View source for Operation Deep Freeze

{{Short description|US operations in Antarctica}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=February 2024}}
{{Antarctic expeditions sidebar}}
'''Operation Deep Freeze''' is the code name for a series of [[United States]] missions to [[Antarctica]], beginning with "Operation Deep Freeze I" in 1955–56, followed by "Operation Deep Freeze II", "Operation Deep Freeze III", and so on. (There was an initial operation before [[Richard E. Byrd|Admiral Richard Byrd]] proposed 'Deep Freeze'). Given the continuing and constant US presence in Antarctica since that date, "Operation Deep Freeze" has come to be used as a general term for US operations in that continent, and in particular for the regular missions to resupply US Antarctic bases, coordinated by the [[Military of the United States|United States military]]. Task Force 199 was involved.

For a few decades the missions were led by the United States Navy, though the Air National Guard and National Science Foundation are also important parts of the missions. In Antarctica, when the polar dawn starts late in the year things begin warming up and the mission usually runs from late in the year to early the next year before the months of darkness and cold return. During that time bases will over-winter until the next year and Deep Freeze mission. 

==Prior to International Geophysical Year==
The [[U.S. Navy]] already had a record of earlier exploration in Antarctica. As early as 1839, Captain [[Charles Wilkes]] led the [[United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842|first U.S. Naval expedition]] into Antarctic waters. In 1929, Admiral [[Richard E. Byrd]] established a naval base at [[Little America (exploration base)|Little America]] I, led [[Richard Evelyn Byrd#First Antarctic expedition, 1928–1930|an expedition]] to explore further inland, and conducted the first flight over the South Pole. From 1934 to 1935, the [[Richard Evelyn Byrd#Byrd's later Antarctic expeditions|second Byrd Expedition]] explored much further inland and also "wintered over". The third Byrd Expedition in 1940 charted the [[Ross Sea]].

Byrd was instrumental in the Navy's [[Operation Highjump]] after [[World War II]] from 1946 to 1947, which charted most of the Antarctic coastline. In 1948, Commander [[Finn Ronne]] led an expedition that photographed over 450,000 square miles (1.1 million km<sup>2</sup>) by air. Then in 1954–55, the [[icebreaker]] [[USS Atka (AGB-3)|USS ''Atka'']] made a scouting expedition for future landing sites and bays.

==Operation Deep Freeze I==
[[File:Deep freeze.jpg|thumb|left|Squadron patch for the Navy Antarctic Development Squadron SIX ([[VXE-6]]), known as the Puckered Penguins.]]
The impetus behind Operation Deep Freeze I was the [[International Geophysical Year]] 1957–58. IGY as it was known was a collaborative effort among forty nations to carry out earth science studies from the [[North Pole]] to the [[South Pole]] and at points in between. The [[United States]] along with [[New Zealand]], the [[United Kingdom]], [[France]], [[Japan]], [[Norway]], [[Chile]], [[Argentina]], and the [[U.S.S.R.]] agreed to go to the South Pole, the least explored area on Earth. Their goal was to advance world knowledge of Antarctic [[hydrography]] and [[weather|weather systems]], [[glacial motion|glacial movements]], and [[marine life]].

The [[U.S. Navy]] was charged with supporting the U.S. scientists for their portion of the IGY studies.  Rear Admiral [[Richard E. Byrd]], a veteran of four previous Antarctic Expeditions, was appointed as officer in charge of the expedition.

In 1955, Task Force 43, commanded by Rear Admiral [[George J. Dufek]], was formed to provide logistical support for the expedition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.navalhistory.org/2013/02/01/february-1-1955-task-force-43-commissioned-to-plan-and-execute-operation-deepfreeze|title=February 1, 1955: Task Force 43 Commissioned to Plan and Execute Operation Deepfreeze|work=Naval History Blog|date=February 2013}}</ref>  Operation Deep Freeze I prepared a permanent research station and paved the way for more exhaustive research in later Deep Freeze operations. The expedition transpired over the Antarctic summer of November 1955 to April 1956, and was filmed by the [[U.S. Navy]] and [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Studios]].<ref><!--
https://d23.com/a-to-z/seven-cities-of-antarctica-film/
http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b769c590a
-->{{cite AV media|url=http://www.sfi.se/en-GB/Swedish-film-database/Item/?itemid=70574&type=MOVIE|title=Seven Cities of Antarctica|date=25 Dec 1958|people=[[Winston Hibler|Hibler, Winston]] (director); Beebe, Lloyd (cameraman); and Jones, Elmo G. (cameraman)|publisher=[[Walt Disney Productions]]|location=Los Angeles, California (USA)|series=[[People & Places|People and Places]]|oclc=85925436|medium=Motion picture}} Theatrical release which combines three [[List of Walt Disney anthology television series episodes#Season 3 (1956–1957)|Walt Disney anthology television series episodes]] filmed in Antarctica:<!--
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http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Walt_Disney_anthology_series_episode_list#Season_3
-->

