In 1946, the Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean was "ground zero" for a nuclear weapons test, code-named OPERATION CROSSROADS. US Navy aircraft provided photographic, transport and air-sea rescue services from their base at Kwajalein, 90 miles away in the Marshall Islands. The aircraft had instruments installed to monitor shock waves and radioactivity.

At the conclusion of the the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests, VH-4 Squadron, under the command of LCDR W.J. Rogers, Jr., was ordered stateside for decommissioning at Naval Air Station North Island, California. However, upon arrival at the first en route stop in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, LCDR Rogers was ordered to report to COMAIRPAC headquarters where he received a classified dispatch from CNO to COMAIRPAC recommending that 9 pilots and 15 enlisted men from VH-4 Squadron "volunteer" for an expedition to Antarctica, code named OPERATION HIGHJUMP.

They would be subjected to numerous intangibles upon reaching the Antarctic. Since most of the interior of the continent was uncharted, elevations of the terrain was, for the most part, an unknown. Couple that with poor weather forecasting and you have a recipe for exceptional danger. A PBM crew flying off the USS PINE ISLAND (Eastern Group) would experience the unforgiving flying conditions firsthand as they crashed on Thurston Island, resulting in the first loss of American life in the Antarctic. Antarctica is known to have the highest winds on the face of the earth and weather conditions can change dramatically in only minutes.

Since the squadron was due to be decommissioned, pilots and enlisted crew vacancies were not refilled as the squadron slowly disbanded. As a result, when the squadron touched down in Hawaii, there were only 10 pilots and approximately 50 crewmembers available for the "volunteer" expedition. When questioning the alternative to accepting the "voluntary" assignment the answer was, "probably reassignment as a replacement pilot or crew to a squadron in the Far East." Nine pilots and 15 crewmembers eventually volunteered. They may not have been completely willing, but they nevertheless were true volunteers in every sense of the word. Classification of OPERATION HIGHJUMP was so sensitive that the pilots and crew were instructed to keep the details of their assignment under wraps, even from their wives and family members. Most, if not all of the men, chose to ignore this order.

After the decommissioning of VH-4 in San Diego, California, the OPERATION HIGHJUMP volunteers reported to COMFAIRWING 5 at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia on November 1, 1946 to begin preparations for the expedition. Demands and priority for sophisticated equipment for OPERATION HIGHJUMP apparently was never passed down to the logistics people at the naval air station. The highly classified nature of the expedition only compounded the problems. Somehow news of the "classified" expedition was leaked to the newspapers since the local papers announced that the Western Group was on its way to the Antarctic. Although a breach of secrecy, once this news hit the papers equipping of the expedition picked up steam.

Meanwhile, "Training was constant and intensive from November 5 through November 23 with flight crews attending numerous classes on aerial mapping, tri-metrogon photography, cold weather operations in seaplanes, flight planning, polar grid navigation and the use of the astro compass. Technical training for the radiomen and radar operations was also accomplished." (Captain Robert H. Gillock, USN retired, Captain Paul J. Derocher, USN retired, Mariner/Marlin Newsletter, February 2001, pg. 26). All of the men were trained in the use of survival gear as sleds, axes, stoves and tents were to be carried aboard the aircraft while flying their missions.

The three PBM-5 "Mariners" were delivered to the group in mid-November and flight-tested. Meanwhile, upon completion of their training the men were issued standard navy heavy-weather winter flight gear together with charts of the Antarctic. They were assigned to the USS CURRITUCK, which together with the USS HENDERSON (Destroyer) and USS CACAPON (Fleet Oiler), would become Task Group 68.2, a.k.a. the Western Group. On November 26, all three PBM's of the Western Group departed NAS Norfolk for San Diego via NAS Pensacola and NAS Corpus Christi. Four days later the planes arrived in San Diego and on December 1, the final PBM was hoisted aboard the USS CURRITUCK. Their participation in the expedition would begin the next day when the ship got underway for the southern polar region. Their mission was to explore and photograph the eastern longitude of Antarctica.

