The pilot was rescued but the accident was indicative of the hard lessons learned by pilots and crew in the early days of helicopters. The alleged 1947 UFO battle in Antarctica involving the US Navy either really happened or was US misinformation fed to the Soviets during the Stalin era, and later released to the general public in 1991. [49][64] As spring advanced Lamb took advantage of the low tides and melting snow to conduct an ecological study of the local beaches, Marr encouraging the others to collect zoological specimens. Permission is granted to include extracts of this article on websites and email lists with a link to the original. This operation was a follow up to the First Antarctica Development Project known as Operation Highjump. Meanwhile, the Marquesa, on leaving Liverpool wharf, had grounded on a submerged wreck and the Tabarin contingent were ordered to re-join the rest of the expedition. The Eastern Group of ships reached Peter I Island in late December 1946. In the early 1920s, Byrd established the first base camp in Antarctica and made many important discoveries about the continent. Categories Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. [60] Port Stanley Town Hall, in which the Post Office was located, was destroyed by fire on 16 April. [49] A botanical survey was made by Lamb, mainly of lichens, that included the discovery of a number of unrecorded species, including Verrucaria serpuloides, the only known true marine lichen, thus making a considerable contribution to the taxonomy of Antarctic lichens. Most were serving in the armed forces or the merchant navy, but some were still in civilian roles. It involved 13 ships, including two seaplane tenders and an aircraft carrier, and a total of 25 airplanes. In 1946/1947 the US Government launched Operation: High Jump. Battleship is an extraterrestrial invasion possible? The citys leader told him that he was concerned about surface issues. A second aircraft took off and both made it to Little America IV safely. He examines Operation Highjump led by Admiral Richard Byrd in 1947 and the battle that he apparently had in Antarctica with flying saucers. Base B occupied one of the buildings. The third, Brian Roberts, was an ornithologist on the British Graham Land Expedition, who was working with Wordie in the Admiralty Intelligence Department on cold-climate clothing and equipment. [5] Paul Siple was the senior U.S. War Department representative on the expedition. Finally, on December 26, the weather cleared and allowed for aerial mapping of the east coast. According to a statement by Grand Admiral Donitz in 1943, the German submarine fleet is proud of having built for the Fhrer, in another part of the world, a Shangri-La land, an impregnable fortress." Argentina and Chile signed the Argentine-Chilean Agreement on Joint Defence of "Antarctic Rights", a defence agreement that envisioned potential military action over disputed Antarctic lands. An alternative explanation is that the 1947 Soviet report contained U.S. orchestrated disinformation that was being conveyed to Soviet authorities by a Soviet mole known by the US intelligence community. On 15 February the generator was successfully installed, enabling wireless communication with Stanley and Base B to be established. On the way, they encountered a mysterious UFO force that attacked the military expedition destroying several ships and a significant number of planes. [15], On January 21, 1947, Vance N. Woodall died during a "ship unloading accident". [72] A sledging expedition from Hope was launched in August. Our designers did their best to create flying saucers that suit the game style and look natural, as if this type of craft existed in the game from the very beginning. [14] In 2007 a group called the George One Recovery Team was unsuccessful in trying to get direct military involvement and raise extensive funds from the United States Congress to try and find the bodies of the three men killed in the crash. On December 2, 1946, the ship sailed from Norfolk, VA, reaching the Bay of Whales, New Zealand on January 16, 1947. Each was outfitted with aluminum skis attached to the landing gear struts, with the tires providing a two-inch clearance between the skis and the carrier deck. The documents would coincide with Byrds famous Antarctic expedition Operation Highjump, which was abruptly ended six months before it was supposed to. The fantastic speed with which the world is shrinking recalled the admiral is one of the most important lessons learned during his recent Antarctic exploration. Later on the British expedition paid the Argentine meteorological station on Laurie Island a courtesy visit. Despite the fact that the Force included 4,700 men, 13 ships, and yet they did not heed 1946, they did not heed 1946. [18] He was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant Commander. Farrington senior wireless operator mechanic, William R. Flett base leader, geologist, Norman F. Layther wireless operator mechanic, Gordon J. Lockley base leader, meteorologist, zoologist, Alan W. Reece base leader, meteorologist, James E.B.F. Jim Trautman is the author of Pan American Clippers: The Golden Age of Flying Boats and is currently working on a book about airship history, due next year from Firefly Books. All footage can be viewed