriving. Despite declining interest in the region formany years, Americans were quick to resume that interest following the great successes of the FirstByrd Expedition and the Wilkins-Hearst Expedition between 1928 and 1930. Daily newspaper andradio accounts, particularly of the South Polar flight and discovery of Marie Byrd Land, made Byrd'sfirst expedition a topic of conversation throughout America. America was in the midst of a greateconomic depression in the early thirties, however the persuasions of the American public resulted innecessary resources and funding for a second assault on the ice. The Second Byrd AntarcticExpedition was covered as thoroughly in the media as the first but it was the radio programs,broadcast by the men from Little America which spilled into the living rooms of America, thatsustained and encouraged American presence in the Antarctic during this expedition and the others


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that followed.A number of "firsts" were accomplished during the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition; it was the firsttime that automotive transportation proved to be a valuable asset. Results from the first seismicinvestigations in Antarctica provided the initial evidence of the extent to which the Ross Ice Shelfwas aground or afloat. The first human voices were transmitted from Little America on February 1,1934 and later a weekly broadcast was carried over the Columbia Broadcasting System in the

United States. Additionally, this expedition marked the first time that cosmic ray and meteorobservations were taken in such high southern latitudes. Although the First Byrd Antarctic Expeditionwas the beginning of the mechanical age in Antarctica, the Second Expedition took mechanical andelectrical resources to a new level. Motor-driven generating plants provided Little America withelectrical power, thereby allowing use of electrical power tools used in construction and maintenanceof mechanical devices used at Little America as well as exercises in the field.

As with the first, the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition was organized and financed by Rear AdmiralRichard E. Byrd (USN, retired) with financial aid and supplies contributed by a number of privateindividuals, businesses, industrial firms, research institutes and government agencies. Byrd's originalplans called for a departure in the fall of 1932, however lack of necessary funding and suppliesrequired them to wait until the following year. Amazingly, $150,000 in cash was contributed while inthe midst of the Great Depression. It came mostly with thousands of donors contributing smallamounts but larger gifts were given by Edsel Ford, William Horlick, Thomas Watson, Col. JacobRuppert and the National Geographic Society. Additional funds were realized from the sale ofnewspaper rights, photographic privileges and advertising sold for the weekly radio broadcasts fromLittle America. Industrial and commercial firms donated all the fuel oil and gasoline and much of theequipment used on the expedition while nearly $100,000 worth of scientific instruments was lent bygovernment agencies and universities. The flagship of the expedition was leased from the U.S.Shipping Board for one dollar a year. The 8257-ton steel cargo vessel PACIFIC FIR, used in thewest coast lumber trade and then laid up at Staten Island with other surplus ships of World War I,was totally reconditioned and re-christened the JACOB RUPPERT. Needing a ship to ram throughthe ice pack, for a small sum Byrd was able to purchase the barkentine BEARfrom the city ofOakland, California. The old wooden ship was built in Greenock, Scotland, in 1874. The ship wasused for ten years as a whaler and was then purchased by the U.S. Coast Guard for use in therescue of the U.S. Arctic Expedition led by Lt. A. W. Greely. The ship became the property of the cityof Oakland in 1928 and after Byrd had the ship reconditioned in Boston, the vessel was re-christened the BEAR OF OAKLAND. The 703-ton BEAR OF OAKLAND was 200 feet long, had a

beam of 32 feet and a draft of 17 feet, 2 inches. Using her auxiliary steam power, she was capableof nine knots.

The JACOB RUPPERT

The BEAR OF OAKLAND


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The WILLIAM HORLICK

Questionable in Byrd's mind was the condition of the two airplanes left at Little America in 1930 uponconclusion of his first expedition. Thus, a new Curtis-Wright Condor was secured. The twin-enginelong-range biplane, named the WILLIAM HORLICK, was equipped with skis and floats and waspowered by a pair of supercharged Wright Cyclone engines, each capable of 725 horsepower.Specially designed fuel tanks were installed giving the plane a range of approximately 1300 mileswith a full load of 19,000 pounds. Two smaller single-engine monoplanes, a Fokker and a Pilgrim,were lent to the expedition. Additionally, a Kellett autogyro was lent for use in high altitude and short-

range reconnaissance flights.Motorized transportation was supplied by a Cletrac tractor, two Ford snowmobiles and three Citronsoriginally designed for desert work. The 40 horsepower Citrons had the front wheels replaced withskis. Since motorized transportation still had not proven itself in the Antarctic, 153 sledge dogs werecollected from Alaska to Labrador and taken to the ice.

