Evening star., 1951-11-11
New Frontiers
Arctic Wastes Of Alaska and Canada
Seen as Offensive-Defensive Base
By W. H. shippen

The cold war is beginning to force
the opening wedges of new frontier
deep into the frozen Arctic.
Behind the routine Ptarmigan
flights from Alaska to the North
Pole and back other activities are
branching out in region where any
kind of operations are as tough as
nature can make them.
The polar round "trip project. now
almost four years old, and building
up to 900 completed missions. is
continuing source of information on
weather, new methods of navigation
and the nature of the ice-encrusted
Arctic Ocean.
Armed with this knowledge, airmen
have made several hundred success
full landings on or between the shift
ing foes which extend across the
pole to the northern shores of Soviet
Russia. The pole. however, is the
turn-around point of the Ptarmigan
track, and the landings have been
confined so far to a region some
400 miles north of Alaska.
Beyond this region lies a whole
new field of exploration and expert
ment opened up by the discovery of
three huge, semipermanent ice is
lands drifting with the winds and
currents between the pole, Alaska
the Canadian Archipelago and Green
land. One is 18 by 20 miles in size,
and may have maximum thickness
of 1000 feet.
Sofe PIotforms
Enough has been learned Of the
islands to convince military observers
they would make safe and stable
platforms for the establishment of
advance bases. A study Is being
made on the subject, but in the
absence of any published conclusions
some suggestions have been advanced
by experts who have reviewed the
photographs and reports of Super
Fortress crews.
Landing strips for aircraft prob
ably could be smoothed out fairly
quickly on the islands. These icy
leviathans, plowing through ordinary
pack ice. open UP their own leads
of clear water of sufficient size for
submarine or flying boat landings.
The melting rate is very slow and
the islands appear to be trapped in
a giant eddy in the American Arctic.
completing an orbit in from four
to six years.
The bases might be used for
weather observation stations. early
warning radar outposts, navigational
beacons, rocket-launching platforms
or even emergency fields for inter-
ceptor aircraft. Jet fighters, it was
said. already have made experimental
landings further south on smooth
leads of newly frozen ice between
older foes of the ocean pack.
Transport Landings Likely
Four-engined transports may take
test landings this winter or spring
on similar strips of new ice, accord
ing to Col. Bernt Balchen, Norwe-
gian-born veteran of innumerable
polar flights. who is now an Air Force
consultant on Arctic operations.
These landings can be made at the
pole with reasonable safety when
suitable ice develops there, Col. Bal
chen said.
A thickness of or feet is
enough. the explorer added. and
some of the leads present a uniform
surface, swept almost free Of snow,
for several miles between the rough
ice left over from previous seasons.
The first landings on the Arctic
Ocean were made in March of 1850
by twin-engined CATS of the 10th
Air Rescue Squadron, then command
ed by Col. Balchen. Both were pre-
ceded by gliders later snatched from
the ice on tow ropes dangling from
four -engined C-54s.
Since then CATS have been land
ing on both skis and wheels, with
and without booster rockets for take
off. Smaller planes. equipped with
floats. and helicopters also have been
practicing landings nearer the coast
Comps Set Up
Several small parties have set up
camps on the surface. but the treach-
erous nature Of the pack ice has lin
tied the size and duration of the
projects. Relatively thin ocean ice
varying from 6 feet in summer te
IL feet in winter, is continually
churned by winds. tides and cur
rents. Large foes are apt to buckle
or crack under pressure, or close in