Evening star., 1948-04-11

dEAD&2OAR Ett0 UT FL AttMl-
GAN MISSIONS, LADD FIELD
Alaska, April 10.-The North Stal
can't guide them on the lonely
trails they're blazing, and neithe,
can the compass or radio. -
Even the radars Of the Polar
Patrol get back at best but shadowy
returns from the shifting ice cap, ol
from shorelines farther south which
are banked so high with ice ano
snow that they merge with the sea
That old standby, the human eye.
ball, can be at fault in the spring
twilight period when horizons dis
appear and the view from all d.
rections, up, down or around the
compass, is exactly the same fla,
white tone.
Safety Record Perfect
A white-out, in the opinion o,
the 375th Reconnaissance Squadron
Very Long Range, Is about as easy
to see through as . winter black.
out. when the squadron's B-29s, as
one commander put it, might a.
we'll be flying around in a bottle
Of ink"
Yet the bomber crews who 20 ur
in all weather have a perfect safety
record after flying Sc Ptarmigan
missions since setting up operations
here year ago. Fifty of these mis-
sions went squarely over the North
Pole and the other six would have
reached the target, the men say
except for certain mechanical all.
ments bound to develop in a ma.
chine as complex as a winterized
B.29.
Visiting newsmen were briefec
ut squadron headquarters here to-
day by Capt. Lester Ferriss, 26, OF
Livonia, N. Y, commander of the
Polar Queen and veteran of II
missions over the pole. Slim, blond
and casual, he might have been q
young professor chatting with his
class. He might have been one o1
the students, for that matter, ex-
cept for small, tight lines around
his eyes, and the precision of his
answers to questions on a wide
range Of subjects.
The skipper on a Ptarmigan mis-.
sion has to come up with a lot Of
answers, but fast. His crew of l.
are all specialists trained to a high
degree, but the "old man" must
know more than something about all
the subjects-meteorology, electron-
les, long-range communications
dead reckoning, astro navigation
Arctic survival and the like in addi-
ton to his job as command pilot.
Radar and Compass Act Up
The crew of the Polar Queen
includes Staff Sergt. James w. John
son Of Silver Spring, Md, who has
made six Polar missions as a scan
ner with special responsibility for
the four engines that keep the big
fans turning over. They make q
special music, and have a very at
tentive audience. indeed, when the
northern lights lie to the south, OF
when the 29s bank on the pole and
head for the bright lights of Fair
banks. AS musician, the sergeant
has his limitations-he can't play
Home, Sweet Home" on two pianos
Nobody but the crew hears thi,
particular symphony beyond frost.
bitten Eskimo or two at Aklavik
at the mouth Of the Mackenzie
River, or polar bear hunting seals
on the ice pack of Prince Patrick
Island. They're too busy surviv-
ing" one airman remarked, "to
wonder where we're going"
The crews at this season try to
hit Aklavik exactly at sunrise to get
q solar fix before setting sail for the
Prince Patrick coast. The chief
navigator Of the Polar Queen told
us these islands appear to be float
ing about on the best available
charts, some IS or 20 miles of
center.
When we first started up there,
he said. I'VE tried for navigational
fix on the islands, but learned that
first we had to fix the islands them
selves"
on Prince Patrick, the boys swing
left up meridian. especially ii
it's well-marked," as one crewmau