Dr. Thomas Poulter, physicist, was chief of the scientific staff and second in command of theexpedition. William Haines, chief meteorologist, was third in command while Harold June, chief pilot,was chief of staff and George Noville executive officer. The wintering party of 1934 consisted of 56men which included five pilots, three physicists, two geologists, a geophysicist, two meteorologists,three biologists, four radio operators, two navigators, an aerial photographer, a surveyor, aphysician, two carpenters, an artist, a newspaper correspondent and two Paramount Newscameramen. The rest were mechanics and dog / tractor drivers. A total of 45 officers and crew madethe outbound voyage on the JACOB RUPPERTin 1933 and 33 assisted with the homeward voyage

in 1935. Both voyages were under the direction of Commodore Hjalmar Fridtjof Gjertsen, an ice pilotwith the Norwegian Navy. On the outbound voyage, the master of the JJACOB RUPPERTwas Lt.(jg) W.F. Verleger, USNR. He was replaced on the homeward voyage by S.D. Rose, who had servedas first officer on the BEAR OF OAKLAND. The BEAR OF OAKLAND was under the command ofLt. (jg) Robert A. English, USN, with Bendik Johansen as sailing master and ice pilot. Of all the meninvolved with Byrd II, 18 had participated in the First Byrd Antarctic Expedition.

There were four primary objectives concerning geographical exploration: the delineation of as muchas possible of the coastline of Marie Byrd Land; additional research in the Ford Ranges;determination of an ice-filled strait connecting the Ross Sea with the Weddell Sea; determination ofthe extent of the Queen Maud Mountains beyond the Ross Ice Shelf. Meteorological observationwas also an important part of the expedition with Byrd proposing the construction of a weather


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extending northwestward from Edward VII Peninsula. The BEAR OF OAKLAND arrived back at theBay of Whales on February 15. A rendezvous was made with the DISCOVERY IIon February 21 toreceive another 21 tons of supplies and a replacement physician, Dr. Louis H. Potaka. She arrivedback at the Bay of Whales on February 25 and the next day, at 8:35 a.m., the BEAR OF OAKLANDdeparted Antarctica, leaving behind a winter party of 56 men. The ship arrived in Dunedin on the

afternoon of March 12, 1934 after a very difficult voyage.

Admiral Byrd became alarmed by a series of cracks developing in the vicinity of Little America II so

an emergency cache of food, gasoline, tents and supplies were established on higher ground,named Retreat Camp, about a mile southeast of base camp. Over the course of the next few weeks,depots every 25 geographical miles were layed in preparation for the field season the followingspring. Intense blizzards were fought until the final depot, 155-mile depot, was established on March14. One of the objectives of the expedition was to establish an advanced weather base where threemen would spend the Antarctic winter making daily meteorological observations. Originally,intentions were to establish the base on the Polar plateau or the foot of the Queen Maud Mountains.However, do to the difficult, prolonged unloading of stores and establishment of the base camp, timeconstraints required the Bolling Advance Base to be built at 100-mile depot. Tractors, sledges andaviation were all used as the men struggled to establish the base. The Pilgrim monoplane madethree flights but the Fokker, BLUE BLADE, crashed on take-off and the weather closed in before theWILLIAM HORLICKcould be made ready. Construction of the hut began on the morning of March22 and at 11:55 a.m. Admiral Byrd was flown in by Bowlin and Bailey aboard the Pilgrim monoplane.Work on the site was under horrible conditions as temperatures plummeted to -60F. Throughout the

trips to and from Little America, the tractor party was plagued by water condensing and freezing inthe fuel lines. They frequently stopped to disconnect the lines and blow the ice out. Fingers andhands suffered from the bitter cold with intense pain experienced by all. The dog teams left AdvanceBase for Little America II on March 25 and on March 28 the tractors departed, leaving Admiral Byrdalone to man the meteorological station for the winter. The prefabricated hut measured 9 feet by 13feet and was 8 feet high. The structure was completely buried in snow by the time the tractor partypulled out. Only the bamboo poles used to support the radio antennae, the 12-foot anemometer poleand the instrument shelter protruded through the snow. Advance Base was located at 8008'S,16357'W, 123 statute miles from Little America II.

Little America settled into a routine program as the sun set for the last time on April 19. Meteorobservations, under Dr. Poulter, were conducted during the four months of darkness; the biologists,Dr. Perkins, Paul Siple, Alton Lindsey and J. M. Sterrett carried out their investigations of plankton,bacteria and the Weddell seals in the Bay of Whales; preparations were made for the spring

