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con, samrecor.naisancc has ^icatcdCic« this might be a light year fOl me the polar Ice. no man knows the for vagaries of tho Arctic to lhc cx- pre tent that one can be positive that UCi this is a light year. When the anc: Sips arc back past Pt Barrow R_ and southbound in early Scptcm vjS(ber we win know he said. con All together on this supply run to the Arctic there are 6.000 menon the ships, with cargoes and *.ships representing 100 million fidollars. Fuel oil )s th® largestcommodity''aboard the vessel*. for Approximately 193.000 barrels of gQ petroleum have been transported jnorth and a general cargo totaJ- coring 19.655 metric tons.In the task group are 14 Navy ships, six Coast Guard boats 39 Civd Service manned ships anaseven general apcney agreement manned ships (Merchant Marine)and two U.S. Army tugs.This i3 the situation up North as far as the cargo vessels are concerned -and as stated, quite uneventful to this point.However, the story of the operation didn’t begin here Just a week ago when the boats of the task fleet poked their nosesaround the comer o?The supplying of the DEW line began long ago with aerial recon-alssance from Ladd Air p?rce Base When long-range U.S. Navy planes flew missions over the ice evaluating the ice pack and learning the conditions of the north.Added to Ibis is the U.S. Coast Guard ships that have been roaming these waters for the past weeks and who will make the first attempt to take their relatively large ships through Bclot Straits to the East coast, which in turn would provide the ships with an alternate or “escape route from tho Arctic in case thepcicaitheforfilr1racamdie1patlatidlsfcrtoniU’.C A4VUU ' . ,tec pack swooped down again and locked the boats in for the windynejnotth-i m rc.afchfocuthinfirjuncbesuter. .Last but not least and probably the toughest Job turned In during the whole operation Is the performance of the Navy Underwater Demolition Team that arrived on the scene prior to the arrival of the ships.These men, 38 strong, In their survival suits have been braving the Ice-chilled water of tho Arctic Ocean daily seeking out andjth eliminating, by explosivics if nec- pv essarv, anything in the way to; nr hinder amphibious landings by to the lighters that bring the cargo i-ashore. i^1These men, who trained in the, * warm waters off San Diego.:« Calif, have a yearly job as the tidil currents and the tee changc5.ee the contour of the scacoast an-'ofnualiy. . ■\nd so. barring unforeseen jo happenings—which are always ex- mpected— the ships of Project 3 West will all round Ft. Barrow at in early September and make the i dash for their home ports up-| anti-down the West CoasL jComing behind, like a mother | hen watching over her flock will: be the Command ship. U. S. S.] Eldorado which will see that A cvery ship makes port safely to.B end the 195” supplying of the B DFWlinc. This is the necessary; B link which will give the North C American continent a few hours C extra warning in case of an Cicmy air attack. , C
Newspaper Details
Fairbanks Daily News Miner
Fairbanks, Alaska, US
Wed, Aug 07, 1957
Page 2
Full Page
Clipped by
Mark M.
WA, USA 18 Aug 2020
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