 This is Antarctica, nearly 6 million square miles of ice-covered wasteland, larger than the United States and Europe combined. Less than one-third of this great continent has been explored. Previous expeditions have discovered indications of coal, iron, and other minerals in this last frontier. Its lean elevation is 6,000 feet, but some of its mountain peaks rise above 15,000 feet. It is the highest and coldest continent in the world. In Antarctica, scientists hope to find the answers to many questions, which will unlock secrets of the universe. The International Geophysical Year is a combined effort of scientists of more than 60 nations to gain knowledge of the Earth and related phenomena by worldwide simultaneous observations. One of the most extensive of all international geophysical year investigations is taking place in the Antarctic regions, with 11 nations participating. In an effort to help find answers to these questions, the United States Antarctic programs was conceived, and by direction of the President of the United States, Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, Veteran Polar Explorer, was named Officer in Charge. The Navy was assigned the task of logistic support for the program. Task Force 43 was organized under Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet to implement the operation, which was assigned the codename Operation Deep Freeze. Rear Admiral George Dufek was appointed Commander Task Force 43, with the responsibility to construct bases, operate them, supply and resupply them, and transport scientists to and from Antarctica. The major objectives of Operation Deep Freeze I were to establish a main IGY base near the site of the former Little Americas and an air facility at McMurdo Sound, investigate Marie Birdland and the South Pole for suitable scientific observation posts, to support a planned U.S. scientific program in the Antarctic, and provide logistic support for the United States participation in IGY. The USS Arneb, a.k.a. 56 Admiral Dufek's flagship, was one of nine ships constituting Task Force 43's ship group. The others were USS Wyandotte, a.k.a. 92, USS Greenville Victory, USS Nespolin, A.O.G. 55, and the Icebreakers, USS Edisto, AGB 2, USS Glacier, AGB 4, and the East Wind, a Coast Guard Icebreaker. And finally, two-yard oilers, the Y.O.G. 70 and 34, were each loaded with 270,000 gallons of aviation fuel to be used as Antarctic filling stations for the air unit. The Task Force Air Unit, Air Development Squadron 6, commanded by Commander Gordon Evie, consisted of two R5D Skymasters, four R4D Skytrains, two P2B Neptune's, as well as four De Havilland Otters, and six H.O.4S3 helicopters carried aboard the Task Force's ships. At the Atlantic Leeds Construction Battalion Center, Davisville, Rhode Island, a special Mobile Construction Battalion was commissioned by Admiral Dufek with Commander Herbert Whitney, commanding officer of the unit. These CDs have the responsibility of constructing all of the bases in the Antarctic. They were trained in cold weather construction, but the Antarctic, notorious for its unpredictability, will pose many problems for them. Here, Commander Whitney reads his orders, assigning him as commanding officer. Mrs. Dufek is accorded the honor of carrying old glory in the changing of the color ceremony. Julia Hawks, selected by the crew as co-sponsor, representing the women who must remain behind, carried the battalion flag. Families and friends are afforded an opportunity to see some of the unique equipment that will be carried on the expedition. It's a 10,000-mile trip down there. And in three months, this weasel will be moving across the polar plateau. Junior checks it out. While Mom inspects this tent, the roller will be used to build airstrips on snow-covered ice fields, a winterized portable building. This will be used on the trail for a mess hall and radio communication. In August 1955, the task of receiving, packaging and loading the ships of Task Force 43 began at Davisville, Rhode Island. Here were loaded an estimated 20,000 measurement tons of cargo, bulk petroleum products, and the Antarctic life preservers, sled dogs. The first departure at Davisville in early September was marked by the excitement and sadness of farewell. Many of these families will be separated for over a year, and the separation will be spanned only by intermittent mail and wireless communication. From September until mid-November, this scene was repeated, as Task Force ships departed from various East and West Coast ports. On November 14th at Norfolk, Admiral Byrd spoke at departure ceremonies for the Arneb, Admiral Dufek's flagship. On route to Fuller Waters, the icebreaker glacier passed through the Panama Canal, where she took aboard a load of bamboo. Later, at sea, the bamboo was cut into strips. It will be used as trail and supply dump markers in the deep snow. Other preparations for the expedition were carried on at sea. Here, sleds are being rigged. In equatorial waters, the routine was interrupted by the traditional ceremonies conducted by King Neptune and his court. The polywogs were put through the appropriate ritual of initiation, required of all sailors crossing the equator for the first time. Among the Operation Deep Freeze personnel were several foreign officers. Here, they inspect the Navy's newest and most powerful icebreaker. In warm tropical waters, religious services were conducted on the open deck. On one