Operation Deep Freeze
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.
Byrd was instrumental in the Navy's Operation Highjump after World War II from 1946 to 1947, which charted most of the Antarctic coastline.
Their goal was to advance world knowledge of Antarctic hydrography and weather systems, glacial movements, and marine life.
In 1955, Task Force 43, commanded by Rear Admiral George J. Dufek, was formed to provide logistical support for the expedition.
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.
The U.S. Navy R4D, 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.
[11] 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 decision to switch from Naval leadership to National Guard was one of a cost-saving measure due to post cold war budget cuts.
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 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 the Air Guard accepted.
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.
Traditional Guardsmen, technicians, and the cadre of Active Guard Reservists specifically brought on board to support Operation Deep Freeze would all be involved in the mission.
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.
A documentary on the early missions was featured in the documentry film Ice Eagles: An Account of American Aviation in Antarctica, which was released on DVD in 2018.
[21][22] Lockheed Martin is currently the prime contractor for the National Science Foundation's United States Antarctic Program.
[23] The contract award was announced via a NSF press release on 28 December 2011 after a bid solicitation process of almost four years.
[25] In 2021-2 Operation Deep Freeze brought in 100 personnel and nearly 50 thousand pounds of food by air to McMurdo station.
