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59-686: The U.S. Navy already had a record of earlier exploration in Antarctica. As early as 1839, Captain Charles Wilkes led the first U.S. Naval expedition into Antarctic waters. In 1929, Admiral Richard E. Byrd established a naval base at Little America I, led an expedition to explore further inland, and conducted the first flight over the South Pole. From 1934 to 1935, the second Byrd Expedition explored much further inland and also "wintered over". The third Byrd Expedition in 1940 charted

118-474: A French Huguenots settlement. Charles became himself fluent, which served him throughout his career, including in dealing with officials during an extended stay in Europe in 1830 and 1831. His fluency was also demonstrated during his exploration of Puget Sound in 1841 with French-speaking guide Simon Plamondon. Seton later converted to Roman Catholicism , becoming the first American-born woman canonized

177-423: A mineralogist , taxidermists , artists, and a philologist , and it was carried by USS  Vincennes (780 tons) and USS  Peacock (650 tons), the brig USS  Porpoise (230 tons), the store-ship USS  Relief , and two schooners , USS  Sea Gull (110 tons) and USS  Flying Fish (96 tons). Departing from Hampton Roads on August 18, 1838, the expedition stopped at

236-704: A contract period of 11 + 1 ⁄ 2 years. Charles Wilkes Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer . He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842). During the American Civil War between 1861 and 1865, he commanded USS  San Jacinto during the Trent Affair in which he stopped a Royal Mail ship and removed two Confederate diplomats, which almost led to war between

295-506: A key Confederate blockade runner base. The gunboats opened fire at the RMS Merlin . When Wilkes learned that James Murray Mason and John Slidell , two Confederate commissioners (to Britain and France, respectively), were bound for England on a British packet boat , RMS  Trent , he ordered the steam frigate San Jacinto to stop them. On November 8, 1861, San Jacinto met Trent and fired two shots across its bow, forcing

354-645: A saint by the Catholic Church. When Elizabeth was left widowed with five children, Charles was sent to a boarding school , and later attended Columbia College , which is the present-day Columbia University . Wilkes entered the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1818, and became a lieutenant in 1826. In 1833, for his survey of Narragansett Bay , he was placed in charge of the Navy's Department of Charts and Instruments, out of which developed

413-636: A year. The actual transition to Air Guard control began in March 1996. By 1999, the United States Navy had transferred military support operations for Antarctica over to the United States Air Force and its contractor Raytheon Polar Services . Operation Deep Freeze was managed by the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard members of Air National Guard Detachment 13 , a subordinate unit which administratively reported directly to

472-678: The Air Staff , and the United States Navy. Among other issues, it was difficult at first for the Air Guard to convince the Air Staff to commit long term resources to an area of the world that had not been declared a warfighting region because of international treaties. The Air Guard had supported military operations in Greenland and the Arctic (including classified U.S. Navy operations) since

531-606: The Confederate commerce destroyer CSS  Sumter . As part of these duties, he visited the British colony of Bermuda in 1861. Acting on orders, Wilkes remained in port for nearly a week aboard his flagship , USS  Wachusett , violating the British rule that allowed American naval vessels (of either side) to remain in port for only a single day. While Wilkes remained in port, his gunboats USS  Tioga and USS  Sonoma blockaded Saint George's harbor,

590-533: The Hawaiian Islands . In Fiji, the expedition kidnapped the chief Ro Veidovi, charging him with the murder of a crew of American whalers. And, in July 1840, two sailors, one of whom was Wilkes' nephew, Midshipman Wilkes Henry, were killed while bartering for food on Fiji 's Malolo Island. Wilkes' retribution was swift and severe. According to an old man from Malolo Island, nearly 80 Fijians were killed in

649-749: The Madeira Islands and Rio de Janeiro ; visited Tierra del Fuego , Chile , Peru , the Tuamotu Archipelago, Samoa , and New South Wales ; from Sydney sailed into the Antarctic Ocean in December 1839 and reported the discovery "of an Antarctic continent west of the Balleny Islands " of which it sighted the coast on January 25, 1840. After charting 1500 miles of Antarctic coastline, the expedition visited Fiji and

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708-618: The Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition . The Narrative contains much interesting material concerning the manners, customs, political and economic conditions in many places then little known. Wilkes' 1841 Map of the Oregon Territory pre-dated John Charles Fremont 's first Oregon Trail pathfinder expedition guided by Kit Carson during 1842. Other valuable contributions were