occasion, the ship hauled far out into Pacific, while crew members took a dip and acquired tans that they hoped would last out the Antarctic weather. The crew of the little Y-O-G's were deprived of many of the comforts and conveniences offered by the bigger ships. Nine are shot to the vessel, and the high line is rigged to send supplies across. Two of these vessels were towed to the Antarctic. Life aboard them was rough, wet and lonely. Thanksgiving Day aboard the ships was celebrated in the South Pacific, far from a supermarket. But the ship's mess tables were amply provided with a traditional bird and trimming. The USS Glacier arrived at Port Littleton, New Zealand, December the 7th, 1955. Here, she was joined by Captain Gerald L. Ketchum, Deputy Task Force Commander, and Admiral Bird. On December 10th, the Glacier began the final leg of its journey to Antarctica, as hundreds of New Zealanders gathered at the pier to bid the ship and its crew a bon voyage. Six days later, the Glacier received a baptism of ice near Scott Island when she entered the ice bank. December 18th, the Task Force sighted the Antarctic continent, when Mount Erebus, the only known active volcano in the Antarctic, towering 13,000 feet above McMurdo Sound, came into view. The Glacier moored to the ice, and its helicopter flew a survey party ashore to find an area on the bay ice suitable for a long, flat runway that would support the weight of the large planes of the air unit. Commander Abbey and Commander Whitney surveyed an 8,000-foot strip of ice at the south end of McMurdo Sound. They tested its thickness with a gas-powered chainsaw to determine if the ice would support heavy planes without skis. This site was found to be suitable. It was located immediately north of the 19-2 expedition camp of Royal Navy Captain Robert Scott, leader of the second party to reach the pole. Food stores left here by the Scott party over a half-century ago were found to be perfectly preserved and quite edible. The Glacier then unloaded vehicles and materials for the establishment of a temporary base camp to support seabee and air contingents until permanent buildings were completed. Some permanent inhabitants arrived to discharge their ambassadorial duties by greeting and entertaining the visiting delegation from the United States. The emperors are the best known year-round inhabitants of the Antarctic. Penguins are equipped with built-in toboggan for traveling over the snow. This Adelaide penguin ripperie was located less than one half mile from the Glacier's mooring. With the completion of the airstrip, Captain Ketchum and Party transferred to the ice to await the arrival of the Edisto. From this ship, he would direct operations in the air. The USS Edisto arrived soon after the Glacier departed McMurdo Sound to furnish logistic support for air operations and construction parties. The offloading began immediately. Supplies, equipment and materials were unloaded for transportation to the temporary camp and airstrip sites. The sled dogs were happy to be in their element and were eager to go. Surface vehicles began moving materials over the day ice to the airstrip and permanent base site. December 20, the aircraft made their fly-in, guided along the 2,200 miles by ships stationed at 300-mile intervals. Four aircraft arrived without misshapes. Headwinds forced four of the smaller aircraft to turn back to New Zealand. Aircraft had now flown nonstop from a large landmass into the Antarctic continent for the first time in history. The Glacier proceeded from its ocean station to Scott Island and on Christmas Day, rendezvoused with the other ships of the Task Force north of the ice pack. Rear Admiral Dupec greeted Admiral Byrd as he transferred from the Arneb to the Glacier to command the transit of the Task Force. The mighty Glacier led the column through the ice pack. Clearing the pack four days later, the Task Force was met by the Edisto which led the Wyandotte and Nespolin into McMurdo Sound. The Glacier escorted the Arneb and Greenville victory on to Canaan Bay, 450 miles to the east. December 28, the Wyandotte and Nespolin arrived in McMurdo Sound and sent a mooring party ashore to bury timbers called Dead Men for attaching the ship's mooring lines. After the long flight from New Zealand, an even more hazardous task was undertaken. Aircraft taxied 30 miles directly to the Tanker Nespolin to expedite flight operations and take full advantage of the little remaining good weather. Refueling at the ship, the aircraft were on ice only four feet thick, over water 1800 feet deep. A temporary camp was established and air operations commenced immediately. An R5D using wheels rather than skis makes a Genesis take-off, beginning a long-range exploratory mission. In less than one month, pilots of EX-6 mapped and photographed over a million square miles of territory, never before seen by human eyes. Later, Admiral Byrd, Dr. Paul Seipel and other Antarctic gold timers paid a visit to the site of Little America 1 and 2. They located this radio tower built during Byrd's 1929 expedition. When first erected, it stood 75 feet above the surface of the snow. On January 4th, 1956, Little America was officially commissioned by Admiral Byrd and Admiral Dufek. The glacier, after carving out a mooring in Canine Bay for the cargo ship, was ordered by Admiral Dufek to McMurdo Sound to assist Captain Ketchum. For 10 days, the Edisto and the Coast Guard east wind attempted to