Evening star., 1926-06-06

"A the two Russian officers, Bar.
4 4 Ing and Chirikov, to the vast
region later termed Alaska
or the Great Land" and a century
and half after the first survey made
for the British government by Capt
James Cook. the roar of the airplane
motor Is to blend with the noisy move.
ment of the Arctic pack in an effort
to conquer the mountain Businesses
OF southeastern Alaska by an aerial
survey conducted by the United
States Navy.
For the first time in the history of
the Nation, 12 Government bureaus
have combined to insure the ultimate
success of this important survey, as
engineers have tried for many long
years to. penetrate the virgin forests
of the 'wind-swept and glacier dis.
trict, and met with but poor results.
Strangely enough, much OF the ter
ritory to be mapped is part of the
beSt-known section of Alaska, as it is
in the line OF passage Travelled by
10000 tourists each year, vet the in
terror Of many .of these same islands.
viewed from the coast steamers, has
yet to be surveyed.
1t is true that tho many little in
lets and bays should afford the am
phibians and seaplanes q chance to
land safely, but in part OF the region
to be covered there is considerable
danger from ice foes, which are Of
tcn partly concealed in The water.
Yet in still other sections, the traveller
may listen in to the latest ball game,
hy innings, from the nearest telegraph
pole so that the region can
hardly he spoken of as a rackless
Wilderness" according to experts in
the Geological Survey.
But there are, of course. no beacons
or wide Swaths of cleared airways,
as for the transcontinental mail. Thus
1ho feat of mapping even the most
civilized part of the thousands of is
lands that compose this archipelago
Is a feat to command the admiration
Of all
The Polar Bears" as they have
heen humorously designated by The
Zcom, publicati ton Of the air squad.
soa of the battle fleet at San Diego.
have already ''hopped off" for their
long fight north. The survey is to
take immediate advantage OF any fine
weather there may be in store. as
or some occasions, southeastern Alas
ka has had bur two sunny days in
a month. and the region is noted for
dts precipitation.
Admiral Charles Hughes. comman-
der of the battle fleet operating in the
Pacific, has designated Lieut.. Ben H.
Wyatt as the flight comma ntler of the
officers and thirty-eight enlisted men,
including crack photographers and
radio operators, who are to do the
actual work of mapping forty thou
sands miles of dangerous terrain, with
three Looming amphibians.
according to Hop .. Flight a. of
The Zoom, the now LocrinG 2mphi-
hians are equipped for land sea. ice
pr snow. and were deSiCne.. bv Grover
r.-..t-
Looming plane was built Two years
ego. and was employed with marked
success by Navy Arctic expeditions
with Comdr. Byrd ana in the Gu
ban and venezuelan surveys 1t is
similar to those used in Army and
Navy air squadrons at Panama. Ha-
vail and the Philippines.
The amphibians TO be used in the
al" survey carry 1000 pounds. have a
speed of 1875 miles an hour, q ceiling
or altitude. of 14.oo0 feet and a fly
1ng radius o. 500 miles. \ special
Feature is that the Liberty motor, 400
horsepower, is inverted. The inclosed
fuslage and boatlille hull are of
metal, and when in flight. the wheels
of the landing gear rest in pockets on
each side OF the hull
* y "a
THE minesweeper I. s. S. Can
nett is to accompany the ex-
pedition to Alaska. towing en- route
d covered boat, that has been con
Terted from an old 250-ton an7muni-
tion barge, to serve as a floating bar
racks and laboratory for the photo
graphic staff. The Garnett has. in
addition, a boom on her after deck
THAT lifts an airplane direc;iy from the
water. if required. and will be COM
manded by Lieut.. w. Il. Spear.
There will be a regular system of
communication with the airplanes and
the traffic radio stations in Alaska,
which are at Sitka, Cortlova. Dutch
Tiarbor, st. Paul, and the stations at
Eoapstone Point and Cape iIitchin-
brook, on a wave length Of $50 kilo-
cycles, both to and from our airplanes
Through our receiving station. The
planes are equipped to keep in touch
with the flagship, L. s. S. Califor-
Hia. which will be in Southern waters,
with a base at San Diego. according to
Lieut.. Rodd of the Navy Radio De
partment. and in addition. will use
high-frequency waves OF 3,+75 and
$500 kilocycles. answering to tire call
1881 and 93T" for ti1c aerial survey
flight. En- route to Alaska. it is
pla nned to call all radio stations on
The Pacific Coast between San Diego
and ketchikan, the first base Of the
expedition.
At a luncheon given n April ST tag
Cosmos Club by X. T.. Sargent, chief
Photographer OF the tti.c1, lie; Geo
logical Survey. to rcprase rIa tives OF
The twelve Government departments
knterested in the Alaska aerial survey,
bt was decided to have local officials of
aine various divisions in tiie field CO.
Nperate in any practicable way. How
ever. the Navy is bearing The heavy
end of the project at present. IS the
officials are anxious to develop the
resources of the Navy, and this IS one
bf the most ambitious expeditions
lever attempted.
The modern airplane has proved it's
fapacity for scientific flight, and, ac-
eording to a recent statement by Ad-
miral Moffett, the work of eXplora-