USS SENNET

The first flight of the Western Group was made on December 24, 1946. On January 1, 1947, a 9.2-hour flight was made to the vicinity of the magnetic South Pole. However, the special 3-phase gyro used for navigation was incorrectly wired. Fortunately, the USS CURRITUCK picked up the aircraft's emergency IFF signal which was responsible for guiding the aircraft back to the ship. Upon returning to the ship it was discovered that the aircraft was some 100 miles in error. Early on in the expedition, the planes of the Western Group were dispatched to help save the submarine USS SENNET. A participant with the Central Group, she was the first submarine to venture into Antarctic waters. Squeezed by the ice and threatened to be crushed, the PBM's would search for leads to open water. The PBM's were unsuccessful in their search, however the USS SENNET was eventually freed from the grips of the ice, escaping to open waters in the Ross Sea where she would serve as a weather reporting station.

The pilots quickly adapted themselves to flying in the Antarctic. Careful attention was paid to making landings so that no undue stress would be placed on the aircraft. Takeoffs and landings were often made parallel to the ocean swells and all takeoffs were JATO (Jet-assisted takeoff) assisted. Takeoff weight could not exceed 22 tons as that was the maximum weight the hoisting hook on the USS CURRITUCK could support. Upon landing, the crews worked like a well-oiled machine in their ability to retrieve and hoist the plane onto the ship within a matter of minutes.

The Western Group was pressured to get to their Antarctic base of operations in the shortest possible time. Most of what is told here was originally considered hearsay, but was later established as fact. The Western Group's primary objective was to explore and photograph, by air, as much of the Antarctic continent within its operational area as possible. This region, never before seen by human eyes, would be claimed by them for the United States of America. "Flying within predetermined grids, contiguous territorial areas were identified by their coordinates and recorded and claimed for the United States by the patrol plane commander. Each claim was witnessed by three other crew members. After a copy was made for transmittal to the State Department, the original copy of the claim was placed in a waterproof container to which approximately 10 feet of line and a small United States flag were attached. The canister and flag were then thrown overboard to land on the claimed territory, the crew being careful to avoid having the line and canister entangle in the aircraft's tail." (Captain Robert Gillock, USN Ret., Captain Paul Derocher, USN Ret., Mariner/Marlin Newsletter, February 2001 pg. 27).

The pilots and crews of the Western Group accomplished a great deal during OPERATION HIGHJUMP. Unlike the crash and tragic loss of life on PBM-5 George One (assigned to the USS PINE ISLAND in the Eastern Group), this group experienced no accidents. Accomplishments included:

* Nineteen claims of previously unexplored territory made in the name of the United States. All claims have been recorded by the US State Department and are now on file in the National Archives.

* A total of 405,378 square miles of Antarctic were photographed.

* A total of 36 flights were launched from the open seas off the Antarctic ice pack.

 

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES IN ANTARCTICA NAMED AFTER HIGHJUMP PILOTS & NAVIGATORS 1946-47

GEOGRAPHIC NAMES IN ANTARCTICA NAMED AFTER HIGHJUMP CREWS 1946-47

The map at the left illustrates several geographic names that can be attributed to discoveries made by the pilots and crews of three PBM-5's assigned to the Western Group. However, data from this little publicized expedition has been scattered much like seeds in the wind. As so appropriately stated by pilot William Kreitzer, "The expedition was an historical event and many of the details have been lost or scattered in various places. The activities of the Western Group is one example. The account by Captain R.H. Gillock in the April 1955 edition of the US Naval Academy's publication SHIPMATE, is one example of a publication that fills in the gap. He was a copilot of mine during that operation. Only therein is published all of the geographical features in Antarctica that were named for pilots of that group by the US Board of Geographical Names. All of our claims are on file in the National Archives. Bob Gillock went there and made copies and distributed them to each pilot."

The last mission flown was March 1, 1947, with W.J Rogers as pilot and Jennings as navigator.

Lt. W.R. Kreitzer (Pilot Crew #3)

Ens. A.J. Reynolds

Lt. J.C. Jennings (Navigator Crew #1)

Lt. R.H. Gillock (Navigator Crew #3)

Capt. J.E. Clark

Lt. Cmdr. W.J. Rogers (Pilot Crew #1)

Cmdr. D. Bunger (Pilot Crew #2)