Operation Blue Jay - Thule, Greenland- 1951: Ice and more Ice

Monday, January 09, 2006

Ice and more Ice

Breaking thru the Ice

USNS Sappa Creek After hitting an Iceberg

The location of Thule, 700 miles north of the Arctic Circle, required the ships to sail in company with icebreakers from the Canadian and American Navy and Coast Guard. Due to the heavy flow ice, ships needed to depart by early September, or face a winter trapped in the ice. The mission posed serious dangers to the crews and ships. The tanker USNS Sappa Creek experienced a radar malfunction and while in reduced visibility struck an iceberg and suffered severe damage to its bow, but was able to continue its mission.

USS Deuel APA160 as seen from the USS E.B.Hall On the way to Greenland

At Thule Airbase

Glacier at Greenland

Icebergs in Greenland

Tour of Glacier at Greenland

2 Comments:

BS said...: I left a piece of my heart in Thule, Greenland. Love that place. I was there from 99-01.; 6:51 PM
stan said...: uss shadwell l.s.d-15 i served on the shadwell from 1950 to 1953-stan greenwood seaman-we run the material-supplies even[booze]to shore in l.c.ms-praying that the wind did not turn and crush us with ice-do you remmember this during blue jay?my friend and i were reprimanded for taking chances with the wind--so we wrote up transfer sheets for duty in thule-our cap. leroy taylor had them posted in the head-laugh now-but not then-; 4:29 PM

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Recommissioned 7 December 1950, Earle B. Hall sailed from Jacksonville, 19 December, for her home port, Norfolk. After refresher training, she departed 29 May 1951, for a 3-month northern cruise, supplying such outposts as Grondal, Greenland. Returning to Norfolk, she trained Marines in amphibious warfare off Onslow Beach, N.C., and in the Caribbean

After World War II, Air Force planners began to examine the feasibility of establishing a bomber base at Thule. The remote weather station's location was perfect -halfway between Moscow and New York- to stage long range B-52 bombers, and even more ideal to host interceptors. Thus in 1951, the Air Force secretly began construction on the base in an effort dubbed Operation Blue Jay. The project was massive. According to Thule's website: The construction is said to have been comparable in scale to the enormous effort required to build the Panama Canal. The Navy transported the bulk of men, supplies, and equipment from the shipyards in Norfolk, VA. On 6 June 1951, an armada of 120 shipments sailed from Norfolk. 12,000 men and 300,000 tons of cargo arrived at Thule on 9 July 1951. Construction took place around the clock. The workers lived on-board the ship until quarters were built. Once they moved into the quarters, the ships returned home. (source: officersclub.blogspot.com)

Operation Blue Jay - Thule, Greenland- 1951

Monday, January 09, 2006

Ice and more Ice

2 Comments:

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