cut a channel through the ice of McMurdo to within a reasonable distance of the base site at that point. During this time, only 14 miles had been gained. The glacier went to work on the ice. It takes immense power and tons of weight to accomplish the feat of crushing acres of ice ranging from 10 to 12 feet thick. These scenes taken from the ice show you the power of the glacier. An icebreaker, contrary to popular idea, does not break ice by cutting through it, but is so designed that the bow will ride upon the ice. And in a porpoising action, the sheer weight of the ship crushes and cleaves through the ice. In 48 hours, she came within six miles of the base and established an offloading point and a turnaround circle. The 30-mile artery through the ice was named Glacier Channel. Since Bay Ice did not move out into the open sea as anticipated, it was too risky to bring the cargo ships into the channel. Therefore, the three icebreakers were required to shuttle supplies from the ships through the channel to the offloading point. Here at Glacier Point, the cargo is unloaded for transfer to the base site. The unloading operation involved a calculated risk. The Glacier cargo handling equipment, designed for only 12 tons, lowered a 24-ton V8 tractor. The risk paid off. Cargo moved to six miles to the camp loaded in tractor trains. This operation involved many hazards because of the treacherous Bay Ice. Finally, on January 14th, the first load of building materials and supplies arrived at the base site, and one of the major objectives of Operation Deep Freeze had been accomplished. The indispensable Glacier served not only as a cargo transport, but also as an aircraft tender. By January 18th, above freezing temperatures had caused ice runways to melt and crack. The aircraft, after receiving their final refueling and maintenance from the Glacier, took off for New Zealand. 450 miles east, near Little America, supplies were shuttled to a temporary cache on Bay Ice, approximately halfway to the base. The warm weather caused melting and weakening of the ice, until finally the temporary cache was in danger. Admiral Dufek ordered everything transported to the firmer shelf ice on the double. Every available tractor, carry lift, and helicopter was pressed into use. In 48 hours, all of the cargo had been moved to Little America 5, only a short time before the Bay Ice broke up and floated out the seat. In the construction of bases, the CDs lived up to their can-do reputation. With the building area leveled, foundations were laid for the special type buildings, which would be the living, operating, and recreational facilities for a long, long winter night. Floors were laid, and walls erected. They looked thin, but special insulation and expert construction make them snow-type. Roofs must be especially strong to support the heavy accumulation of snow throughout the three years' occupancy. Tractors cleared the area between the buildings of snow and ice so a tunnel system could be built. An elaborate tunnel system was built to connect all of the buildings and serve as storage spaces. Both here and at McMurdo Sound, 250,000-gallon fuel tanks were constructed to serve as storage for aviation fuel to be used in Operation Deep Freeze II. When completed, these tanks were filled from the USS Nespolet, board about four miles away. The problem of transporting fuel four miles was met by using several collapsible fuel hose storage tanks provided by the Marine Corps. This tank, when unrolled and filled, holds 10,000 gallons. Gasoline was pumped to these tanks, and by increasing the pressure at booster stations with auxiliary pumps, was finally brought to the huge fuel tank at Hut Point through portable pipelines. This experimental crevasse detector, designed to give a signal when a crevasse was approached, proved not completely reliable when used by trail parties. The loss of an otter-supporting aircraft and the failure of the crevasse detector delayed the Marie Birdland Trail Expedition. With winter weather setting in, the project was postponed until Deep Freeze II. To climax the activities of Operation Deep Freeze I, the glacier with Admiral Dootheck aboard made a notable cruise around the Antarctic continent. The purpose of this voyage was to locate suitable sites for more I-GY stations to be established in later operation. Survey crews returning from surveying a possible site on the Knox coast experienced the sudden fury of an Antarctic blizzard, a vanguard of the fast approaching polar weather. Their small craft fought through the ICCs to the side of the glacier and was finally hoisted safely aboard. The glacier's crews around the continent brought Deep Freeze I to a successful conclusion, and she pointed her bow north, leaving behind 73 men at the Little America base and 93 sailors and scientists at the Naval Air Facility in McMurdo Sound. With the wintering over party were 1500 tons of supplies and materials to sustain them through the coming year of isolation from the rest of the work. Some of these materials will go into the construction of bases at the South Pole and Marie Birdland before ships return to the Antarctic. At the base of Observatory Hill, men prepared for the bitter cold and the violent winds of the long winter night. And at sea, the glacier plunged northward into warmer ice-free water, her destination, the United States, where she would be fitted out for Operation Deep Freeze II. Thank you for watching.