Artic Mission recounts two concurrent Navy Department penetrations of the Arctic in 1958, one an unclassified project, the other absolutely secret. The Cold War posed alarm and threat; amid its urgencies, the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58 was underway. Sputnik had opened the Space Age which was a national humiliation for Americans, and so the White House needed a success. Sailing under the direct orders of the Commander in Chief, the nuclear submarine Nautilus would, if successful, reaffirm U.S. technological prowess with a stupendous demonstration; an under-ice transit of the Arctic Basin via the North Pole.
The airship's unclassified mission was an Office of Naval Research project, with the objective to assess the suitability of non-rigid airships for support of field parties deployed throughout the North, ashore and afloat. That August, BUNO 126719 crossed the Arctic Circle, the sole military airship ever to do so, en route to rendezvous with a U.S. Air Force ice-rafted camp in the Arctic Ocean. As"719" pressed north, Nautilus pierced the geographic pole, then without changing course logged the first-ever transit of the deep-ocean Arctic, Pacific to Atlantic.
Based on interviews and correspondence with dozens of participants, and on Navy Department reports, the work presents first-hand material throughout, and is a distinct contribution to naval literature.
About the Author
William F. Althoff, an environmental geologist by profession, has published extensively in technical and history-related journals. During 1999-2000, he was Ramsey Fellow in Naval Aviation History at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
Althoff has done it again, brilliantly bringing readers a fantastic set of true events--in this case two parallel stories of the U.S. Navy's (USN) first two missions to the geographic North Pole, 90 North. One mission marks the potential of the revolutionary new technology of the Navy's nuclear submarine while the other mission was part of the closing of the Navy's lighter-than-air program.... This book more than realistically describes an important and challenge-met niche in the history of aviation and exploration. It belongs on the bookshelves of aviation history as well as great explorers." --Seattle Pi "This book is well-written and at times reads like an adventure story...Also of note is the author's ability to refer to both the absurdities and paranoia, as well as the achievements, of the Cold War era; his references to Russian research successes and achievements in the Arctic are even-handed and informative. This is a fascinating narrative, thoroughly recommended." -- Naval Books of the Year column in Warship, 2013
Sprache
Verlagsort
Illustrationen
Maße
Höhe: 305 mm
Breite: 203 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-61251-010-1 (9781612510101)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
William F. Althoff, an environmental geologist by profession, has published extensively in technical and in history-related journals. During 1999-2000, he was Ramsey Fellow in Naval Aviation History at the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
The author several books on airships, including Forgotten Weapon: U.S. Navy Airships and the U-Boat War