*{{cite episode|last=Disney|first=Walt (host)|author-link=Walt Disney|title=Antarctica: Past and Present|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0908274/?ref_=ttep_ep1|series=Disneyland|series-link=Walt Disney anthology television series|network=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|date=12 Sep 1956|season=3|number=1 [48]}}
*{{cite episode|last=Disney|first=Walt (host)|author-link=Walt Disney|title=Antarctica: Operation Deepfreeze|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0908273/?ref_=ttep_ep26|series=Disneyland|series-link=Walt Disney anthology television series|network=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|date=5 Jun 1957|season=3|number=26 [73]}}
*{{cite episode|last=Disney|first=Walt (host)|author-link=Walt Disney|title=To the South Pole for Science|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0908303/?ref_=ttep_ep9|series=Disneyland|series-link=Walt Disney anthology television series|network=[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]|date=13 Nov 1957|season=4|number=9 [82]}}</ref> For having designed the emblem of Task Force 43, [[Walt Disney]] became an honorary member of the expedition.<ref>{{cite journal|author=United States Antarctic Projects Officer|date=Jan 1961|title=Operation Deep Freeze Plaque|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/Antarctica/POB/POBvIIn5.pdf#page=31|journal=Bulletin of the U.S. Antarctic Projects Officer|location=Washington, DC|publisher=USAPO|volume=2|issue=5|page=28|issn=0503-5392}}</ref>

{{clear|left}}
[[File:Richard-E-Byrd-6854e2.jpg|thumb|[[Richard E. Byrd|Admiral Richard Byrd]] on board [[USS Wyandot (AKA-92)|USS ''Wyandot'']] (Dec&nbsp;1955)]]
[[File:Operation-Deep-Freeze-Wyandot-KA92-6839.jpg|thumb|[[USS Wyandot (AKA-92)|USS ''Wyandot'']] mooring at [[McMurdo Station]] (Dec&nbsp;1955)]]
[[File:Operation-Deep-Freeze-Mt-Erebus-6851.jpg|thumb|Mount Erebus in December 1955]]

Task Force 43 consisted of the following ships:
*{{USS|Wyandot|AKA-92}}, freighter
*{{USS|Arneb|AKA-56}}, freighter
*{{USS|Edisto|AGB-2}}, ice breaker
*{{USS|Glacier|AGB-4}}, ice breaker
*{{USCGC|Eastwind|WAGB-279}}, ice breaker
*{{USS|Nespelen|AOG-55}}, gasoline tanker
*{{USNS|Greenville Victory|T-AK-237}}, [[merchant marine]] freighter
*USS ''YOG-34'', aviation fuel carrier
*USS ''YOG-70'', aviation fuel carrier
{{clear|left}}

The ships of the task force were supplemented by a specially trained Navy [[Construction Battalion]], formed at the Naval Construction Battalion Center at [[Davisville, Rhode Island]] and several aircraft.