on the British Path website. An extraordinary 2006 Russian documentary was recently translated into English revealing new information about a US Navy Antarctica expedition in 1946/47. The line suddenly snaps and he falls into sea. Our hope is that now we have the entire material to make a detailed map of all of Antarctica, said Byrd. The R4Ds fuel, oil and other fluids were drained. Admiral Byrds battle in Antarctica was a turning point in the war against the Axis powers. Instead it became involved in what is known as an ice blink, with streams of snow reflecting the sunshine and making it difficult to seesimilar to the reflections experienced while driving a car at night through a snowstorm. The incident took place in the winter of 1916, during World War I, when a group of American sailors attempted to seize a Norwegian whaling station in the Antarctic. Was the Stalin era report disinformation deliberately fed to Soviet authorities by US intelligence? On 18 November Lamb led a field party back to Blyth Point (on Wiencke Island) to complete his botanical collecting there. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. [11], As with other U.S. Antarctic expeditions, interested persons were allowed to send letters with enclosed envelopes to the base, where commemorative cachets were added to their enclosures, which were then returned to the senders. HIGHJUMP's objectives, according to the U.S. Navy report of the operation, were:[3]. 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. Task Force 68 included 4,700 men, 13 ships, and 33 aircraft. However, on March 3 1947, the squadron was attacked by the enemy and forced to flee. In order to get airborne, each R4D was outfitted with four JATO (jet-assisted takeoff) bottles. Bird and lichen specimens were gathered, the former for the needs of the British Museum (Natural History). Over the next several weeks, according to the Soviet report, the UFOs flew close over the US naval flotilla which fired on the UFOs which did retaliate with deadly effects. The ensign of Admiral Byrd was commissioned in the South Pole in response to Highjumps claim that the operation was operational. Two bases were established in early 1944 firstly, Base B, at Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, and later the main base, Base A, at Port Lockroy, Wiencke Island. Training personnel and testing equipment in frigid conditions while also making weapons and snow vehicles. These souvenir philatelic covers are readily available at low cost. We are talking about the well-known battle of Antarctica, also known as Operation Highjump, during which, in 1946, U.S.A. In another dramatic incident, during a four-plane flight to map as far as the South Pole an R4D carrying Admiral Byrd almost met a similar fate. Further Reading Battleship - is an extraterrestrial invasion possible? The PBMs and R4Ds would play a major role in the objectives. A second, unstated objective was to prove Navy capabilities to President Harry Truman, who sought reductions in Americas postwar military budget. Follow for the best reads from the historians behind World of Warships the free-to-play naval warfare game. One helicopter was allotted to each of the icebreakers and one to the carrier Philippine Sea. After locating a powerful race of underground beings, they were attacked by UFO's, ships sank and damaged, many killed, and told never to return armed again. Task Forces went to Antarctica to destroy the remaining bases of the Fourth Reich and capture a new unique armament flying saucers. Indeed, Operation Highjump had suffered many casualties as stated in initial press reports from Chile. [1], Following Cabinet approval in January 1943, there was an intensive period of planning, recruitment and procurement, before the expedition left the UK in November 1943, led by Lieutenant-Commander James Marr. Operation Highjump was chronicled in a film shot by military photographers and narrated by Hollywood actors Robert Taylor, Robert Montgomery and Van Heflin, all of whom had served in the Navy during WWII. The Islands' defences were minimal and approaches to the USA for support were unsuccessful, though endorsed by the British prime minister, Winston Churchill. On 19 March she brought Falkland Islander John Blyth, who joined the team as a cook/handyman in place of Blair. Follow More from Medium Eric Sentell. The British concluded that occupation was indeed necessary to end these tit-for-tat tactics. [17] During the planning stage the priority for the location of the second base was changed to Hope Bay, since it was on the mainland, with an option to erect a hut on Signy Island if resources allowed. The HO3S-1 was lost but Dufek and the pilot were saved before freezing to death in the frigid water. These and Vance N. Woodall, who died on January 21, 1947, were the only fatalities during Operation HIGHJUMP. An aircraft marked the route with orange flags and then proceeded to parachute drop food, medicine and other supplies. [58] On 17 April, she delivered a large quantity of mail to be stamped and cancelled. [Our Real War of the Worlds"]. [49][50][51], Although long-used by ships visiting the area, Port Lockroy's location restricted the range of scientific activities possible because the Gerlache Strait rarely froze, so cutting off access to the