campaign in the field. Meanwhile, Admiral Byrd took meteorological observations twice daily atAdvance Base and maintained a radio schedule with Little America II three times a week. Once thesun set in April, Byrd also maintained a regular schedule of auroral observations. Unfortunately, Byrdwas unaware of his impending carbon monoxide poisoning. Although aware of water condensingand freezing in the ventilator pipe, stovepipe and exhaust pipe of the engine which drove the radiogenerator, Byrd's precautions failed to maintain proper ventilation within the hut and he graduallybecame more ill until finally collapsing during the radio schedule on May 31. He remained critically illfor more than a month as his recovery was impaired by the inability to keep himself warm andproperly cared for. In spite of his weakness and subsequent relapses, meteorological observationswere continually recorded. Although he tried to hide it, Byrd's health was obviously deteriorating. Theunusual radio transmissions alerted the men back at base camp so an unscheduled journey toAdvance Base was soon in the works. The first two attempts to reach Byrd ended in failure asdarkness, snow and mechanical difficulties overcame them. Finally, Dr. Poulter, E. J. Demas andAmory Waite, aboard tractor No. 3, reached Advance Base just before midnight on August 10. Byrd's

physical condition was too poor for the return journey. The men remained, making regularobservations, until October 12 when Bowlin flew out in the Pilgrim and picked up Byrd and Poulterwhile the others returned in the tractor.

A number of geological and biological scientific programs were accomplished during the SecondByrd Antarctic Expedition. On September 27, Harold June, Ken Rawson, J. H. Von der Wall and CarlPeterson set out on tractor No. 1 pulling two sledges with 7600 pounds of cargo. On October 11 theysighted McKinley Peak and the Haines Mountains to the north. The next day the men climbed to thesummit of McKinley Peak and determined, after making sun and star observations, that the mountainwas approximately 37 miles west of its previously estimated position. The party arrived back at LittleAmerica on October 18 after completing a round trip of 525 statute miles. This had been the first time


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that exploration had been carried on to such an extent in Antarctica by means of mechanized landtransport.

On October 14, the Marie Byrd Land party, made up of Paul Siple (biologist and leader), F. AltonWade (geologist), Stevenson Corey and Olin Stancliff (dog drivers), set out from Little America IIfollowing the path of the previous tractor party. Six days were spent on McKinley Peak, under cruelweather conditions, examining the geology of the mountain. Additionally, magnetic observationswere made. They continued on to the Haines Mountains for more geological investigations and later

crossed the Hammond Glacier and camped at the base of Mount Woodward. November 20 wasspent investigating Mount Woodward, the southernmost mountain in the Ford Ranges, where Siplefound mosses. On November 21 they crossed the Boyd Glacier and camped at the foot of MountRea. The next day was spent studying the geology of Mount Rea and Mount Cooper. At this pointthe supply of dog food was running short so to cover as much ground as possible in a short period oftime, the men split up into teams. On November 23, Siple and Corey left Mount Cooper, roundedMount Rea and headed north to Saunders Mountain. By the end of the 24th, they were overlookingCrevasse Valley Glacier, a great outlet glacier. Inclement weather prohibited their crossing of theglacier until the 27th. They camped alongside the Chester Mountains and charted many of thesurrounding mountains. On December 2 they reached their limit of the outward journey and abruptlyturned around. While Siple and Corey were on their journey, Wade and Stancliff carried ongeological observations in the vicinity of Saunders Mountain, Crevasse Valley Glacier and theHaines Mountains. The teams met up again at the Haines mountains and the Marie Byrd Landsledging party arrived back at Little America II at 3 p.m. on December 29 after 77 days of exploration

covering 862 miles.Extensive additional scientific programs were conducted by other members of the base camp party.A geological party of three men and two dog teams was to explore the Queen Maud Mountains tothe east of Supporting Party Mountain at 8527'S, 14733'W, the easternmost point reached by thegeological party of the First Byrd Antarctic Expedition. A geophysical party of four men with four dogteams expected to climb the Scott Glacier and determine the thickness of the Polar plateau icecap.The combined parties left Little America II on October 16. The geophysical party reached AdvanceBase on October 22 and the geological party a day and a half later. By October 31 both parties wereat the edge of a belt of crevasses at 8110'S, 16105'W. After considerable obstacles wereovercome, significant magnetic, geologic, and seismic investigations had been completed. From thetop of the Rockefeller Plateau, Morgan calculated the glacial ice to be 1000 to 2000 feet thick. Wherethe surface elevations vary from 2000 to 3000 feet above sea level it was obvious that the greaterpart of the height of the plateau in this sector was due to ice. Exploratory flights were conducted by

Byrd and the aviation group. On November 15 Byrd, June, Bowlin, Bailey, Rawson and Pelter tookoff in the CondorWILLIAM HORLICKfor an exploratory flight to the southeast in an attempt to closethe gap of unexplored land between Supporting Party Mountain, at the base of the Queen MaudMountains, and the eastern trail between Little America II and the Ford Ranges. Much new territorywas photographed and on their way home, they flew over the Rockefeller Mountains where theyspotted the wrecked Fokker plane abandoned in 1929. The flight lasted 6 hours and 43 minutescovering 777 miles. A number of other flights were made over the course of the next month and ahalf. As the exploratory flights were being made, Dr. Poulter carried on important scientific studies ofthe Ross Ice Shelf, a project which proved to be one of the major accomplishments of the SecondByrd Antarctic Expedition. A re-survey of the shelf (originally taken during the 1929 expedition) in thevicinity of the Bay of Whales showed that the portion of the ice shelf east of the bay was movingwestward while the west of the bay was moving northward, the latter at a rate of 6.6 feet per day.Consequently, the bay has now been obliterated and replaced by a large bite in the ice shelf.