On October 31, 1956, at 8:34 p.m. local time, the first aircraft ever to touch down at the South Pole skied to a halt atop the Antarctic ice sheet at 90 degrees South latitude. The U.S. Navy R4D, was piloted by Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Conrad C. "Gus" Shinn USN and included officer Frederick Ferrara. Immediately after the plane halted--with engines running to avoid a freeze-up (a practice still followed to this day)--U.S. Navy Adm. George J. Dufek., commander of Operation Deep Freeze, stepped out onto the ice, along with pilot Douglas Cordiner, to plant the stars and stripes at the Pole. They were the first to stand there since Briton [[Robert Falcon Scott]] did more than 40 years before. Norwegian [[Roald Amundsen]] had beaten Scott in his race to the Pole. Amundsen's party survived the 800-mile return trip, Scott's did not.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NSF Commemorates the 50th Anniversary of First Flight To Land at the South Pole |url=https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=108147 |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=www.nsf.gov |language=English}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>  This flight was one part of the expeditions mounted for the IGY.  This was not only the first aircraft to land at the South Pole, it was also the first time that Americans had ever set foot on the South Pole.  The aircraft was named ''Que Sera, Sera'' after a [[Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)|popular song]] and is now on display at the [[National Naval Aviation Museum|Naval Aviation Museum]] in [[Pensacola, Florida]].  This marked the beginning of the establishment of the first permanent base, by airlift, at the South Pole (today known as the [[Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station]]) to support the International Geophysical Year. It was commissioned on January 1, 1957. The mission's second base, [[Byrd Station]], was a (former) research station in West Antarctica established by the US Navy for Operation Deep Freeze II during the International Geophysical Year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://antarcticsun.usap.gov/features/contenthandler.cfm?id=1793|title=The Antarctic Sun: News about Antarctica - Byrd History (page 1)|website=antarcticsun.usap.gov|access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref> The original station ("Old Byrd") lasted about four years before it began to collapse under the snow. Construction of a second underground station in a nearby location began in 1960, and it was used until 1972. The station was then converted into a summer-only field camp until it was abandoned in 2004–05. The United States Antarctic Program airfield, built to service Operation Deep Freeze (first mission) was later named Williams Field or Willy Field.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.coolantarctica.com/Community/OAE_williams_field.php|title=OAE's Williams Field Antarctica|website=www.coolantarctica.com|access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref>

==Subsequent developments==
[[File:R4D-5L Que Sera Sera landing at South Pole 1956.jpg|thumb|left|U.S. Navy [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|R4D-5L "Dakota"]] making the first landing at the South Pole, 31 October 1956 for ''Operation Deep Freeze II'']]
[[File:Helmut P. Jaron.jpg|thumb|left|Helmut P. Jaron, Aurora Researcher at [[Byrd Station]] in 1961. The [[Jaron Cliffs]] are named for him.<ref>[https://tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Jaron_Cliffs&params=76_23_S_112_10_W_source:GNIS MAP]</ref>]]
[[File:Troops embark a C-141 Starlifter aircraft for their flight to Christchurch, New Zealand, during Operation Deep Freeze '80 - DPLA - 6e7c4351a44d48907d94d4d252a40a1e.jpeg|thumb|left|A C-141 loads for the flight back to Christchurch, New Zealand for Operation Deep Freeze '80]]

The Operation Deep Freeze activities were succeeded by "Operation Deep Freeze II", and so on. In 1960, the year of the fifth mission, codenames began to be based on the year (e.g., "Operation Deep Freeze 60").<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Wallwork |first1=Ellery |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yf9xwwEACAAJ |title=Operation Deep Freeze: 50 Years of US Air Force Airlift in Antarctica |last2=Wilcoxson |first2=Kathryn |publisher=Office of History, [[Air Mobility Command]] |year=2006 |pages=25}}</ref>

Operation Deep Freeze I (1955-56), Operation Deep Freeze II (1956-57), and Operation Deep Freeze III (57-58), prepared the United States for the start of the IGY on 1 July 1957.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Operation Deepfreeze |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/museums/seabee/explore/civil-engineer-corps-history/the-civil-engineer-corps-at-the-other-pole--operation-deepfreeze.html |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=public2.nhhcaws.local |language=en-US}}</ref> The Mobile Construction Battalion for ODF I established Little America base in Kainan Bay and a base at McMurdo, and for ODF II built Byrd and the South Pole Station.<ref name=":2" />