mainland. Then the men would move inland to establish Little America IV, headquarters for Byrd and his six R4Ds. [18] At the time of his recall, Marr was serving as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve in the Far East. [citation needed] New Swabia was explored by Germany in early 1939 and named after that expedition's ship, Schwabenland . He arrived in the UK in July 1943 and joined the expedition committee. The meteorological observations made aided Allied shipping in the South Atlantic Ocean. Sadly, this was not to be. [54] Port Lockroy began postmarking mail on 12 February, indicating the importance given to philatelic duties. [56] From there the vessels sailed to Grytviken, South Georgia, where the Hooley family disembarked, before returning to the Falkland Islands, taking official mail. Siple was the same Eagle Scout who accompanied Byrd on the previous Byrd Antarctic expeditions. Rather than deny the heavy casualty reports, Admiral Byrd revealed in a press interview that Task Force 68 had encountered a new enemy that could fly from pole to pole at incredible speeds.. Thousands of pieces of bamboo were carved and had orange flags attached to be used as route and landing zone markers. A rumor has it that the US government dispatched its troops to the South Pole to look for evidence of the German Base 211. I have to warn my compatriots that the time has ended when we were able to take refuge in our isolation and rely on the certainty that the distances, the oceans, and the poles were a guarantee of safety. Subscribe to receive our weekly newsletter with top stories from master historians. The Eastern, Western and Central group ships departed at different intervals and ports on both coasts. Flying out ahead of the icebreakers to search for clear passages through the ice, the helicopters served as the eyes of the fleet. Additional reading: Report of Operation Highjump: U.S. Navy Antarctic Development Program 1947, produced by the U.S. Navy; and Operation Highjump: Diary of a Young Sailor, by Richard J. Miller. Bringing a new topic to life is an effective way to do so. Operation HIGHJUMP commenced 26 August 1946 and ended in late February 1947. IT'S FULL OF GREAT DOCUMENTARIES, FASCINATING INTERVIEWS, AND CLASSIC MOVIES. On August 26, 1946, chief of U.S. naval operations Admiral Chester Nimitz announced that a massive combined military expedition dubbed Operation Highjump would be launched into Antarctica in December during summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Operation Highjump, officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946-1947, was a United States Navy operation organized by RADM Richard E. Byrd Jr. USN, (Ret), Officer in Charge, Task Force 68, and led by RADM Richard H. Cruzen, USN, Commanding Officer, Task Force 68. US Navy operation to establish an Antarctic research base, Diving Under Antarctic Ice: A History Peter Brueggeman, United States Antarctic Service Expedition, Capt. EXPLORE OUR ONLINE CHANNEL, BRITISH PATH TV. [57], William Scoresby visited Base A twice more before winter set in. The media covered the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition nearly as thoroughly as the first, but the men from Little America broadcast the radio programs that were played throughout American homes. [15][18][23] Mackintosh prepared a detailed scientific programme for the shore parties. Grumman J2F-6 Duck amphibians with the group performed reconnaissance, supply and, if needed, rescue and medical missions. The Naval expedition was headed by famed polar explore Admiral Richard Byrd, who had been ordered to: to consolidate and extend American sovereignty over the largest practical area of the Antarctic continent. Byrds expedition ended after only 8 weeks with many fatalities according to initial news reports based on interviews with crew members who spoke to the press while passing through Chilean ports. Other articles where Operation High Jump is discussed: Antarctica: Technological advancements in exploration: Byrd's fourth expedition, called "Operation Highjump," in the summer of 1946-47, was the most massive sea and air operation theretofore attempted in Antarctica. Tibet, the Great Pyramid of Giza, and the North Pole all have tunnels that lead to Agartha, according to Byrd. The end of World War II led to renewed interest in the Antarctic region. [33], Potential recruits were identified by Marr, assisted by Wordie and Mackenzie, and interviewed by him at the Colonial Office in September. There were very few materials in the archives, so the designers had to make their own drawings to further create in-game models. [59] On 22 April Marr and others were aboard when the vessel visited Cape Renard to erect a Union Jack and British Crown Land sign. The surviving six crew members were rescued 13days later, including aviation radioman James H. Robbins and co-pilot William Kearns. The resupply of the bases included men, supplies and equipment, together with 25 sledge dogs to extend field work on the mainland of the Antarctic Peninsula. The following day the attempt was reluctantly abandoned and the decision made to proceed south-west along the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula in search of an alternative mainland site.
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