Operation Deep Freeze

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Antarctic expeditions
International agreements
Belgium Belgium
United Kingdom British Empire / Commonwealth
Germany Nazi Germany Germany
Sweden Sweden
France France
Japan Japan
Norway Norway
United States United States
Soviet Union Soviet Union
International

Operation Deep Freeze (OpDFrz or ODF) is codename for a series of

United States military
. Task Force 199 was involved.

Prior to International Geophysical Year

U.S. Navy R4D-5L "Dakota" making the first landing at the South Pole, 31 October 1956
Squadron patch for the Navy Antarctic Development Squadron SIX (VXE-6), known as the Puckered Penguins.

The

second Byrd Expedition explored much further inland and also "wintered over". The third Byrd Expedition in 1940 charted the Ross Sea
.

Byrd was instrumental in the Navy's

USS Atka
made a scouting expedition for future landing sites and bays.

Operation Deep Freeze I

The impetus behind Operation Deep Freeze I was the

U.S.S.R. agreed to go to the South Pole, the least explored area on Earth. Their goal was to advance world knowledge of Antarctic hydrography and weather systems, glacial movements, and marine life
.

The

U.S. Navy was charged with supporting the U.S. scientists for their portion of the IGY studies. Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd
, a veteran of four previous Antarctic Expeditions, was appointed as officer in charge of the expedition.

In 1955, Task Force 43, commanded by Rear Admiral

U.S. Navy and Walt Disney Studios.[2] For having designed the emblem of Task Force 43, Walt Disney became an honorary member of the expedition.[3]

USS Wyandot
(Dec 1955)
USS Wyandot mooring at McMurdo Station
(Dec 1955)

Task Force 43 consisted of the following ships:

The ships of the task force were supplemented by a specially trained Navy

Construction Battalion, formed at the Naval Construction Battalion Center at Davisville, Rhode Island
and several aircraft.

On October 31, 1956, at 8:34 p.m. local time, the first aircraft ever to touch down at the South Pole skied to a halt atop the Antarctic ice sheet at 90 degrees South latitude. The U.S. Navy R4D, was piloted by Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Conrad C. "Gus" Shinn USN. Immediately after the plane halted--with engines running to avoid a freeze-up (a practice still followed to this day)--U.S. Navy Adm. George J. Dufek., commander of Operation Deep Freeze, stepped out onto the ice, along with pilot Douglas Cordiner, to plant the stars and stripes at the Pole. They were the first to stand there since Briton Robert Falcon Scott did more than 40 years before. Norwegian Roald Amundsen had beaten Scott in his race to the Pole. Amundsen's party survived the 800-mile return trip, Scott's did not.[4] This flight was one part of the expeditions mounted for the IGY. This was not only the first aircraft to land at the South Pole, it was also the first time that Americans had ever set foot on the South Pole. The aircraft was named Que Sera, Sera after a popular song and is now on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida. This marked the beginning of the establishment of the first permanent base, by airlift, at the South Pole (today known as the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station) to support the International Geophysical Year. It was commissioned on January 1, 1957. The original station ("Old Byrd") lasted about four years before it began to collapse under the snow. Construction of a second underground station in a nearby location began in 1960, and it was used until 1972. The station was then converted into a summer-only field camp until it was abandoned in 2004–05. The mission's second base, Byrd Station, was a (former) research station in West Antarctica established by the US Navy for Operation Deep Freeze II during the International Geophysical Year.[5] The United States Antarctic Program airfield, built to service Operation Deep Freeze (first mission) was later named Williams Field or Willy Field.[6]

Jaron Cliffs are named for him.[7]

Subsequent developments

The Operation Deep Freeze activities were succeeded by "Operation Deep Freeze II", and so on. In 1960, the year of the fifth mission, codenames began to be based on the year (e.g., "Operation Deep Freeze 60").[8] The Coast Guard sometimes participated; among others, the USCGC Northwind,[9] the USCGC Polar Sea and the USCGC Glacier occasionally supported the mission.[10] The Navy's Antarctic Development Squadron Six had been flying scientific and military missions to Greenland and the arctic compound's Williams Field since 1975. The 109th operated ski-equipped LC-130s had been flying National Science Foundation support missions to Antarctica since 1988. The official name for the Navy's command in Antarctica was US Naval Support Force Antarctica, (NSFA) Terminal Operations.[11][12]

In early 1996, the

United States National Guard announced that the 109th Airlift Wing at Schenectady County Airport in Scotia, New York was slated to assume that entire mission from the United States Navy in 1999. The Antarctic operation would be fully funded by the National Science Foundation. The 109th expected to add approximately 235 full-time personnel to support that operation. The decision to switch from Naval leadership to National Guard was one of a cost-saving measure due to post cold war budget cuts.[13]

The possibility of the

C-130s
was to airlift fuel and supplies to the National Science Foundation's South Pole Station so that its personnel could survive the isolation of the long Antarctic winter, which lasted from February to October.