767-707: The Naval Observatory and Hydrographic Office. Wilkes' interdisciplinary expedition (1838–1842) set a physical oceanography benchmark for the office's first superintendent Matthew Fontaine Maury . He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1843. During the 1820s, Wilkes was a member of the prestigious Columbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences , which counted among its members presidents Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams and many prominent men of

826-647: The Philippines , the Sulu Archipelago , Borneo , Singapore, Polynesia and the Cape of Good Hope , reaching New York on June 10, 1842. After having completely encircled the globe as the last all-sail naval mission to do so, Wilkes had logged some 87,000 miles and lost two ships and 28 men. Wilkes was court-martialed upon his return for the loss of one of his ships on the Columbia River bar, for

885-546: The Ross Sea . Byrd was instrumental in the Navy's Operation Highjump after World War II from 1946 to 1947, which charted most of the Antarctic coastline. In 1948, Commander Finn Ronne led an expedition that photographed over 450,000 square miles (1.1 million km) by air. Then in 1954–55, the icebreaker USS Atka made a scouting expedition for future landing sites and bays. The impetus behind Operation Deep Freeze I

944-659: The United States National Guard announced that the 109th Airlift Wing at Schenectady County Airport in Scotia, New York was slated to assume that entire mission from the United States Navy in 1999. The Antarctic operation would be fully funded by the National Science Foundation. The 109th expected to add approximately 235 full-time personnel to support that operation. The decision to switch from Naval leadership to National Guard

1003-448: The 109th would be largely out of business because its primary mission had ended. The unit had been informally keeping tabs on Navy LC-130 operations supporting the National Science Foundation in Antarctica. Because of its aging aircraft fleet and extensive depot maintenance period, the United States Navy asked if the 109th could provide limited emergency search and rescue (SAR) capability for two years to support Operation Deep Freeze, which

1062-507: The Air Guard accepted. At that time, it had no thought of taking over the mission. The 109th believed it to be an exercise in futility for its aircraft to deploy to the Antarctic to merely wait for emergency SAR missions, so it asked if the Navy could help carry cargo to the South Pole . The Navy resisted at first because its procedures and cargo configurations differed from those of the Air Guard, but eventually it agreed. The main mission of

1121-802: The Air National Guard Readiness Center (ANGRC) at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland , and operationally reported to United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) in Honolulu, Hawaii . Upon its deactivation in 2005, the detachment consisted of a full-time officer (Commander) and four full-time non-commissioned officers (Logistics, Communications, Security Forces, and Information Management) which remained in New Zealand year-round. Operational command now belongs to Commander, Thirteenth Air Force as part of USPACOM. In 2005, through

1180-519: The Antarctic continent are overseen by the United States Antarctic Program as well as the National Science Foundation. Military support missions flown from Christchurch International Airport are conducted during the Antarctic summer (late September to early March) each year by The 109th Airlift Wing Scotia New York. The Ski equipped LC-130 Hercules is the backbone of Operation Deep Freeze. LC-130 Hercules aircraft provide

1239-673: The Exploration Squadron (6 volumes), Wilkes wrote his autobiography . Wilkes died in Washington, D.C. , with the rank of Rear Admiral. In August 1909, the United States moved his remains to Arlington National Cemetery . His gravestone says that "He discovered the Ant-arctic continent." sic Attribution: Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) Too Many Requests If you report this error to

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1298-788: The South Pole. The aircraft was named Que Sera, Sera after a popular song and is now on display at the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida . This marked the beginning of the establishment of the first permanent base, by airlift, at the South Pole (today known as the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station ) to support the International Geophysical Year. It was commissioned on January 1, 1957. The original station ("Old Byrd") lasted about four years before it began to collapse under

1357-468: The U.S. Navy and Air National Guard C-130s was to airlift fuel and supplies to the National Science Foundation's South Pole Station so that its personnel could survive the isolation of the long Antarctic winter, which lasted from February to October. An Air National Guard working group had been formed to study the idea in 1990. The following year, a dialog began among the Air National Guard,

1416-406: The United States Exploring Expedition (5 volumes and an atlas) was published in 1844. He edited the scientific reports of the expedition (19 volumes and 11 atlases, 1844–1874) and was the author of Vol. XI ( Meteorology ) and Vol. XXIII ( Hydrography ). Alfred Thomas Agate , engraver and illustrator, was the designated portrait and botanical artist of the expedition. His work was used to illustrate

