page_title: VXE-6
section_title: Operation Deep Freeze I and II
hierarchical_section_title: VXE-6 / History / Operation Deep Freeze I and II
caption_attribution_description: The U.S. Navy Douglas R4D-5L Que Sera Sera (BuNo 12418, c/n 9358, ex USAAF 42-23496) landing at the South Pole as seen from an U.S. Air Force Douglas C-124 Globemaster. This aircraft was the first aircraft to land on the South Pole on 31 October 1956. Crew: pilot LCdr. Conrad S. Shinn; copilot Capt. William. M. Hawkes; navigator Lt. John Swadener; crew chief AD2 John P. Strider; radioman AT2 William Cumbie; Rear Adm. George J. Dufek, Commander Task Force 43 and Commander Naval Support Forces, Antarctica; and Capt. Douglas L. L. Cordiner, Commanding Officer of Antarctic Development Squadron 6 (VX-6). These were the first people to stand at the South Pole since January 1912. The aircraft is today on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, at Pensacola, Florida (USA).
context_page_description: Antarctic Development Squadron Six was a United States Navy air test and evaluation squadron based Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California with forward operating bases at Christchurch, New Zealand and McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
  Established at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland on 17 January 1955 as Air Development Squadron Six, the squadron's mission was to conduct operations in support of Operation Deep Freeze, the operational component of the United States Antarctic Program. The squadron relocated to Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island on 1 February 1956. On 1 January 1969 the squadron was redesignated Antarctic Development Squadron Six.
  Following the closure of NAS Quonset Point in the 1970s, the squadron relocated to NAS Point Mugu. Using the tail codes XD and JD, the squadron flew numerous aircraft over the course of its existence—many of which were pioneering endeavors. For example, the first air link between Antarctica and New Zealand was established by men and aircraft of VX-6 in 1955. The following year, a ski-equipped R4D Dakota of VX-6 became the first aircraft to land at the South Pole.
context_section_description: On 1 February, Task Force 43 was activated to plan Antarctic operations scheduled to begin in the fall under the code name Operation Deep Freeze, with Captain George J. Dufek as commanding officer. Dufek would remain as commanding officer through Operation Deep Freeze IV, which concluded in 1959. The mission of Task Force 43 was to provide all the logistical support necessary for the successful U.S. participation in the upcoming International Geophysical Year (1957–8). More specifically, this meant that Task Force 43 was responsible for the construction of airstrips and iceports and the establishment of bases on Antarctica that would enable scientists to conduct geophysical studies upon that continent. On 14 November, the flagship of the recently promoted RADM Dufek, Commander Task Force 43, steamed from Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia to rendezvous in New Zealand with other ships of the task force for the onward voyage to Antarctica.
  VX-6 made its first deployment at that time as part of Task Force 43 (the logistics arm of Operation Deep Freeze). That first season, VX-6 completed nine long-range exploratory flights. The squadron also transported people and materials necessary for the construction of Little America Base Camp, the Naval Air Operations Facility on Hut Point Peninsula (Ross Island), the first South Pole Station (now referred to as "Old Pole"), and assisted in the establishment of four other bases on the continent. On 20 December 1955, two Lockheed P2V-2 Neptunes and two R5D Skymasters (R5D was the designation used by the United States Navy to refer to the Douglas C-54 Skymaster) established the first air link between Antarctica and New Zealand with a flight from Christchurch to McMurdo Station.
  Following its return from Operation Deep Freeze I in February 1956, VX-6 was relocated to Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Naval Construction Battalion Center Davisville, the site of manufacture of the first Quonset huts, was also located at Quonset Point. NCBC Davisville was the home of Naval Construction Battalion 200, which had been established to perform the construction of any facilities required by the United States Antarctic Program. In September of that year, LCDR Ray E. Hall drew the first rendition of "Puckered Pete", a cartoon character which later became the unofficial mascot of VX-6.
  On 31 October 1956, during Operation Deep Freeze II, Qué Será Será, a ski-equipped R4D Dakota piloted by LCDR Conrad S. Shinn, became the first plane to land at the South Pole. The seven United States Navy men (RADM George J. Dufek, CAPT Douglas L. Cordiner, CAPT William M. Hawkes, LCDR Conrad S. Shinn, LT John R. Swadener, AD2 John P. Strider, and AT2 William A. Cumbie Jr.) aboard that aircraft were the first to stand at this spot in 44 years, the last being Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition in January 1912. RADM Dufek had chosen LCDR Shinn and his flight crew to attempt the landing, which was an extraordinary undertaking since the South Pole was almost 10,000 feet (3,000 m) above sea level where the aircraft engines would operate considerably below their optimum power levels. In addition it was expected that extremely cold conditions could be expected on the surface. The landing party remained at the South Pole for only 49 minutes, setting up navigational aids to assist the future delivery of materials and equipment for constructing a scientific observation station at the spot. Also in 1956, an R4D Dakota delivered the first group of 11 Seabees and 11 dog sleds, together with tents and other equipment to the South Pole, to begin construction of the first South Pole Station.
caption: The R4D-5L "Que Sera Sera" lands at South Pole on 31 October 1956.
exif: {}