During the winter layover in New Zealand, both theBEAR OF OAKLAND

andJACOB RUPPERT

were reconditioned and loaded with coal. The BEAR OF OAKLAND left Dunedin on January 2; onboard was Charles F. Anderson, U. S. Postal Inspector, to handle the cancellation of mail at LittleAmerica. On January 18 they entered Discovery Inlet and picked up the seismograph crew. The nextmorning they moored in the Bay of Whales. The JACOB RUPPERTleft Port Chalmers on January16 and arrived in the Bay of Whales on January 27. The men hustled to get the cargo loaded aboardbut with the ice threatening the thin plates of the JACOB RUPPERT, ferrying was necessarybetween the two ships as the JACOB RUPPERThove to out in the bay. This process continued untilonly the heavy tractors and planes remained at the edge of the bay. Too heavy for the BEAR OFOAKLAND, the JACOB RUPPERTslipped in long enough to haul aboard all but Citron No.2, twosnowmobiles and a small amount of various supplies. The two ships moved out of the Bay of Whales


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on the afternoon of February 5, 1935. On board, headed for the Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI, wasthe FLOYD BENNETT. . .the plane in which Byrd had flown to the Pole in 1929. Both ships stoppedin Discovery Inlet long enough to pick up some penguins destined for American zoos and then, onFebruary 7, the two ships departed for Dunedin. The BEAR OF OAKLAND docked at Dunedin onFebruary 20.

By the late 1930's, officials of the United States government were becoming aware of the fact thatinterest in the Antarctic regions was gaining popular momentum among its citizenry due to the

successful expeditions of Byrd. President Franklin D. Roosevelt took an active role in creating theUnited States Antarctic Service as he pushed for two separate Antarctic expeditions, one by RichardB. Black and Finn Ronne, and the other by Admiral Richard E. Byrd, to be coordinated to form theUS ANTARCTIC SERVICE EXPEDITION. In November 1937, Dr. Ernest Gruening, Director of theDivision of Territories and Island Possessions of the Department of the Interior, asked Richard Black,the Field Representative of the Division, to look into the vague requirements of the US Governmentfor an officialAmerican expedition to the Antarctic. The UNITED STATES EXPLORINGEXPEDITION 1838-42, led by Lt. Charles Wilkes, had been the last great adventure to the Antarcticwith any direct involvement of the US Government. A statement was released by Black on May 5,1938, dealing with the governments interest in Antarctica, along with plans for a small expedition tothe Antarctic. The expedition plans, jointly proposed by Black and Ronne (both members of theBYRD SECOND ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION) grabbed the attention of Dr. Gruening who in turninformed the Department of State and President Roosevelt.

As all this was going on, Byrd was in Boston with his associates making plans for a third expeditionto the Antarctic. Like the first two expeditions, this one was to be privately funded. Late in 1938 Byrdbecame aware of the governments position and possible action when an official of the StateDepartment approached him for a consultation on the subject. This meeting and subsequentplanning was brought to the attention of President Roosevelt. On January 7, 1939, a memorandumwas sent by the President to the Acting Secretary of State, Sumner Welles, approving the plansdeveloped by the Departments of State, War and Navy. The President suggested the Department ofInterior should be involved in the planning along with continued consultation with Admiral Byrd andLincoln Ellsworth regarding the estimated costs of such an expedition. Additionally, the Presidentwanted the group to consider the feasibility of maintaining a party each season "at Little America andat the region South of the Cape of Good Hope".