1475-600: The United States and the United Kingdom . Wilkes was born in New York City , on April 3, 1798, the great nephew of the former Lord Mayor of London John Wilkes . His mother was Mary Seton, who died in 1802 when Charles was just three years old. As a result, Charles was raised and home tutored by his aunt, Elizabeth Ann Seton , who was fluent in French from her own upbringing in  New Rochelle, New York on

1534-597: The West Indies, Wilkes frequently found himself in open conflict with Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles . Welles had recommended that Wilkes had been too old to receive the rank of commodore under the act then governing promotions. When Welles severely criticized Wilkes in his December 1863 annual report over his retention of the Vanderbilt , Wilkes wrote a scathing response that found its way into

1593-506: The capture of the commerce raiders CSS Alabama and CSS Florida . He also repeatedly exacerbated diplomatic relations with the British, Spanish, Dutch, French, Danes and Mexicans through his arrogant and illegal activities in the West Indies and Bermuda . In violation of international law regarding belligerent nations, he established coal depots on a number of neutral islands and frequently illegally hovered outside of neutral ports. The British accused him of establishing virtual blockades of

1652-502: The day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical, and other professions. In 1838, although not yet a seasoned naval line officer, Wilkes was experienced in nautical survey work, and was working with civilian scientists. Upon this background, he was given command of the government exploring expedition "... for the purpose of exploring and surveying the Southern Ocean,... as well to determine

1711-552: The existence of all doubtful islands and shoals, as to discover, and accurately fix, the position of those which [lay] in or near the track of our vessels in that quarter, and [might] have escaped the observation of scientific navigators." The US Exploring Squadron was authorized by act of the Congress on May 18, 1836. The Exploring Expedition, commonly known as the Wilkes Expedition, included naturalists , botanists ,

1770-559: The expedition. Task Force 43 consisted of the following ships: The ships of the task force were supplemented by a specially trained Navy Construction Battalion , formed at the Naval Construction Battalion Center at Davisville, Rhode Island and several aircraft. On October 31, 1956, at 8:34 p.m. local time, the first aircraft ever to touch down at the South Pole skied to a halt atop the Antarctic ice sheet at 90 degrees South latitude. The U.S. Navy R4D,

1829-518: The first to stand there since Briton Robert Falcon Scott did more than 40 years before. Norwegian Roald Amundsen had beaten Scott in his race to the Pole. Amundsen's party survived the 800-mile return trip, Scott's did not. This flight was one part of the expeditions mounted for the IGY. This was not only the first aircraft to land at the South Pole, it was also the first time that Americans had ever set foot on

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1888-471: The incident. From December 1840 to March 1841, he employed hundreds of native Hawaiian porters and many of his men to haul a pendulum to the summit of Mauna Loa to measure gravity. Instead of using the existing trail, he blazed his own way, taking much longer than he anticipated. The conditions on the mountain reminded him of Antarctica. Many of his crew suffered snow blindness, altitude sickness and foot injuries from wearing out their shoes. He explored

1947-709: The logistical movement of cargo to remote operating locations on the continent. These aircraft are augmented by the United States Coast Guard icebreaker USCGC Polar Star , the Air Force Materiel Command , and the Military Sealift Command . The United States Air Force 13th Air Expeditionary Group deploys to Christchurch, New Zealand during the operational season. A documentary on the early missions, Ice Eagles: An Account of American Aviation in Antarctica ,

2006-464: The mid-1970s with the ski-equipped C-130s of the 109th Airlift Wing . It convinced Headquarters, United States Air Force that it was not in the nation's best interest to abandon the capability to achieve quick and reliable air access to both polar regions. In March 1993, the U.S. Navy hosted a two-day workshop with representatives of the National Science Foundation, Air National Guard, and other interested parties to explore logistics support options for

2065-449: The mission. The Navy's Antarctic Development Squadron Six had been flying scientific and military missions to Greenland and the arctic compound's Williams Field since 1975. The 109th operated ski-equipped LC-130s had been flying National Science Foundation support missions to Antarctica since 1988. The official name for the Navy's command in Antarctica was US Naval Support Force Antarctica, (NSFA) Terminal Operations. In early 1996,

