Page 75 - Demo

Operation Deep Freeze involved establishing a manned base on the Antarctic continent. It was planned to be in operation for the International Geophysical Year (1957-58) as a joint effort between the United States and several other countries. The goal was to advance the world%u2019s knowledge of Antarctic hydrography, weather systems, glacial movements, and marine life.The Navy%u2019s Task Force 43 was selected to prepare a permanent research station and pave the way for more exhaustive research in later Deep Freeze operations. Over the Antarctic summer of November 1955 to April 1956, the progress was filmed by Walt Disney Studios, which had also designed the Task Force 43 emblem.On October 31, 1956, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft landed at the South Pole, the first plane to do so. This was the start of the first permanent base at the South Pole to support the International Geophysical Year. Construction of a second underground station in a nearby location was begun in 1960.I learned about Operation Deep Freeze from the stamp-collecting column in the , which had instructions on where to mail self-addressed stamped envelopes if you wanted them cancelled as a part of the operation. These Covers are from Operation Deep Freeze in 1963 and 1964. The Cover below was cancelled at U.S.N. Pole Station Antarctica on April 25, 1964. The other four Covers were cancelled on the Navy support ships , , , and the . Besides adding cachets on the envelopes, the Commanding Officer, J.H. Judith, signed the front of the Cover. The back of the Eastwind Cover is stamped with an outline map of Antarctica, and the back of the Hissem Cover is stamped with the ship logo and the words %u201cWorld Cruise 1963 1964.%u201d