Giant Motor vehicle made in Pullman car shops, in which scientists hope to explore Antarctic on third Byrd expedition. Time is getting short, as expedition sails first week in November from Boston. Local people, eager to see strange land monster, line highways.
Destined to a life of adventure and symbolizing engineering perfection and scientific ingenuity in every respect, the Antarctic snow cruiser of the Research Foundation of Armour Institute of Technology failed to leave Chicago Monday morning as planned on the first leg of its trip overland to Boston.
Thousands of people lined the proposed route (highway 6) Monday and other thousands called newspaper offices for news of when the machine would come. Latest reports are that the cruiser will leave Pullman between 2 and 2:30 a. m. Thursday. The route is on highway 6 to 31, south to Plymouth, and east on 30 to Fort Wayne.
When it reaches Boston it will be placed aboard ship for the trip to the Antarctic where it will spend the next three years exploring the south polar wastes and conducting scientific research as a part of the United States Antarctic service.
The why of the snow cruiser was explained by Harold Vagtborg, director of the foundation, and Dr. T. C. Poulter, scientific director of the foundation, and whose experience as second in command and senior scientist of the last Byrd Antarctic expedition led to the conception of the snow cruiser. The why of the snow cruiser, it was explained, can readily be found in an analysis of the existing means of transportation in the Antarctic.
"Ships can only outine the edge of the Antarctic continent," asserted these two executives of the foundation, "and then only during the short period of the most favorable of seasons--about six weeks.
"The airplane, although having the advantage of speed and making it possible to see long distances, has many disadvantages, such as the necessity of elaborate bases. It is also necessary, in the case of exploration by plane, to have a large crew in order to dig out the plane after the long winter night. Then too, for long distance flights only a short period of good flying weather, about five or six weeks, is all that is available--and in order to fly during that period it is necessary to establish the base during the previous Antarctic summer and do all flying a year later.
"Two or more seasons are needed by surface exploration parties which use dog teams. And in view of the fact that dog food comprises the major portion of the load the dog team can pull, this method of transportation is obviously poor. Man hauling is resorted to only in case of emergencies and the use of tractors is definitely limited in view of their extremely small range of operation from any bases that can be laid down by ship.
"The snow cruiser, on the other hand, meets all necessary requirements--it has a cruising range of 5,000 miles; carries supplies for a crew of four for a period of a year; mounts a five- passenger Beechcraft on its top deck for survey purposes, making it possible to explore a strip 600 miles wide along the path of the cruiser; no large base is required for its maintenance; and it can negotiate with ease crevasses as much as 15 feet wide. These are but a few of its qualifications, not mentioning its complete array of scientific equipment and facilities, which will make it possible for the cruiser to explore more territory in one year than that of all previous expeditions combined."
In a land which is mainly ice and snow, studded with mountain ranges and deep crevasses, thousands of miles from civilization, the scientific crew of the cruiser will carry on a comprehensive scientific program. In command of the cruiser will be Dr. Thomas C. Poulter, its designer and scientific director of the foundation. Dr. Poulter will return to the United States early next spring and leave Dr. F. A. Wade, chief scientist of the U. S. Antarctic service, as commander with a crew composed of Corporal Felix Ferranto, radio operator, Theodore A. Petras, pilot, and Charles Meyer, chief machinist's mate, U. S. Navy, machinist.
The plan at present is to establish two bases on the Antarctic continent, according to Dr. Wade, each to be manned by a trained staff of approximately 25 men. One of these bases will be commanded by Dr. Paul A. Siple, and will be located at or within 100 miles of Little America. Dr. Siple is a veteran of two previous Byrd Antarctic expeditions. The exact site of the other base will not be chosen until the parties are in the field, but it will be in the region south of South America and will be commanded by Richard Black, veteran of the last Byrd Antarctic expedition.