2124-461: The mission. When fully transitioned to the Air National Guard, the 109th Airlift Wing would have ten LC-130s in its inventory. These would include upgrades of four LC-130 aircraft in-service with the unit plus three new aircraft and three that would be transferred from the U.S. Navy. Air National Guard estimates of the savings to be realized by consolidating the operation in the hands of the 109th Airlift Wing ranged from US $ 5 million to US$ 15 million

2183-432: The newspapers. A court of inquiry accused Wilkes of responsibility for its publication, and he was brought before a March 1864 court martial, facing charges of disobedience of orders, insubordination, disrespect of a superior officer, disobedience of naval regulations, and conduct unbecoming an officer. He was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to public reprimand and suspension for three years. However, Lincoln reduced

2242-697: The office of the Secretary of Defense, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command was designated to support the Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica, Operation Deep Freeze. CDRUSPACOM delegated this joint operation to the Commander, Pacific Air Forces , who then delegated primary responsibility for execution of the JTF SFA operation to the Commander, 13th Air Force . United States civilian and scientific operations on

2301-656: The operation. A draft concept of operations had been prepared by the Air Directorate of the National Guard Bureau in 1993. In February 1996, a commitment was made to transfer the Operation Deep Freeze mission and all LC-130H aircraft operating within the U.S. Department of Defense to the Air National Guard. In September 1996, senior officers from the 109th Airlift Wing briefed the National Guard Bureau on their concept of operations and

2360-608: The ports of Nassau and St. George's , where his arrogant behavior even led to suspicions that he had been sent to intentionally insult the British, while the French similarly accused him of effectively blockading Martinique . Wilkes justified his actions by calling the ports little short of operational bases for blockade runners. His capture of ships such as the Peterhoff , Dolphin , Springbok , and Victor resulted in diplomatic remonstrations explicitly directed against Wilkes. He

2419-468: The regular mistreatment of his subordinate officers, and for excessive punishment of his sailors. A major witness against him was ship doctor Charles Guillou . He was acquitted on all charges except illegally punishing men in his squadron. For a short time, he was attached to the Coast Survey, but from 1844 to 1861, he was chiefly engaged in preparing the report of the expedition. His Narrative of

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2478-462: The ship to stop. A party from San Jacinto led by its captain then boarded Trent and arrested Mason and Slidell, a further violation of British neutrality . The diplomats were taken to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor. The actions of "The Notorious Wilkes," as Bermuda media branded him, were contrary to maritime law and convinced many that full-scale war between the United States and England

2537-628: The snow. Construction of a second underground station in a nearby location began in 1960, and it was used until 1972. The station was then converted into a summer-only field camp until it was abandoned in 2004–05. The mission's second base, Byrd Station , was a (former) research station in West Antarctica established by the US Navy for Operation Deep Freeze II during the International Geophysical Year. The United States Antarctic Program airfield, built to service Operation Deep Freeze (first mission)

2596-465: The status of their preparations to implement Operation Deep Freeze. Under the transition plan which they had developed, the Air National Guard would continue to augment the United States Navy during the October 1996 – March 1997 operating season for the United States Antarctic Program . At the end of the October 1997 – March 1998 season, the Air National Guard would assume command of the program. During

2655-632: The suspension to one year, and the balance of charges were dropped. On July 25, 1866, he was promoted to the rank of rear admiral on the retired list. One historian speculated that Wilkes' obsessive behavior and harsh code of shipboard discipline shaped Herman Melville 's characterization of Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick . Such speculation is not mentioned in the United States Navy historical archives. In addition to his contribution to United States naval history and scientific study in his official Narrative of

2714-615: The third year of the transition program (October 1998 to March 1999), the U.S. Navy would augment the ANG before the latter took over the entire program the following year. There would be seven LC-130s in theater. They would stage from Christchurch International Airport in Christchurch , New Zealand, to McMurdo Station , Antarctica. Traditional Guardsmen, technicians, and the cadre of Active Guard Reservists specifically brought on board to support Operation Deep Freeze would all be involved in

2773-514: The three reports of James Dwight Dana on Zoophytes (1846), Geology (1849) and Crustacea (1852–1854). Moreover, the specimens and artifacts brought back by expedition scientists ultimately formed the foundation for the Smithsonian Institution collection. In addition to many shorter articles and reports, Wilkes published the major scientific works Western America, including California and Oregon in 1849 and Voyage round