The Coast Guard sometimes participated; among others, the USCGC Westwind (WAGB-281), [[USCGC Northwind (WAGB-282)|USCGC ''Northwind'']],<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 9, 2020 |title=Northwind, 1945 (WAGB 282) |url=https://www.history.uscg.mil/Browse-by-Topic/Assets/Water/All/Article/2105450/northwind-1945-wagb-282/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.history.uscg.mil%2FBrowse-by-Topic%2FAssets%2FArticle%2F2105450%2Fnorthwind-1945-wagb-282%2F |access-date=2022-12-26 |website=United States Coast Guard |language=en-US}}</ref> the [[USCGC Polar Sea]] and the [[USS Glacier (AGB-4)|USCGC ''Glacier'']] occasionally supported the mission.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Taylor |first=P. |date=1980 |title=Ship operations, Deep Freeze 80 |journal=[[Antarctic Journal]] |pages=230}}</ref> The Navy's [[VXE-6|Antarctic Development Squadron Six]] had been flying scientific and military missions to [[Greenland]] and the arctic compound's Williams Field since 1975. The 109th operated ski-equipped [[Lockheed LC-130|LC-130s]] had been flying [[National Science Foundation]] support missions to [[Antarctica]] since 1988. The official name for the Navy's command in Antarctica was US Naval Support Force Antarctica, (NSFA) Terminal Operations.<ref>{{Cite report|last=NAVY MEDICINE SUPPORT COMMAND JACKSONVILLE FL|date=2010-03-01|title=Commander's Guidance 2010-2011 (Navy Medicine Support Command)|location=Fort Belvoir, Virginia|doi=10.21236/ada524217}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-13-mn-28431-story.html|title=Navy Comes In From Cold, Ends Antarctica Operations|date=1998-03-13|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2019-07-07|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref>

In early 1996, the [[National Guard of the United States|United States National Guard]] announced that the [[109th Airlift Wing]] at [[Schenectady County Airport]] in [[Scotia, New York]] was slated to assume that entire mission from the [[United States Navy]] in 1999. The Antarctic operation would be fully funded by the National Science Foundation. The 109th expected to add approximately 235 full-time personnel to support that operation. The decision to switch from Naval leadership to National Guard was one of a cost-saving measure due to post cold war budget cuts.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-13-mn-28431-story.html|title=Navy Comes In From Cold, Ends Antarctica Operations|date=1998-03-13|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2019-07-07|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}</ref>

The possibility of the [[Air National Guard]] assuming operational control of the mission had first emerged in 1988. The 109th Airlift Wing had been notified that, almost overnight, one of the [[Distant Early Warning Line]] (DEW) radar sites that it supported in Greenland was going to be shut down. The other sites would soon follow, and the 109th would be largely out of business because its primary mission had ended. The unit had been informally keeping tabs on Navy LC-130 operations supporting the National Science Foundation in Antarctica. Because of its aging aircraft fleet and extensive depot maintenance period, the United States Navy asked if the 109th could provide limited emergency [[search and rescue]] (SAR) capability for two years to support Operation Deep Freeze, which the Air Guard accepted. At that time, it had no thought of taking over the mission. The 109th believed it to be an exercise in futility for its aircraft to deploy to the Antarctic to merely wait for emergency SAR missions, so it asked if the Navy could help carry cargo to the [[South Pole]]. The Navy resisted at first because its procedures and cargo configurations differed from those of the Air Guard, but eventually it agreed. The main mission of the U.S. Navy and Air National Guard [[C-130 Hercules|C-130s]] was to airlift fuel and supplies to the National Science Foundation's South Pole Station so that its personnel could survive the isolation of the long Antarctic winter, which lasted from February to October.

An Air National Guard working group had been formed to study the idea in 1990. The following year, a dialog began among the Air National Guard, the [[Air Staff (United States)|Air Staff]], and the United States Navy. Among other issues, it was difficult at first for the Air Guard to convince the Air Staff to commit long term resources to an area of the world that had not been declared a warfighting region because of international treaties. The Air Guard had supported military operations in [[Greenland]] and the Arctic (including classified U.S. Navy operations) since the mid-1970s with the ski-equipped C-130s of the [[109th Airlift Wing]]. It convinced Headquarters, [[United States Air Force]] that it was not in the nation's best interest to abandon the capability to achieve quick and reliable air access to both polar regions.
[[File:428-GX-K-129176 (28464968842).jpg|thumb|LC-130 at the of Antarctic Development Squadron Six (VXE 6) at the McMurdo Sound Ice Runway for Operation Deep Freeze '80. Photo 14 December 1979]]
[[File:A C-5B Galaxy aircraft lands on the ice runway near McMurdo Station during Operation Deep Freeze '90 DF-ST-90-10233.jpg|thumb|A C-5B lands on the McMurdo sound Ice Runway for  Operation Deep Freeze '90]]
[[File:C-141 ODF.jpg|thumb|A [[United States Air Force|US Air Force]] [[C-141 Starlifter]] participating in Operation Deep Freeze with penguins, 1997.]]
In March 1993, the U.S. Navy hosted a two-day workshop with representatives of the National Science Foundation, Air National Guard, and other interested parties to explore logistics support options for the operation. A draft concept of operations had been prepared by the Air Directorate of the National Guard Bureau in 1993. In February 1996, a commitment was made to transfer the Operation Deep Freeze mission and all [[LC-130 Hercules|LC-130H]] aircraft operating within the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]] to the Air National Guard. In September 1996, senior officers from the 109th Airlift Wing briefed the National Guard Bureau on their concept of operations and the status of their preparations to implement Operation Deep Freeze.