Two important developments resulted from the President's January 7 memorandum. First, AdmiralByrd decided to cancel plans for his private expedition and join ranks with the government. With his

extensive knowledge of the area, from this point forward he was accepted as the leader and was tobe actively involved with the planning and organization of the expedition. Secondly, aninterdepartmental committee was formed, which eventually became the Executive Committee of theUnited States Antarctic Service. On January 13, 1939, the Secretary of State asked the Secretariesof War, Navy, Treasury and Interior to appoint representatives to serve on an Antarctic Committee.On June 30, Congress passed an act authorizing Antarctic investigations and on July 7 the Presidenthimself wrote letters to the Secretaries urging them to designate the representatives. As a result, theoriginal planning committee became what the President designated as the Executive Committee ofthe United States Antarctic Service. The four departments were represented throughout the life ofthe organization. Captain (later Rear Admiral) C. C. Hartigan and Mr. Hugh S. Cumming, Jr.,represented the Navy and State Departments, respectively. Rear Admiral R. R. Waesche was latersucceeded by Commander E. G. Rose as representative of the Coast Guard (Treasury). TheDepartment of the Interior was represented in turn by Ernest Gruening, Mrs. Ruth Hampton, R. A.Kleindienst, Paul W. Gordon, Rupert Emerson and Guy J. Swope. Lieutenant Commander (later

Commander) Robert A. English, USN, commander of the BEAR OF OAKLAND on the SECONDBYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION, was appointed Executive Secretary. He was succeeded in 1942by J. E. MacDonald, who had been an administrative assistant to Byrd. As Commanding Officer ofthe US ANTARCTIC SERVICE EXPEDITION 1939-41, Admiral Byrd was an ex-officio member ofthe Committee, having received his formal appointment from President Roosevelt on July 7.

Although a US Government sponsored expedition, additional support came from donations and giftsby private citizens, corporations and institutions. Although the Department of Interior was grantedfunding, it was woefully inadequate for an expedition of this size. Coordinated efforts by the otherDepartments filled the gap for funding of the equipment, services and supplies. Admiral Byrddonated many of the supplies which he had gathered for his own expedition, the largest item being


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the barkentine BEAR OF OAKLAND, which was leased by the Department of Navy for one dollar ayear. Some of the private donors misunderstood the magnitude of the governments involvement andsubsequently became disturbed by the lack of advertising concerning their contributions. Well inexcess of 100 firms and individuals contributed money, supplies and equipment to the expedition,including tractors, food, clothing, instruments, tobacco and books. Charles R. Walgreen of Chicagoand William Horlick of Racine, Wisconsin, contributed equipment and supplies for the USS BEAR,and the Kohler family of Kohler, Wisconsin, and George F. Getz and Justin W. Dart of Chicagosupplied the Barkley-Grow seaplane carried aboard the USS BEAR.

Byrd on the Barkley-Grow

Two ships were used by the expedition. One was Admiral Byrd's old ship, the BEAR OF OAKLAND,which had been used on the SECOND BYRD ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION. The ship wasreconditioned by the Navy and commissioned the USS BEARfor the expedition. The second ship,the USMS NORTH STAR, was a 1434-ton wooden ice ship built for the Bureau of Indian Affairs ofthe U.S. Department of the Interior in 1932. She was used each summer to haul supplies to Alaska.Since summer in Antarctica was winter in Alaska, the Department of Interior was able to lend theship to the Antarctic Service without interrupting the Alaskan service. The expedition was suppliedwith four aircraft. The USS BEARcarried a twin-engine Barkley-Grow seaplane on the 1939-40cruise in the Antarctic. Both East and West Base were supplied with twin-engine Curtiss-WrightCondor biplanes, which had been used extensively by the U.S. Marine Corps for five years. Thefourth plane was a new, single-engine Beechcraft which was to be used in conjunction with the SnowCruiser. The Snow Cruiser, designed by Dr. Thomas C. Poulter of the Second Byrd Antarctic

Expedition, was built at the Pullman Company at a cost of $150,000, entirely funded by 70cooperating manufacturers and by the "Friends of the Research Foundation" of the Armour Institute

of Chicago, where Dr. Poulter was scientific director.

This motorized monster was 55 feet long and 20 feet wide, with sled runners attached to its bottom.With the wheels extended, it was 16 feet high. Inside the machine were sleeping quarters with fourbunks, a scientific laboratory, a photographic laboratory, a radio room, a chart room and a galley.Twin 150-horsepower diesel engines were connected to generators which in turn supplied power forthe 75-horsepower electric motor that drove each wheel. The tires were made of rubber and were 10feet in diameter. When a downgrade was reached, the wheels could be retracted allowing the SnowCruiser to toboggan down the incline. Incredibly, the machine was designed to cross crevasses up to15 feet in width by raising the front wheels while the rear wheels powered the cruiser half way across


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the gap, followed by a retraction of the rear wheels and a lowering of the front which then pulled themachine the rest of the way. The single-engine Beechcraft monoplane was mounted on skis anddesigned to be carried on top of the Snow Cruiser for aerial reconnaissance and exploration within aradius of 300 miles. Enough food for a year could be stored inside, along with 2500 gallons of dieselfuel, enough for 5000 miles of travel, and 1000 gallons of aviation fuel. The Snow Cruiser wasdesigned for a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour on a flat, hard surface. She could climb gradesof 37%, turn in its own length and move sideways at a 25 angle.

