Evening star., 1944-11-16
Air Rescue System in Far North Ready
BY w. H. SHIPPEN, Jr..

Aviation Editor, The Star.
A NORTH ATLANTIC AIRBASE,
Nov. 15.--As winter closed down
over this vast Northland traversed
by heavy and urgent air trafiic,
Capt. William L. tBilD Shearer,s
search and rescue specialists began
to crack their whips over sled dog
teams of Siberian huskies to tough
en- them for long trails which lie
ahead.
From now on until the spring
+ thaws, dog teams will be the MAIN
stay Of far-flung rescue system
which must be prepared to reach
any point in millions Of square miles
of wild territory from Southern
Maine up through Labrador to Hud-
sons Bay, Baffln Land or the Arctic
coasts of Greenland.
While there is always the posi-
bility that a plane will be forced
down at sea. experience has shown
that most of them on running into
trouble manage to reach land. In
more than two years of operation,
Capt. Bill Shearer's crew has res
cued rs persons and brought in 20
bodies, all as a result of land acci-
dents. e.
Tough on Warplanes.
In fact, it is the pride, if not the
boast, of this rescue team with this
rowing assignment that they have
brought in every man, whether
alive or dead, who has bailed out or
crash-landed in plane within their
field of action. The overall accident
toll is incredibly low in view of the
fact that thousands of planes, tacti-
cal as well as transport, traverse this
sparsely-settled region in all kinds
of weather.
It is the fighters and bombers
bound for the European battle fronts
that have the toughest going. Their
crews have had more combat than
cross-country training, and their
landing speeds are high as compared
with passenger, mail and cargo car
riers. Too, their pilots are younger
than the seasoned veterans who
have flown the route many times
before.
The command of the whole rescue
system, with units at bases all
around the rim of the North Allan
tic, rests with Maj. Norman
Vaughan. who bred and trained
sled dogs for Rear Admiral Richard
E. Byrd's Antarctic expeditions and
accompanied two of the expeditions
to the Far South.
19 Teams Trained.
Both Maj. Vaughan and Capt.
Shearer are Massachusetts, sports
men whose teams of huskieS COM
peted in sled dog races, long popu-
lar feature of New England winter
carnivals before the war. Capt.
Shearer, who is 38, twice won the 90
mile overland race for the New Eng
land championship.
Nineteen 9-dog teams have been
trained and distributed throughout
the bases of the North Atlantic
wing, in Maine, Newfoundland, Lab
rador, Bases Crystal Two and Three
in Baffin Land; in Greenland and
Iceland.
Siberian huskies were chosen for
the task because they are light,
strong and willing, not too quarrel
some among themselves, and always
ready to take ride in a plane
Three teams harnessed up and ready
to go can be loaded in a single
transport along with sleds and
equipment. The huskies lie down
together and take a nap until time
to get to work.
Aircraft Join Search.
Ths rescue equipment includes
snow tractors, jeeps and trucks de-
signed for heavy going, few crash
boats. and light planes which can
be equipped either with floats, skis
or wheels, depending on the
emergency.
When a plane is reported missing.
all available aircraft at the nearest
base are assigned to the search.
Smoke stained snow in winter or
a bit of singed foliage in summer
which might escape the attention
of the novice, are signs to the search
specialists. A big white rock might
look like parachute, but the ex-
pert will wait to see if it flutters in
the wind before he jumps to con-
clusionS.
In a typical case, the searchers
will know within about $50 miles of
where the plane went down. A
5o0-mile square search map will be
laid out, centered on the most prob
able spot.
Various planes will be assigned to
fly parallel strips across this huge
square.
May Jump to Wreck.
A heavy bomber was spotted In
this manner after it crashed in a
thunderstorm last July and ex-
ploded on Deer Mountain in an
isolated section of the Maine woods.
capt. Shearer and his crew soon
were en- route by truck, after pick
ing up medical officer, and per-
formed the grim task of identifying
the bodies and carrying them out
over a trail they hacked through
the scrub to the watch tower. This
is the worst part of their job.
The rescuers are prepared to para
chute down to the wreck if there is
indication survivors need immedi-
ate assistance.
In other cases, the search planes
merely drop individual or five-man
kits containing every necessity for
survival under many conditions.
Native Guides Used.
The f1ve-man kit, attached to a
red parachute for ready identifica-
tion on the snow, contains a tent.
IL ~