Under the transition plan which they had developed, the Air National Guard would continue to augment the United States Navy during the October 1996 – March 1997 operating season for the [[United States Antarctic Program]]. At the end of the October 1997 – March 1998 season, the Air National Guard would assume command of the program. During the third year of the transition program (October 1998 to March 1999), the U.S. Navy would augment the ANG before the latter took over the entire program the following year. There would be seven LC-130s in theater. They would stage from [[Christchurch International Airport#Military|Christchurch International Airport]] in [[Christchurch]], New Zealand, to [[McMurdo Station]], Antarctica. Traditional Guardsmen, technicians, and the cadre of [[Active Guard Reserve|Active Guard Reservists]] specifically brought on board to support Operation Deep Freeze would all be involved in the mission. When fully transitioned to the Air National Guard, the 109th Airlift Wing would have ten [[Lockheed LC-130|LC-130s]] in its inventory. These would include upgrades of four LC-130 aircraft in-service with the unit plus three new aircraft and three that would be transferred from the U.S. Navy. Air National Guard estimates of the savings to be realized by consolidating the operation in the hands of the 109th Airlift Wing ranged from [[United States dollar|US $]]5 million to US$15 million a year. The actual transition to Air Guard control began in March 1996.

By 1999, the United States Navy had transferred military support operations for Antarctica over to the United States Air Force and its contractor [[Raytheon Polar Services]]. Operation Deep Freeze was managed by the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] and [[Air National Guard]] members of [[Air National Guard Detachment 13]], a subordinate unit which administratively reported directly to the Air National Guard Readiness Center (ANGRC) at [[Andrews Air Force Base]] in [[Maryland]], and operationally reported to [[United States Pacific Command]] (USPACOM) in [[Honolulu, Hawaii]]. Upon its deactivation in 2005, the detachment consisted of a full-time officer (Commander) and four full-time non-commissioned officers (Logistics, Communications, Security Forces, and Information Management) which remained in New Zealand year-round.<ref>{{cite web|date=30 September 2007|title=Operation Deep Freeze Deployment Guide 2004–2005|url=http://www.odfpersco.net/downloads/odf+deployment+guide.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930110124/http://www.odfpersco.net/downloads/odf%20deployment%20guide.pdf|archive-date=30 September 2007|access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref> Operational command now belongs to Commander, Thirteenth Air Force as part of USPACOM. In 2005, through the office of the Secretary of Defense, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command was designated to support the Joint Task Force Support Forces Antarctica, Operation Deep Freeze. CDRUSPACOM delegated this joint operation to the Commander, [[United States Pacific Air Forces|Pacific Air Forces]], who then delegated primary responsibility for execution of the JTF SFA operation to the Commander, [[13th Air Force]].