A total of 125 men departed from the United States in the two ships of the United States AntarcticService Expedition, or Byrd III. Captain Isak Lystad commanded the USMS NORTH STARwhileLieutenant Commander Richard H. Cruzen, USN, commanded the USS BEAR, with BendikJohansen as ice pilot. Most of the men who made up the expedition were solicited from the militaryranks, civilian agencies of government and from scientific institutions. A few volunteers wereemployed by the Department of the Interior for $10 per month, food and clothing included. A total of59 men, divided initially into three groups, wintered over in Antarctica. Dr. F. Alton Wade, SeniorScientist and geologist, was in charge of the Snow Cruiser and the three other men assigned to it.When it broke down, as expected, it was parked at West Base and the four men joined ranks withthe West Base Party of 29 men, led by Dr. Paul A. Siple. The East Base party of 26 men was led byRichard B. Black. Many of the men had extensive prior experience in the Antarctic with Byrd. Amongthem were Bendik Johansen andPaul Sipleof both the First and Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition,while chief radio operator Clay W. Bailey, master mechanic Vernon D. Boyd, assistant mechanicLouis P. Colombo, and executive assistant Lieutenant Commander Isaac Schlossbach, USN

(retired) had all been on the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition. Black, the leader of East Base, dogdriver Joseph D. Healy and transportation engineer Finn Ronne were also veterans of the SecondByrd Antarctic Expedition, as was Frederick G. Dustin, an aide to Admiral Byrd on board the USSBEAR. It is of significant importance to mention that many of the men involved with this expeditionwent on to participate in future exploration in the Antarctic. Finn Ronne led his own expedition in1947-48 with Schlossback as captain of the expedition ship. Harry Darlington III, of East Base, andcook Sigmund Gutenko from West Base, were also members of the Ronne Expedition. In 1946-47,then-Rear Admiral Richard H. Cruzen was in command of Task Force 68 of the U.S. Navy AntarcticDevelopment Project, more commonly known asOPERATION HIGHJUMP. Lieutenant George J.Dufek was navigator on the USS BEARin 1939-40, but went on to command the Eastern TaskGroup of Operation High Jump. From 1956-59, Admiral Dufek was commander of "Operation DeepFreeze", Task Force 43, U.S. Naval Support Force, Antarctica, leading the United Statesparticipation in the International Geophysical Year. Finn Ronne and Carl Eklund, ornithologist at EastBase, were eventual leaders of the U.S. bases during the first winter of the IGY (1957). Captain

Richard B. Black was called back to active duty for "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955-56. WestBase veterans James C. McCoy, Charles C. Shirley, Vernon D. Boyd, Murray A. Wiener, Jack E.

Perkins, and Paul A. Siple were all active in OPERATION HIGHJUMP.The objectives of the UNITED STATES ANTARCTIC SERVICE EXPEDITION 1939-41 wereoutlined in an order from President Roosevelt dated November 25, 1939. This order was received byAdmiral Byrd at Balboa, Canal Zone, as he boarded the USMS NORTH STARon November 30. ThePresident wanted two bases to be established: East Base, in the vicinity of Charcot Island orAlexander I Land, or on Marguerite Bay if no accessible site could be found on either of the specifiedislands, and West Base, in the vicinity of King Edward VII Land, but if this proved impossible, a site

on the Bay of Whales at or near Little America was to be investigated.Early on November 15, 1939, the USMS NORTH STARsailed from Boston en route to Philadelphia,where two airplanes were taken aboard. On November 21 she sailed down Delaware Bay en route

to the Panama Canal. The USS BEARleft Boston on November 22, calling at Norfolk on November25 to take aboard one of the twin-engine airplanes. On November 26 she cleared the Virginia Capesen route to the Panama Canal. Admiral Byrd had stayed behind to clean up last minute operationsand flew from Washington to the Canal Zone where he boarded the USMS NORTH STARat Balboaon November 30. The USMS NORTH STARthen departed for New Zealand, stopping at PitcairnIsland on December 13 and 14, and at Easter Island on December 17. She arrived at Wellington,New Zealand, on December 27. The USMS NORTH STARdeparted New Zealand for the Ross Seaon January 3, 1940, subsequently sailing into the Bay of Whales to establish West Base on January12, 1940. After refueling at the Canal Zone, the USS BEARsailed for the Bay of Whales onDecember 6, entering the bay on January 14, 1940. Working in two 12-hour shifts, the USS BEARwas unloaded in less than a week and by January 24 the USMS NORTH STARwas underway for
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Valparaiso, Chile, to pick up additional supplies, including a Navy twin-engine Curtiss-Wright Condorplane and prefabricated buildings. Meanwhile, the Bear, under the command of Byrd, worked its wayeastward from the Ross Sea along the edge of the pack ice. A suitable site for East Base was notdiscovered until a reconnaissance flight by Byrd, Richard Black, pilot Ashley C. Snow and co-pilot /radioman Earl B. Perce on the afternoon of March 8. An island on the north side of Neny Bay, justnorth of Alexander Island and Marguerite Bay, became the home of East Base. The island wassubsequently named Stonington Island. By this time the USS BEARhad been joined by the USMSNORTH STARand by the evening of March 20, both ships had been unloaded. The following

