Presented by Douglas Aircraft and the U.S. Air Force, SOUTH POLE CITY was written by famed author Richard Tregaskis (whose WWII books are much beloved). The film tells the story of Antarctic operations and the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, a United States scientific research station at the South Pole, the southernmost place on the Earth. It was built during November 1956, as a part of its commitment to the scientific goals of the International Geophysical Year (IGY), an international effort lasting from January 1957 through June 1958, to study, among other things, the geophysics of the polar regions.
The film promotes the use of Douglas Globemaster II C-124 aircraft which were used to supply all materials to construct the base and keep it going. The Globemaster II served in Operation Deep Freeze in 1955-56, and proved a valuable aircraft in support of forbidding polar temperatures and conditions.
The film shows air operations (starting at 5:00) from the 1946-47 Antarctic effort by Admiral Richard Byrd known as Operation Highjump, where the DC-3 was shown (Navy version = R4D ) deployed from the USS Philippine Sea (6:00) using JATO take-off. At 6:33, a terrible helicopter accident is seen, fortunately non-fatal. A PBM-1 accident shown at 7:00, suffered a fatal accident during a whiteout — emphasizing the danger of polar air operations.
At 11:26, the 1956 expedition to the South Pole is seen, with the construction of an airbase at McMurdo Sound for the C-124s, flying in from New Zealand. The aircraft would paradrop supplies to the South Pole, at a distance of over 700 miles. At 21:58, a serious problem is seen developing as warmer weather caused the ice runways to give way to the heavy C-124. Eventually the runway shrank in size, and appeared completely in jeopardy, which might cause the abandonment of the base. In reaction, air drop flights to the pole were increased to three a day, and low altitude drops made of certain items without parachutes. The stepped up schedule produced the desired result, and the station was able to stay in operation through the winter.
Before November 1956, there was no permanent human structure at the South Pole, and very little human presence in the interior of Antarctica at all. The few scientific stations in Antarctica were located on and near its seacoast. The station has been continuously occupied since it was built. The Amundsen–Scott Station has been rebuilt, demolished, expanded, and upgraded several times since 1956. The original station was constructed by an 18-man United States Navy crew during 1956–1957. The crew landed on site in October 1956 and was the first group to overwinter at the South Pole, during 1957. The low temperature recorded during 1957 was −74 °C (−101 °F). These temperatures, combined with low humidity and low air pressure, are survivable only with specialized equipment.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
