TextSearch

A year after World War II ended, the U.S. Navy mounted a massive-though hastily planned-mission to the bottom of the world.

Operation Highjump | Air & Space Magazine| Smithsonian Magazine Sections Give a Gift Renew Shop Give a Gift Subscribe Renew '' Smart News History Science Innovation Arts & Culture Travel History Archaeology U.S. History World History Untold Stories of American History Video Newsletter Science Human Behavior Mind & Body Our Planet Space Wildlife Newsletter Innovation Innovation for Good Education Energy Health & Medicine Technology Video Newsletter Arts & Culture Museum Day Art Books Design Food Music & Film Video Newsletter Travel Alaska Virtual Travel Journeys Newsletter At The Smithsonian Visit Exhibitions New Research Artifacts Curators' Corner Ask Smithsonian Podcasts Voices Newsletter Photos Photo Contest Instagram Video Ingenuity Awards Ask Smithsonian Smithsonian Channel Games Daily Sudoku Universal Crossword Daily Word Search Jumble Mah Jong Quest KenKen Backgammon Newsletters Shop AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE Operation Highjump A year after World War II ended, the U.S. Navy mounted a massive-though hastily planned-mission to the bottom of the world. Paul Hoversten July 2007 AddThis Sharing ButtonsShare to FacebookFacebookShare to TwitterTwitterShare to RedditRedditShare to PinterestPinterestShare to LinkedInLinkedInShare to FlipboardFlipboardShare to EmailEmailShare to MoreAddThis6 The three Navy airmen who in 1946 became the first U.S. casualties in Antarctica (see “Executive Editor Paul Hoversten asked Dian Olson Belanger, a historian of polar exploration and the author of Deep Freeze: The United States, the International Geophysical Year, and the Origins of Antarctica’s Age of Science (University Press of Colorado, 2006), to talk about Highjump and its legacy. A & S: What was the significance of Operation Highjump? Report an adBelanger: No U.S. naval expedition had been in Antarctica for 100 years before that, not since the [Charles] Wilkes expedition of 1838–42. Highjump was a significant illustration of the state of the world and the cold war thinking at the time. The nuclear age had just begun, and the real fears were that the Soviet Union would attack the United States over the North Pole. The Navy had done a training exercise there in the summer of 1946 and felt it needed to do more. The northern winter was coming, and Highjump was a quickly planned exercise to move the whole thing to the South Pole. Politically, the orders were that the Navy should do all it could to establish a basis for a [land] claim in Antarctica. That was classified at the time. A & S: Admiral Richard Byrd, who led the Highjump expedition, had 13 ships, 23 aircraft, and 4,700 men. Quite a contingent. Belanger: It was the largest naval expedition ever in Antarctica. Even the [Operation Deep Freeze] expeditions during the International Geophysical Year [in the 1950s] were a fraction of that. These were also newly released soldiers and sailors from World War II. And there were very few of those 4,700 who had any [polar] experience. So it’s a little odd that they would have conjured up so many. The leadership ranks were very thin, especially in the flying ranks. A & S: Was Byrd able to accomplish all his objectives? Belanger: No. Admiral Byrd by then was a minor player. His name was, of course, illustrious, and they wanted to make use of that. But in fact, while he had the titular control of the operation, the Navy really called the shots. From the research I’ve done, Byrd really wasn’t well. He never really recovered, according to people who knew him, from his time alone on the ice in 1934. As for the exercise, it was so brief and cobbled together. They were supposed to do a lot of photo mapping. But as one of the pilots, Conrad “Gus” Shinn [who flew Douglas R4Ds from the carrier USS Philippine Sea], told me, “We didn’t really know what we were doing. We didn’t know about precision flying or what we were looking at.” A & S: The only casualties on Highjump were the three Navy men killed in the George 1 airplane crash in December 1946. Do you think the Navy should recover their bodies? Belanger: Well, there [also] are bodies from Operation Deep Freeze, and there’s been no attempt to get them either. In Deep Freeze 1, there were two [deaths]. One was on a tractor that went through the ice right when they got there in January 1956. Later, another tractor went down in a crevasse and its driver was crushed. There were maybe four [deaths] in Deep Freeze 2 or 3. And they’re still happening. It’s still a dangerous place. Where that Highjump crash was sounded to me to be in a pretty tough place. When some of them were rescued, they were asked to walk the nine or 10 miles to shore because no airplane could land there to pick them up. They called it “the Phantom Coast” because you could never find it. A & S: How did Highjump help lay the foundation for further U.S. exploration of the continent? Belanger: It was the beginning of photo mapping there, and it helped people learn about the continent. When the IGY scientists, who of course were sitting in conference halls in Europe, were planning where to put stations in Antarctica during the IGY, they used what the Highjump people had learned to help them make decisions. For example, there was a discovery over in east Antarctica of an ice-free area that was bedrock and had water pockets. That guided the building of stations there. It carries the name Bunger Hills, after the Highjump pilot who first flew over it. 1 / 1 Pine Island, anchored off Antarctica during Operation Highjump, prepare a PBM-5 Mariner for flight during a snowstorm. Feedloader Clickability Recommended Videos Piloting a "Torpedoboot" in World War II Was Practically a Suicide MissionIn 1944, the Germans had a problem: how to repel the Allies from the shores of Europe, with their rapidly dwindling navy. Their solution: a vessel that also doubled as a torpedo.More Videos0 seconds of 2 minutes, 28 secondsVolume 0%Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcutsKeyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabledPlay/PauseSPACEIncrease Volume↑Decrease Volume↓Seek Forward→Seek Backward←Captions On/OffcFullscreen/Exit FullscreenfMute/UnmutemSeek %0-9Next UpHow the British Navy Camouflaged Their Ships Using Art02:32Live00:2502:0302:28  Post a Comment Most Popular How an Unorthodox Scholar Uses Technology to Expose Biblical Forgeries The Science Behind the Oldest Trees on Earth This Rare Robert Burns Book Was Discovered in a Barber Shop, Where It Was Used to Clean Razors A Rare Snowy Owl Is Captivating Southern California Outdoor Cats Are Using $500 Starlink Satellite Dishes as Self-Heating Beds Explore Smart News History Science Innovation Arts & Culture Travel At The Smithsonian Photos Video Games Subscribe Subscribe Give a gift Renew Newsletters Sign Up Our Partners Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian.com Smithsonian Store Smithsonian Journeys Smithsonian Channel Smithsonian Books Smithsonian Membership Terms of Use About Smithsonian Contact Us Advertising RSS Member Services Sustainability Terms of Use Privacy Statement Cookie Policy Advertising Notice © 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Privacy Statement Cookie Policy Terms of Use Advertising Notice Manage My Data Cookie Settings Report an ad Privacy Preference CenterLike many websites, when you visit our website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies help us identify your device or browser. We use this information to make the site work as you expect it to, as well as to give you a more personalized web experience. You can choose not to allow certain cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. More informationAllow All Manage Consent PreferencesStrictly Necessary CookiesAlways ActiveThese cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will then not work. Performance Cookies Performance Cookies These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.Functional Cookies Functional Cookies These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.Targeting Cookies Targeting Cookies These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will still see ads, but they will not be targeted based on your online activities.Back ButtonPerformance Cookies Search IconFilter IconClear checkbox label labelApply CancelConsent Leg.Interest checkbox label label checkbox label label checkbox label labelReject All Confirm My Choices