Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition

Snow groomers Ferguson TE20

The Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition ( CTAE ) from 1955 to 1958 was a Commonwealth- funded expedition that successfully completed the first crossing of Antarctica via the South Pole . The governments of the United Kingdom , New Zealand , Australia and South Africa covered the costs with the help of donations under the auspices of Elizabeth II. The British explorer Vivian Fuchs was in charge of the expedition ; the New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary led a team to help with supplies. Among the members of the team were scientists who did research during the International Geophysical Year . The scientific goal of the expedition was to find out how thick the Antarctic ice sheet was along the route and whether the rocky subsoil was below or above sea level. It turned out that the rocky subsoil between the Antarctic Peninsula and East Antarctica is largely below sea level, that there would be a strait without ice.

Preparations

Snow groomer Tucker Sno-Cat at the National Science Museum in London

Expedition group routes

Preparations began in London in 1955 . In the southern summer of 1955/56, Fuchs sailed with a first team from London to Antarctica, using the Canadian seal hunter Theron . The purpose of the advance was to establish the Shackleton Base on Vahsel Bay on the Weddell Sea , where the Transantarctic Expedition would begin. The Theron , however, like its predecessors, the Endurance in the Endurance Expedition and the Germany in Wilhelm Filchner's Second German Antarctic Expedition of 1911, was enclosed by the ice. Fortunately, despite the considerable damage, she was able to free herself with the help of the oyster float plane that showed her the way out of the pack ice. In early 1956, Fuchs returned to London and left eight men to spend the winter. The British cameraman Derek Williams, who was present on the first trip, created the short documentary Foothold on Antarctica from the resulting film material in 1957 , which shows, among other things, the difficulties the team had in freeing them from the pack ice.

The eight men under Kenneth Blaiklock were only protected by tents and a shed. Most of the goods were left on the ice, about 3 kilometers from the planned location of the base. The first task was to bring all these goods from the bay to the warehouse and to ensure permanent protection for the next winter. As soon as a minimum of food and some fuel ( paraffin ) were stored and the dogs were securely tied up, the men began building their hut. This turned out to be far more difficult than expected; Not only were the eight men too few to carry out the difficult tasks with appropriate effort, the weather was also significantly colder and windier than expected. When the skeleton of the hut was erected, it was decided to set up the boxes with the wall and roof panels around the construction site. Then, however, a blizzard occurred that lasted more than a week, with the temperature dropping to −20 ° C and the drifting snow around the base making any outdoor work impossible. The men sought protection in their shack and slept in their tents, which were constantly in danger of being covered by the blown snow. When the wind finally died down, the scene had changed beyond recognition. The huge boxes with the wall panels had all disappeared under meter-deep snowdrifts; the unfinished hut itself was full of snow. What was worse, however, was that the men found only water as they searched for the remaining goods on the pack ice. The ice had broken off and had taken all the goods with it. Much supplies of food and fuel had been lost, as well as several huts and a tractor.

After this severe setback, the men had to work hard and try to get to the snow-covered boxes, which was achieved through snow tunnels; Coincidentally, the tunnels turned out to be useful in protecting the dogs from the harsh conditions. The group survived with some difficulty; During the day the eight members lived in the tractor shed, at night they slept in their two-person tents. Winter temperatures often fell well below −30 ° C. The “Shackleton Base” turned out to be an extremely windy place, which made outdoor work very uncomfortable, exposed goods lying in the snow to the danger of being snowed in and a constant risk of getting lost.

Despite all the difficulties, the eight survived the winter in relatively good health and finally finished building the hut. Only a roof panel could no longer be found in the snow.

They also managed to make some trips to get seal meat for the dogs and to explore the route south. They used dogs and a weasel tractor while the Snocat tracked vehicle never worked properly - apparently someone had dropped a mother into one of the twelve cylinders.

expedition

In December 1956, Fuchs returned with the Danish ship Magga Dan and additional supplies, and the southern summer of 1956/57 was spent expanding the "Shackleton Base" and building a smaller base about 480 kilometers in the south inland.

After the winter of 1957 had also been spent in the "Shackleton Base", Fuchs finally set out on the actual expedition in November 1957. A twelve-man team would travel with specially adapted tractors and tracked vehicles. On the trip, the team was engaged in scientific research, including seismic and gravimetric measurements. Blasts were detonated every 30 to 50 km in order to obtain information about the subsurface from the echo.

Meanwhile, Hillary had team at the other end of the continent at McMurdo Sound on the Ross Sea , the Scott Base established would be the fox 'final destination. Using modified Ferguson TE20 tractors, the men were responsible for planning the route and setting up a series of depots along the Skelton Glacier and across the Polar Plateau towards the South Pole . You should support Fuchs on the last part of his journey. Other members of the support group conducted geological research in the Ross Sea area and in Victoria Land.

It was not originally planned that Hillary would travel as far as the South Pole, but when he finished the depot facility he saw the opportunity to forestall the British and continued south until he reached the South Pole on January 3, 1958, where the American Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station had recently been set up from the air. Hillary's group was only the third (after Roald Amundsen in 1911 and Robert Scott in 1912) to reach the pole overland. In addition, it was first reached by land vehicles at this time.

Fuchs reached the South Pole on January 19, 1958 from the other side and met Hillary. Fuchs drove on overland, following the depot line laid out by Hillary, while Hillary's men flew back to Scott Base in a US plane and later accompanied Fuchs on part of the return journey. The group arrived at Scott Base on March 2, 1958, after completing the historic crossing of Antarctica over 3,473 km of previously unexplored snow and ice in 99 days. A few days later, the expedition members left Antarctica on the New Zealand navy ship Endeavor for New Zealand .

Although large amounts of supplies were hauled overland, both groups were also supported by light aircraft and often used aerial reconnaissance for route planning and depot facilities. Further logistical support was provided by US personnel. Both groups also had teams of dogs with them, which were used for trips in the field and as cover in the event of a failure of the mechanical means of transport. In December 1957, four members of the expedition flew one of the aircraft - a de Havilland Otter - on an eleven-hour, 2300-kilometer non-stop transpolar flight from "Shackleton Base" over the Pole to Scott Base .

Fuchs was later knighted for his success. The next crossing of the Antarctic was not to take place until 1981.

documentation

George Lowe made a documentary film with Across the Antarctic during the expedition. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1959 .

notes

Web links

Commons : Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition - Collection of images, videos and audio files

[1] Friends of Ferguson Heritage- The Worst Journey in the World

[2] Tractor Lexicon: Massey Ferguson TE 20