An Air National Guard working group had been formed to study the idea in 1990. The following year, a dialog began among the Air National Guard, the Air Staff, and the United States Navy. Among other issues, it was difficult at first for the Air Guard to convince the Air Staff to commit long term resources to an area of the world that had not been declared a warfighting region because of international treaties. The Air Guard had supported military operations in Greenland and the Arctic (including classified U.S. Navy operations) since the mid-1970s with the ski-equipped C-130s of the 109th Airlift Wing. It convinced Headquarters, United States Air Force that it was not in the nation's best interest to abandon the capability to achieve quick and reliable air access to both polar regions.

In March 1993, the U.S. Navy hosted a two-day workshop with representatives of the National Science Foundation, Air National Guard, and other interested parties to explore logistics support options for the operation. A draft concept of operations had been prepared by the Air Directorate of the National Guard Bureau in 1993. In February 1996, a commitment was made to transfer the Operation Deep Freeze mission and all

LC-130H aircraft operating within the U.S. Department of Defense
to the Air National Guard. In September 1996, senior officers from the 109th Airlift Wing briefed the National Guard Bureau on their concept of operations and the status of their preparations to implement Operation Deep Freeze.

C-141 Starlifter
participating in Operation Deep Freeze.

Under the transition plan which they had developed, the Air National Guard would continue to augment the United States Navy during the October 1996 – March 1997 operating season for the

Christchurch International Airport in Christchurch, New Zealand to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Traditional Guardsmen, technicians, and the cadre of Active Guard Reservists specifically brought on board to support Operation Deep Freeze would all be involved in the mission. When fully transitioned to the Air National Guard, the 109th Airlift Wing would have ten LC-130s in its inventory. These would include upgrades of four LC-130 aircraft in-service with the unit plus three new aircraft and three that would be transferred from the U.S. Navy. Air National Guard estimates of the savings to be realized by consolidating the operation in the hands of the 109th Airlift Wing ranged from US $
5 million to US$15 million a year. The actual transition to Air Guard control began in March 1996.

By 1999, the United States Navy had transferred military support operations for Antarctica over to the United States Air Force and its contractor

13th Air Force
.

Current status

Airmen saluting the last LC-130 to depart from Antarctica in 2010

United States civilian and scientific operations on the Antarctic continent are overseen by the

LC-130 Hercules aircraft provide the logistical movement of cargo to remote operating locations on the continent. These aircraft are augmented by the United States Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Polar Star, the Air Force Materiel Command, and the Military Sealift Command. The United States Air Force 13th Air Expeditionary Group
deploys to Christchurch, New Zealand during the operational season.

A documentary on the early missions, Ice Eagles: An Account of American Aviation in Antarctica, was scheduled to be released in 2016.[15]

Lockheed Martin is currently the prime contractor for the National Science Foundation's United States Antarctic Program.[16] The contract award was announced via a NSF press release on 28 December 2011 after a bid solicitation process of almost four years. Support operations began on 1 April 2012.[17] The original contract synopsis indicated that the government was contemplating a contract period of 11+1⁄2 years.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ "February 1, 1955: Task Force 43 Commissioned to Plan and Execute Operation Deepfreeze". Naval History Blog. February 2013.
  2. Walt Disney anthology television series episodes
    filmed in Antarctica:
  3. ISSN 0503-5392
    .
  4. ^ "NSF Commemorates the 50th Anniversary of First Flight To Land at the South Pole". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-02.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ "The Antarctic Sun: News about Antarctica - Byrd History (page 1)". antarcticsun.usap.gov. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  6. ^ "OAE's Williams Field Antarctica". www.coolantarctica.com. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  7. ^ MAP
  8. ^ Wallwork, Ellery; Wilcoxson, Kathryn (2006). Operation Deep Freeze: 50 Years of US Air Force Airlift in Antarctica. Office of History, Air Mobility Command. p. 25.
  9. ^ "Northwind, 1945 (WAGB 282)". United States Coast Guard. March 9, 2020. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  10. ^ Taylor, P. (1980). "Ship operations, Deep Freeze 80". Antarctic Journal: 230.
  11. doi:10.21236/ada524217
    .
  12. ISSN 0458-3035
    . Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  13. ISSN 0458-3035
    . Retrieved 2019-07-07.
  14. ^ "OPERATION DEEP FREEZE DEPLOYMENT GUIDE 2004-2005" (PDF). 30 September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  15. ^ Mary Stortstrom (March 15, 2015). "Veteran recalls details of his mission to Antarctica". The Journal. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  16. ^ "Antarctic Support Contract". lockheedmartin.com. Archived from the original on 2014-06-26.
  17. ^ "NSF Awards Logistical Support Contract for U.S. Antarctic Program - NSF - National Science Foundation". nsf.gov.
  18. ^ "Antarctic Support Contract - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunities".

Bibliography

Library resources about
Operation Deep Freeze

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Operation Deep Freeze.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operation_Deep_Freeze&oldid=1218085111"