=== Incidents ===

* 30 December 1946, [[1946 Antarctica PBM Mariner crash]]. Three Naval aviators were killed when their [[Martin PBM Mariner|PBM-5]] crashed during [[Operation Highjump]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Casualties: US Navy and Marine Corps Personnel Killed and Injured in Selected Accidents and Other Incidents Not Directly the Result of Enemy Action |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/c/casualties-usnavy-marinecorps-personnel-killed-injured-selected-accidents-other-incidents-notdirectly-result-enemy-action.html |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=public2.nhhcaws.local |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 22 January 1955. Pilot John P. Moore ([[Mount Moore]]) was killed in helicopter crash at [[Kainan Bay]].<ref name=":0" /> 
* 6 January 1956. Richard T. Williams ([[Williams Field]]) was killed when the tractor he was driving crashed through the ice after being  offloaded from the [[USS Glacier (AGB-4)|USS ''Glacier'' (AGB-4)]], off [[Cape Royds]] during Operation Deep Freeze I.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Two Tragedies |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/art/exhibits/exploration-and-technology/antarctica-operation-deep-freeze-i-1955-56/two-tragedies0.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024062728/https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/art/exhibits/exploration-and-technology/antarctica-operation-deep-freeze-i-1955-56/two-tragedies0.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 24, 2016 |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=public2.nhhcaws.local |language=en-US}}</ref>
* 5 March 1956. Max R. Kiel ([[Kiel Glacier]]) was swallowed by a 100 foot-deep crevasse while driving a tractor 110 miles east of [[Little America (exploration base)|Little America]], during Operation Deep Freeze I.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cranston |first=G. T. |date=2022-03-13 |title=The View From Swamptown: The story behind the Max Kiel Gymnasium is one worth retelling |url=https://www.independentri.com/view_from_swamptown/article_4ca8c418-9fe6-11ec-9e84-53dc660f6e44.html |access-date=2024-11-23 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> His body was unable to be recovered.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />
* 18 October 1956. Three Naval aviators were killed when their [[Lockheed P-2 Neptune|P2V-2N]] crashed in a storm at [[McMurdo Station]] during Operation Deep Freeze II.<ref name=":0" />
* 14 January 1957. Ollie B. Bartley ([[Bartley Glacier]]) was killed after falling through ice at [[Hut Point Peninsula|Hut Point]].<ref name=":0" />
* 4 January 1959. Two Naval aviators were killed when their [[De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter|Otter cargo aircraft]] crashed on takeoff at [[Marble Point]].<ref name=":0" /> 
* 2 November 1960. Orlan F. John ([[John Nunatak]]) was killed in accidental explosion at [[McMurdo Station]].<ref name=":0" />
* 9 November 1961. Four Naval aviators and a civilian seismologist were killed when their [[Lockheed P-2 Neptune|P2V Neptune]] crashed on takeoff from [[Wilkes Station]].<ref name=":0" />
* 3 February 1966. Six Naval aviators killed when their DC-3 crashed on landing while participating in Operation Deep Freeze.<ref>{{Cite news |date=February 9, 1966 |title=Six of Navy Killed in Antarctic Crash |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/02/03/archives/six-of-navy-killed-in-antarctic-crash.html |work=The New York Times |pages=27}}</ref>
* 9 December 1987. Two Naval aviators were killed and 9 injured when their Lockheed LC-130 Hercules crashed on landing at an airstrip 860 miles northeast of McMurdo Station.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Browne |first=Malcolm W. |date=December 10, 1987 |title=2 in Navy Killed as U.S. Research Plane Crashes in Antarctica |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/10/us/2-in-navy-killed-as-us-research-plane-crashes-in-antarctica.html |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

==21st century==
[[File:Operation Deep Freeze retreat ceremony.jpg|thumb|left|Airmen saluting the last LC-130 to depart from Antarctica in 2010]]

United States civilian and scientific operations on the Antarctic continent are overseen by the [[United States Antarctic Program]] as well as the National Science Foundation. Military support missions flown from [[Christchurch International Airport]] are conducted during the Antarctic summer (late September to early March) each year by The 109th Airlift Wing Scotia New York. The Ski equipped LC-130 Hercules is the backbone of Operation Deep Freeze.  [[LC-130 Hercules]] aircraft provide the logistical movement of cargo to remote operating locations on the continent. These aircraft are augmented by the [[United States Coast Guard]] [[icebreaker]] [[USCGC Polar Star|USCGC ''Polar Star'']], the [[Air Force Materiel Command]], and the [[Military Sealift Command]]. The United States Air Force [[13th Air Expeditionary Group]] deploys to Christchurch, New Zealand during the operational season.

