[BYRD (Admiral Richard)], &
UNITED STATES NAVY, TASK FORCE 43
Operation Deepfreeze: Operation Plan No. 1-55.
US PLANS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL YEAR
[BYRD (Admiral Richard)], &
UNITED STATES NAVY, TASK FORCE 43
Operation Deepfreeze: Operation Plan No. 1-55.
A detailed set of logistical plans for the US International Geophysical Year operations in Antarctica.
Initiated by polar veteran Lieutenant Richard Byrd, Operation Deep Freeze I was the US contribution to the International Geophysical Year, a science-driven global research project that included participants from sixty-seven countries. This official report appears to have been produced for internal circulation within the US Navy, and includes letters signed by Rear-Admiral George Dufek, Commander of Task Force 43 and “ComNavSuppFor Antarctica.” Dufek was technically retired from the Navy in 1955 following decorated service in WWII and the Korean War, but continued on active duty so he could participate in Operation Deep Freeze.
The plans include specifications for the establishment of four American base stations, plus auxiliary outposts, extensive lists of materials and equipment, procedural protocol for personnel, maps and other operations plans. Amongst many specific instructions there is an illustrated note about mooring alongside the ice shelf with the use of a “dead man” - a kind of anchor created from a plank of wood deliberately frozen into the bay ice.
OCLC finds copies at Stanford, Navy Department Library, Mariners Museum, National Library of NZ, & University of Otago (these final two with the attributed date of publication 1960).
