Popular Science Monthly 1924-03: Vol 104 Iss 3

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POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY SUMNER N. BLOSSOM, Editor March, 1924 For want of a nail the shoe was lost; For want of ashoe the horse was lost; For want of a horse the rider was lost— Allfor the want of a horseshoe nail! RCTIC exploration is just like that. One tiny oversight, one nail or bolt or lacing missing at a critical moment, and the lives of daring men may be needlessly sacrificed. No military campaign ever was planned with greater at- tention to detail than that of the Polar Air Expedition which the United States Navy announced for the dirigible Shenandoah. Lessons of the Past After more than a century {international effort, stippled yith tragedy and crowned by eary’s superb achievement of he North Pole, we have come t last to know the incredible omplexity as well as the un- voidable peril of polar work. Consider the field of action. nthe American side Nome is he most northern place avail- ble for a base. Point Barrow, laska, for instance, is not open ntil August. And ice condi- ions are so uncertain there hat a ship could not stay long nough to be of real help to an ir expedition. Somehow we hink of Alaska as having the ‘orth Pole in her back yard, so ospeak. Yet it is 1560 miles tom Nome to the earth’s apex! Fierce Arctic Winds Twice 1560 miles is more han 3000 miles. If an airship as a cruising radius of 4000 liles she theoretically can fly a cruising radius is gured for still air. And Ber- ig Strait is a veritable funnel. old northerly winds pour Nrough it for weeks at a time. {the wind blows 40 miles an our against an airship and the ip ls making propeller revo- ions for 60, her advance ound is only 20 miles an hour. ch a handicap the Nome-Pole flight ould become proportionately 9000 miles! 0 airship ever designed could tackle ch a journey. Is of Polar Flight How Our Navy Experts Are Preparing for Conquest of Far North by Airship By Lieut.-Comm. Fitzhugh Green, U.S.N. Member of the special Naval Arctic Air Board appointed to supervise the ‘‘Shenandoah’s’’ cruise over the Pole In addition to all the icy terrors that in the past have confronted explorers in their daring and often disastrous attempts to reach the top of the world by ships and dog teams, the crew of an airship must be prepared and fully equipped to meet new and uncounted perils in an attempted polar flight. Buffeting air currents swirl about the Pole. Projecting nubbles of ice make the landing of an airplane hazardous, and the landing of a dirigible out of the question. The composite photograph above vividly illustrates these hazards over the The point I wish to emphasize is that With the Arctic is a vast place—something more than 3,000,000 square miles in the polar basin, one third of which is totally unknown! Enormous distances must be covered. No bases exist save those sistence. especially established. Wind conditions are little more than a guess. Hence, months of preparation in a myriad minute ways are essential for a final sally against the demon bliz- zards of the north. The practical purpose of an air expedition northward is two- fold: First, exploration of the unknown area of the Polar Sea north of Point Barrow. Second, establishment ‘of the practica- bility of a transpolar route be- tween Europe and Asia, with resulting trade advantages. To Seek Unknown Land The first objective is the so- called “Pole of Inaccessibility.” This is the center of the un- known area lying about 500 miles north of Point Barrow. Systematic flights over it either by plane or dirigible will deter- mine whether or not land lies there. The second objective is not only the accomplishment of a transpolar flight, but the col- lection of aerological data that will enable American commer- cial enterprise to enter this field with some idea of the feasibility of an arctic short- cut to Asia and Europe. Such accomplishment is in line with the peacetime uses of our naval forces. In like manner the Navy operates two ships en- gaged in scientific research for the Bureau of Fisheries. Cold the Least Obstacle Strange as it may seem, cold will be the least of all obstacles. Arctic temperatures are no more intense than those often experienced in our northern states. For five weeks in sum- mer much of the Arctic ceives more heat to the square mile than that received at the equator! Our Weather Bureau reports show that a tempera- ture of 100° F. in the shade has been recorded in Alaska! Air- planes already have been flown in temperatures far lower than re- any that will be encountered on the com- ing expedition. The thing about arctic cold is its per- A recording thermometer on the Polar Sea in any summer month will show about 30° F. day after day with but a