A documentary on the early missions was featured in the documentary film ''Ice Eagles: An Account of American Aviation in Antarctica'', which was released on DVD in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |author =Mary Stortstrom |title =Veteran recalls details of his mission to Antarctica |website =[[The Journal (West Virginia newspaper)|The Journal]] |date =March 15, 2015 |url =http://www.mynewsonthego.com/journal/reader/story.aspx?id=00a790a9-7a5e-46f8-b8be-65b7fce442a6 |access-date = March 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://seattle.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S30C3408012 |title=Ice eagles: American aviation in Antarctica |date=2018 |publisher=Graceful Willow Productions |editor-last=Henderson |editor-first=Thomas |location=United States |oclc=1050339770 |editor-last2=Romeo |editor-first2=John |editor-last3=Cring |editor-first3=Tracy Nichole |editor-last4=Doughty |editor-first4=Corey |editor-last5=Graceful Willow Productions}}</ref>
[[File:USCGC Polar Star (WAGB 10) holds ice liberty in McMurdo Sound during Operation Deep Freeze 250107-G-HT254-1202.jpg|thumb|USCGC Polar Star (WAGB 10) in McMurdo Sound for Operation Deep Freeze. January 7, 2025]]
Lockheed Martin is currently the prime contractor for the National Science Foundation's United States Antarctic Program.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/antarctic-support-contract.html|title=Antarctic Support Contract|work=lockheedmartin.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626083847/http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/antarctic-support-contract.html|archive-date=2014-06-26}}</ref> The contract award was announced via a NSF press release on 28 December 2011 after a bid solicitation process of almost four years. Support operations began on 1 April 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=122659&org=NSF&from=news|title=NSF Awards Logistical Support Contract for U.S. Antarctic Program - NSF - National Science Foundation|work=nsf.gov}}</ref> The original contract synopsis indicated that the government was contemplating a contract period of {{frac|11|1|2}} years.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&tab=core&id=05c0537d3ff81a11cd91e632275c990e&_cview=0 |title = Antarctic Support Contract - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunities}}</ref>

In 2021-2 Operation Deep Freeze brought in 100 personnel and nearly 50 thousand pounds of food by air to McMurdo station.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-20 |title=Operation Deep Freeze begins at McMurdo Station |url=https://www.pacaf.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2741182/operation-deep-freeze-begins-at-mcmurdo-station/ |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=Pacific Air Forces |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
*[[Ice pier]]
*[[List of Antarctic expeditions]]
*[[McMurdo Sound]]
*[[McMurdo Station]]
*[[Military activity in the Antarctic]]
*[[Mount Lisicky]]
*[[Ross Sea]]
*''[[The Antarctic Sun]]'', online newspaper of the U.S. Antarctic Program
*[[United States Antarctic Program]]
*[[Winter Quarters Bay]]
*[[McMurdo Station transportation]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Library resources box}}
*Belanger, Dian Olson. ''Deep Freeze: The United States, the International Geophysical Year, and the Origins of Antarctica's Age of Science''. Boulder, Colorado: University Press of Colorado, 2006. {{ISBN|0870818309}} {{OCLC|69594000}}
*Dufek, George J. ''Operation Deep Freeze''. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1957. {{OCLC|41818128}}
*Ellery D. Wallwork, Kathryn A. Wilcoxson. ''Operation Deep Freeze: 50 Years of US Air Force Airlift in Antarctica 1956–2006''. Scott Air Force Base: Office of History, Air Mobility Command, 2006. {{OCLC|156828085}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Gillespie|first1=Noel|title='Deep Freeze': US Navy Operations in Antarctica 1955–1999, Part One |journal=Air Enthusiast |date=November–December 1999|issue=84|pages=54–63 |issn=0143-5450}}
*United States. ''Antarctic Highlights: Operation Deep Freeze''. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 1969. {{OCLC|39250653}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mokekPCVdug Flight to the South Pole: Operation Deep Freeze USAF Film]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA-1F5NSjsU Operation Deep Freeze I – United States Navy Photographic Report – MN 8500 (1957)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070211025426/http://www.pacaf.af.mil/units/13thairforce/index.asp Thirteenth Air Force]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070702181144/http://www.pacaf.af.mil/units/13thairforce/operationdeepfreeze/index.asp Operation Deep Freeze web site at Pacific Air Forces]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930110124/http://www.odfpersco.net/downloads/odf%20deployment%20guide.pdf Operation Deep Freeze Deployment Guide]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030324115930/http://www.history.navy.mil/ac/exploration/deepfreeze/deepfreeze17.html history.navy.mil: Operation Deep Freeze I]
*[http://www.antarctic.homestead.com/hist.html Operation Deep Freeze, The New Zealand Story]
*[https://archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu/repositories/2/resources/2282 Operation Deep Freeze Color Transparencies] at Dartmouth College Library

{{Polar exploration|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deep Freeze, Operation}}
[[Category:Operation Deep Freeze| ]]
[[Category:1955 in the United States]]
[[Category:1955 in Antarctica]]
[[Category:1956 in Antarctica]]
[[Category:Antarctic expeditions]]
[[Category:United States and the Antarctic]]
[[Category:Expeditions from the United States]]
[[Category:History of the Ross Dependency]]