2832-833: The west coast of North America, including the Strait of Juan de Fuca , Puget Sound , the Columbia River , San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River , in 1841. He held the first American Independence Day celebration west of the Mississippi River in Dupont, Washington , on July 5, 1841. The United States Exploring Expedition passed through the Ellice Islands and visited Funafuti , Nukufetau and Vaitupu in 1841. The expedition returned by way of

2891-482: The world: embracing the principal events of the narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition in one volume: illustrated with one hundred and seventy-eight engravings on wood in 1849, and Theory of the Winds in 1856. Wilkes was promoted to the rank of commander in 1843 and that of captain in 1855. At the outbreak of the American Civil War , he was assigned to the command of USS  San Jacinto to search for

2950-577: Was assigned to duty against blockade runners in the West Indies . As commander of the West Indies Squadron, Wilkes repeatedly complained of having an insufficient force, and he twice seconded to his own fleet ships ordered to other duties, even in spite of direct orders to release them. Though he had a degree of success in the capture of blockade runners, in which he profited personally, he drew criticism for failing in his primary task,

3009-440: Was formed to provide logistical support for the expedition. Operation Deep Freeze I prepared a permanent research station and paved the way for more exhaustive research in later Deep Freeze operations. The expedition transpired over the Antarctic summer of November 1955 to April 1956, and was filmed by the U.S. Navy and Walt Disney Studios . For having designed the emblem of Task Force 43, Walt Disney became an honorary member of

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3068-438: Was inevitable. He was officially thanked by Congress "for his brave, adroit and patriotic conduct". However, his action was later disavowed by President Lincoln due to diplomatic protests by the British government (Mason and Slidell were released). His next service was in the James River flotilla and he was placed on the retired list on December 21, 1861. Subsequently, after reaching the rank of commodore on July 16, 1862, he

3127-408: Was later named Williams Field or Willy Field. The Operation Deep Freeze activities were succeeded by "Operation Deep Freeze II", and so on. In 1960, the year of the fifth mission, codenames began to be based on the year (e.g., "Operation Deep Freeze 60"). The Coast Guard sometimes participated; among others, the USCGC Northwind , the USCGC Polar Sea and the USCGC Glacier occasionally supported

3186-403: Was one of a cost-saving measure due to post cold war budget cuts. The possibility of the Air National Guard assuming operational control of the mission had first emerged in 1988. The 109th Airlift Wing had been notified that, almost overnight, one of the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW) radar sites that it supported in Greenland was going to be shut down. The other sites would soon follow, and

3245-411: Was piloted by Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Conrad C. "Gus" Shinn USN and included officer Frederick Ferrara. Immediately after the plane halted--with engines running to avoid a freeze-up (a practice still followed to this day)--U.S. Navy Adm. George J. Dufek., commander of Operation Deep Freeze, stepped out onto the ice, along with pilot Douglas Cordiner, to plant the stars and stripes at the Pole. They were

3304-519: Was recalled from his West Indies command in June 1863, a consequence of multiple factors. His failure to capture the Confederate commerce raiders certainly played a role, and his retention of the USS Vanderbilt in direct contravention of explicit orders to release it to independently hunt the Alabama served as a justification, but he probably owed his removal primarily to the seeming never-ending stream of complaints from neutral nations over his actions. Though supported by him in many of his actions in

3363-413: Was scheduled to be released in 2016. Lockheed Martin is currently the prime contractor for the National Science Foundation's United States Antarctic Program. The contract award was announced via a NSF press release on 28 December 2011 after a bid solicitation process of almost four years. Support operations began on 1 April 2012. The original contract synopsis indicated that the government was contemplating

3422-434: Was the International Geophysical Year 1957–58. IGY as it was known was a collaborative effort among forty nations to carry out earth science studies from the North Pole to the South Pole and at points in between. The United States along with New Zealand , the United Kingdom , France , Japan , Norway , Chile , Argentina , and the U.S.S.R. agreed to go to the South Pole, the least explored area on Earth. Their goal

3481-432: Was to advance world knowledge of Antarctic hydrography and weather systems , glacial movements , and marine life . The U.S. Navy was charged with supporting the U.S. scientists for their portion of the IGY studies. Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd , a veteran of four previous Antarctic Expeditions, was appointed as officer in charge of the expedition. In 1955, Task Force 43, commanded by Rear Admiral George J. Dufek ,

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