morning the two ships sailed for the United States. Both ships stopped at Punta Arenas, Chile, butfrom this point the ships separated as the USS BEARsailed for Boston while the USMS NORTHSTARheaded for Seattle to resume her regular cruise schedule to Alaska. Establishment of thebase camps went fast and furious.

Meanwhile, great hopes had been held out for the Snow Cruiser but her failure was soon realized. Ifthe Snow Cruiser had worked at all, it was within reason to assume the possibility of reaching theSouth Pole, particularly if a route could have been found toward the southeast from the Queen MaudMountains. From the very beginning the Snow Cruiser was plagued by misfortune. As the 30-tonmachine was being offloaded at the Bay of Whales, the ramp partly collapsed under its weight, andDr. Poulter, who was at the controls, avoided disaster by instantly applying full power, causing themachine to make a crunching lunge onto the bay ice. In spite of the huge wheels, adequate tractioncould not be provided in the snow. The tires kept 12 square feet of rubber on the surface at all timesbut her weight was simply too great. She sank into the snow and her inadequately geared electric

motors could not propel her forward at more than a snails pace. A week later she was still only halfway up the slope from the bay ice to the top of the ice shelf. Finally, after prolonged effort, themachine made it to West Base, where she was put to rest in a makeshift shelter of snow blocks andcanvas. The crew now joined forces with Dr. Paul A. Siple and the men of West Base.

As outlined by the President, the objectives of the expedition called for a broad scale of operations.The principal objective was "the delineation of the continental coast line between the meridians 72degrees W., and 148 degrees W., and the consolidation of the geographical features of Hearst Land,James W. Ellsworth Land, and Marie Byrd Land". A second objective involved the delineation of thethen-unknown west coast of the Weddell Sea between Cape Eielson and Luitpold Coast. In view ofthe broad scope of the objectives and the unpredictable circumstances that always arise inAntarctica, it is remarkable that most of the objectives set for them were met. Of significance was theestablishment and occupation for a year of two separate bases 1600 miles apart by air and 2200miles by sea. Flights by seaplane from the USS BEARand by land based airplanes from Little

America III resulted in approximately 700 miles of coastline being added to the map of Antarctica.These discoveries included the Hobbs Coast, the Walgreen Coast, the Thurston Peninsula(determined to be an island in 1960) and the Eights Coast. Reconnaissance flights revealedpreviously unknown parts of the Ross Ice Shelf. Gaps in the unexplored regions between theBeardmore and Liv Glaciers in the Queen Maud Mountains were also filled in. A sledge journeydown the George VI Sound resulted in the discovery of its western outlet in addition to settling theissue once and for all that Alexander Island was indeed an island. Further aerial reconnaissancefrom East Base extended the coastline of Antarctica westward to about the 85th meridian, west,resulting in the discovery of the Bryan Coast and Carroll Inlet at its eastern border. The east coast ofthe Antarctic Peninsula was photographed from Trail Inlet and Three Slice Nunatak (approximately68S) to beyond Nantucket Inlet (7435'S). A route was discovered across the Antarctic Peninsulafrom Stonington Island to the head of Trail Inlet. A sledge party from East Base used this route tocomplete a ground survey of the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula from Trail Inlet south to HiltonInlet (7157'S). A sledging party explored the Dyer Plateau, in the process establishing 11 control

points and triangulating the position of 58 mountains. A sledging journey from West Base to theFosdick Mountains was made to study the biology of the region and, as a result, significant biologicaland geological specimens and photographs were brought back. Detailed surveys were made at bothEast and West Base. The first high-altitude meteorological station in Antarctica was operated duringNovember and December, 1940, on the summit of the Antarctic Peninsula east of Stonington Island.Observations were concluded in every conceivable area: seismic, cosmic ray, auroral, biological,tidal, magnetic and physiological to name a few. All in all, it was an extremely successful expedition.

