Transportation Corps

Greenland: "Operation Lead Dog" 1960 US Army The Big Picture TV-494

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• published: 17 May 2016
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The Big Picture TV Series playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_hX5wLdhf_Jwfz5l_3NRAcCYURbOW2Fl Arctic & Antarctica playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL75CED10E68DA8A64 "In this presentation, THE BIG PICTURE takes viewers to the most northern body of land in the world to view the activities of Operation Lead Dog. A combined services effort conducted in cooperation with the Danish government and commanded by the Army Transportation Corps, Operation Lead Dog started in May of 1960. First, the Army explorers spanned the icecap from coast-to-coast before moving north beyond the areas covered by Peary's travels. The 65-day journey was designed to give the Transportation Corps a good opportunity for a rigid test of their polar vehicles for endurance and mobility. Other technical services made extensive equipment tests and gathered detailed data on the previously untouched polar regions. Archaeologists accompanying the expedition discovered the remains of a Paleo Eskimo camp, believed to be over four-thousand years old. Signal Corps photographers have dramatically filmed 20th century man's re-entry into the land where men fished and hunted more than two-thousand years ago." "The Big Picture" episode TV-494 more at http://quickfound.net Public domain film from the US National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied. The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original). http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc;=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD;=AD0263548 FINAL REPORT PROJECT LEAD DOG 60 1. INTRODUCTION Each year since 1952 the Transportation Corps has conducted operations and studies designed to extend the military and scientific knowledge of the Greenland icecap and surrounding ice-free land areas. The operating and navigation techniques which have been developed by the Transportation Corps have become standard for icecap operations in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Project LEAD DOG 60, a continuation of these studies, was carried out in conjunction with nine other Department of Defense and US Government agencies. The US Army Transportation Environmental Operations Group was directed by the Chief of Transportation to organize and conduct a heavy swing operation over the Greenland Icecap from Camp Tuto to Crown Prince Christian Land and to Peary Land; to establish a marked trail from 800 North Latitude, 390 38' West Longitude (Mile 481.4) to the vicinity of Cape George Cohn; to establish a descent and overland route from the icecap to Centrum Lake and to Bronlunds Fjord; to conduct, in conjunction with other agencies, a scientific investigation of the icecap and the ice-*free land areas of northern Greenland. Planning for this extensive operation was begun in 1958, and since that time has involved nearly 400 individuals, from over 20 military and civilian agencies of the US Government. Every aspect of the operation had to be closely coordinated and every contingency had to be planned for in detail. A total of 242 tons of POL and supplies was. necessary to maintain the swing and the aircraft for the period that the project was on the icecap. In addition, 12 caches were established by Air Force para-drop, ranging in size to 20 tons; for the aircraft exploration of northeast Greenland. The logistical requirements of the project required detailed planning and coordination to insure a successful operation. Outstanding support was provided to the project by the Polar Research and Development Center at Camp Tuto, Greenland. In addition to the support rendered prior to the swing's departure from Camp Tuto, a PR&DC; swing cached a total of 619 drums of POL at Mile 120 and Mile 231. The caching of this cargo allowed the LEAD DOG 60 swing to move from Camp Tuto to Mile 2?31 lightly loaded, thereby permitting the swing to get off to a fast start. While the swing was on the icecap PR&DC; continued to support the project with spare parts, radio communications, and two support flights by their organic aircraft. 2. SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS On 18 May 1960, the tractor swing departed from Camp Tuto, thereby beginning its traverse of the icecap to Crown Prince Christian Land. Twenty-six days were required to travel the 664.4 miles to the first of the two programmed base camps... During the 68-day operating period, the surface and aerial parties successfully accomplished their assigned mission, and in the process, collected much valuable scientific data. The geologic, geographic, meteorological, and other studies conducted by the project have greatly extended the current knowledge of the Arctic...