Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-04-03
lSUbPOLAR CRUISE
TO START IN JULY
Proposed Voyage by Wilkins
I'm Arctic Ocean Would Cover
1000 Miles Under Ice.

+ speeiti Dispatch 10 The star. /. ,95
NEW YORK, April 3.-The proposed
submarine voyage across the Arctic
Ocean by Capt. Sir Hubert wilkins,
: polar explorer, appears to be assured
following q conferences here in which
it was declared the submarine could
be equipped by June /. Comdr. Sloan
Dannenhower, who. with Simon Lake,
owns the undersea craft to be used,
said that the trip would be made during
July, according to tentative plans.
Con1dr. Dannenhower conferred. Mon
day with George Palmer Putnam,
publisher, who is supervising the matter
of equipment and representatives OF
: battery and engine makers.
: Start at Spltsbergen.
Planned alterations and mechanical
Z equipping could be completed by June
/. 1, it was learned, so that the vessel
could proceed to spitsbergen About
: two weeks would be allowed there for
! final preparations, and then the sub
!. marine, with personnel Of 10 men,
would dive under the Ice on July /,
{ expecting to reach Point Barrow,
Alaska, 80 days later, after q trip OF
1000 miles across the North Pole, part
of the time beneath the ice. Capt.
wilkins made the same journey last
year by airplane.
The submarine selected. for the uli.
dertaking was constructed In 1905 BY
cause it did not meet the appro-
priation specifications for speed, was
never put INTO service but remained
the property Of the company and laid
on the ways as an experimental craft
The -Dannenhowe Co. purchas-
ed the vessel two years ago at the
time of the Sd disaster and recondi-
toned 1t for rescue and salvage work,
therefore it is partly adapted for the
needs Of the North Pole trip.
An oil engine will replace the present
gasoline engine on the subnlarine, and
storage batteries Of special design
Creating greater storage capacity viii
be substituted for the batteries now
is use. For use In ice-breaking de-
vice that Capt. wilkins calls a Jumper
bow" which is false or superbow,
will be built over the real bow ana the
coming tower.
Has Rescue Compartment.
The craft already is equipped with
forward diving compartment for rescue
WOLk anu ILLS CdIl DC uoSQ ny OINCto
in planting charges in ice to effect an
opening or for other reasons, accord
ing to Comdr. Dannenhower.
Arctic explorers say that ice cracks
leaving open water In the great ice
sheet occur frequently and are seldom
more than 40 miles apart, Capt, VIII
kins expects to average more than go
miles each day, remaining under water
about IA hours out of every "a and COM
ing to the surface to recharge the bat
teries during the other 10 hours.
Those interested in the voyage are in
touch with experts at McGill Univer-
sity who are experimenting on the ice
OF the st. Lawrence River with thermit,
a chemical preparation which has ire
mendous melting power A supply OF
thermit will be taken by the explorers
for use in an emergency.
: Capt wilkins purposes the underwater
trip across the Arctic to make study
Of the ocean depth, Ice drift and ocean
currents In north polar regions.
The explorer believes the trip will en-
able him to return in time to continue
his Antarctic observations.
Copyright. 1899, By New York Tribune.)