With international tensions on the uprise, it was considered wise to evacuate the two bases ratherthan relieve the present personnel with new men who would continue to occupy the bases. To assistwith the evacuation, the USS BEARleft Philadelphia on October 13, 1940, and the USMS NORTH


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STARdeparted Seattle on December 11. The USS BEARwas the first to arrive at the Bay ofWhales on January 11, 1941 with the USMS NORTH STARclose behind, arriving on January 24. Itwas hoped that one day this base would be reoccupied so much of the equipment and supplies wasleft behind as the two ships sailed from West Base on February 1. From the vicinity of Scott Island,the two ships sailed eastward for Marguerite Bay. By February 24 both ships were off AdelaideIsland, northwest of East Base, but a thick ice pack prevented them from entering Marguerite Bay.To save fuel, the ships returned north, where they anchored in Andersen Harbor, in the MelchiorIslands, in the center of Dallmann Bay. Further attempts were made to penetrate the ice but by the

middle of March, they still had not succeeded. The season was getting late so it was decided toevacuate the base by air. Fortunately the Condor had been repaired and test-flown after the accidenton January 19 in which a ski had been cut off. On March 15 the USMS NORTH STARwas orderednorth to Punta Arenas, Chile, where the men from West Base would disembark and food and fuel fora second year would be put aboard for East Base in the event the men could not be evacuated.Meanwhile, on March 16 the USS BEARput a party ashore on Mikkelsen Island, one of the BiscoeIslands just north of the Antarctic Circle, in order to build a landing strip suitable for evacuationpurposes. The first flight left East Base at 5:30 a.m. on March 22 with 12 men aboard, along withrecords, specimens and emergency equipment. A second flight brought the remaining 12 men. Theplane was abandoned on Watson Island and the USS BEARsailed immediately, arriving at PuntaArenas on March 29. The USMS NORTH STARarrived in Boston on May 5 and the USS BEARonMay 18.

Richard E. Byrd's story doesn't end here. Elsewhere in this website you will find the stories of

Operation High Jump and Deep Freeze, both of which Byrd was actively involved with. Admiral Byrdliterally worked all his adult life for personal, national and international interests in Antarctica. In hisfinal years, his role was unfortunately downplayed by the Navy which, in my opinion, only contributedto his failing health and eventual death. The following excerpt from 90 South, by Dr. Paul A. Siple,

says it best:As January (1956) ebbed, Byrd grew anxious to leave. We had achieved our main goalsin Deep Freeze 1, he pointed out, and there was little need to linger. His attitude was insharp contrast with that which he had exhibited on Operation Highjump. I recalled thatwhen departure time came in 1947, a striking sunset had turned the sky into aKodachrome world. Even as the last call had been shouted, Byrd had kept his eyesfixed on the iridescent sky. "But I don't want to go yet, Paul," he had said, shaking his

head. But times had changed. The small discourtesies exhibited toward Byrd by TaskForce (43) officers who felt Byrd represented the past had continued without abatement,and the strain of ignoring them had grown wearing to a man whose temper could beWagnerian when he was provoked. Time after time I could see the anger creep alongthe entire length of his body and then subside as his words came out steady, evencasual. . . And so on February 3, Byrd and I pulled out of McMurdo Sound and headedfor home. For Byrd it was his last departure from the Antarctic. His wisdom had beenresponsible for bringing about the great new era of Antarctic activity. Others would carryon his work of exploration, making even greater use of the scientific and mechanicaltools of the modern world. None could live long enough to hope to make a greatercontribution than he had.

Moose Remington came to me about three P.M. on March 12 (1957). His face wasclouded and his eyes avoided mine. "What is it?" I asked him.

"I just heard the news over the Armed Forces Radio," he said softly, "that Admiral Byrddied today in Boston".

When he left I wrote a message for Mrs. Byrd, Marie, Dick's loving helpmate: "My griefis as one of the family. I am here at the Pole largely because Dick wished it so. I will domy best to continue my job as he would want it to be done. Please accept my deepestsympathy for the loss of a loving husband, father, loyal comrade and one of our greatestAmerican citizens. Affectionately, Paul."

A modest man, Byrd did not talk of his twenty-two citations and special commendations,


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nine of which were for bravery and two for extraordinary heroism in saving the lives ofothers. Nor did he boast of the medals he had amassed, which included theCongressional Medal of Honor, the Congressional Life Saving Medal, the DistinguishedService Medal, the Flying Cross and the Navy Cross. Instead, his talk was of minormatters, of adventures that went awry or did not turn out as expected. There was theaccident to his plane that had enabled Lindbergh to become the first man to fly theAtlantic nonstop to Europe in a land plane. Later, Byrd had made the trip with BertAcosta, George Noville and Bernt Balchen, though they had almost failed to reach

France. They had crashed into the sea off the coast and had had to swim for their lives."How did those early years go for you, Paul?" he asked. "Not so adventurous orromantic as yours," I said.

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