View source for Williams Field

{{short description|Airstrip in Antarctica}}
{{about|the airfield in Antarctica|the former United States Air Force base|Williams Air Force Base}}
{{Infobox airport
| name                = Williams Field
| image               = File:2018Nov9-LC-130-Williams-Airfield-1-HR.jpg
| image-width         = 300
| IATA                = QAW
| ICAO                = NZWD
| pushpin_map         = Antarctica
| pushpin_mapsize     = 270
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of airfield in Antarctica
| pushpin_label       = NZWD
| pushpin_label_position = right
| type                = Public
| owner               = 
| operator            = 
| city-served         = 
| location            = [[McMurdo Station]], [[Antarctica]]
| elevation-f         = 68
| elevation-m         = 21
| coordinates         = {{coord|77|52|03|S|167|03|24|E|type:airport_region:AQ|display=title, inline}}
| pushpin_relief      = yes
| website             = 
| r1-number           = 07/25
| r1-length-f         = 10,000
| r1-length-m         = 3,048
| r1-surface          = [[Snow]]
| r2-number           = 15/33
| r2-length-f         = 10,000
| r2-length-m         = 3,048
| r2-surface          = [[Snow]]
| footnotes           = Source: [[DAFIF]]<ref name=WAD>{{cite web|url-status=usurped|url=http://worldaerodata.com/wad.cgi?airport=NZWD|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926122718/http://worldaerodata.com/wad.cgi?id=AY06435&sch=NZWD|archive-date=2012-09-26|title=Airport information for NZWD|website=World Aero Data}} Data current as of October 2006. Source: [[DAFIF]].</ref><ref name=GCM>{{GCM|NZWD|source=[[DAFIF]]}}</ref>
}}

'''Williams Field''' or '''Willy Field''' {{Airport codes||NZWD}} is a [[United States Antarctic Program]] airfield in [[Antarctica]]. Williams Field consists of two snow runways located on approximately 8 meters (25&nbsp;ft) of compacted snow, lying on top of 8–10&nbsp;ft of ice,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Minneci|first1=Beth|date=17 December 2000|title=There's potential at Pegasus|url=https://antarcticsun.usap.gov/pastIssues/2000-2001/2000_12_17.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222162728/https://antarcticsun.usap.gov/pastIssues/2000-2001/2000_12_17.pdf|archive-date=22 December 2017|access-date=7 November 2016|website=AntarcticSun.USAP.gov}}</ref> floating over 550 meters (1,800&nbsp;ft) of water.<ref>[http://photolibrary.usap.gov/index2.htm Antarctic Photo Library] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070222060508/http://photolibrary.usap.gov/index2.htm | title= U.S. Antarctic Program | publisher =National Science Foundation  |date=2007-02-22 }}</ref> The airport, which is approximately seven miles from [[Ross Island]], serves [[McMurdo Station]] and [[New Zealand]]'s [[Scott Base]].  Williams Field is the major airfield for on-continent aircraft operations in Antarctica.

Williams Field is named in honor of [[Richard T. Williams]], a [[United States Navy]] equipment operator who drowned when his [[Caterpillar D8|D-8]] tractor broke through the ice on January 6, 1956. Williams and other personnel were participants in the first [[Operation Deep Freeze]], a [[U.S. military]] mission to build a permanent science research station at McMurdo Station in anticipation of the [[International Geophysical Year]] 1957–58.

== Operation ==
[[Image:Williamsfieldpatch2.jpg|thumb|left|100px]]
[[Image:Cat Challengers at Williams Field Antarctica.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Caterpillar Challenger machines perform constant runway grooming]]
[[File:A ski-equipped Hercules aircraft taxis along a compacted snow ice runway at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, Feb. 4, 2023.jpg|thumb|Ski-equipped Hercules taxis on snow runway, 2023]]
The skiway is typically in operation from November through the end of February. The other McMurdo Station airfield is nearby  [[Phoenix Airfield]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite report|url=https://www.usap.gov/logistics/documents/FY16_Air-Operation-Manual.pdf|title=US Antarctic Program Interagency Air Operations Manual|date=16 September 2016|publisher=National Science Foundation|access-date=6 November 2021}}</ref>

The Williams Field snow runway is known locally as "Willy's Field".<ref name=LP>{{cite book |title=Lonely Planet Antarctica |publisher=Lonely Planet |year=2017 |page=}}</ref> The airfield is a groomed snow surface that can support ski-equipped aircraft landings only.<ref name=":0" /> A cluster of facilities for flight operations, referred to as "Willy Town", includes several rows of containers for workers and a galley.  Willy Field Tavern, a bar at the airfield, closed in 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vaq34.com/vxe6/vxemcmurdo.htm |title=McMurdo Nightlife |access-date=10 November 2021}}</ref>

Air Traffic Control services are provided by Williams Tower / Approach (Willie Tower), and by McMurdo Center (Mac Center) when the tower is closed.<ref name=":0" />  The McMurdo Weather Office provides weather forecasting for Williams Field while onsite Controllers and Weather Observers provide hourly and special weather observations.<ref name=":0" />

Aviation fuel at Williams Field is pumped in a 16&nbsp;km (10&nbsp;mi) flexible pipe from McMurdo Station. Fuel is stored in up to 12 tanks. The fuel tanks, like other structures at the airfield, are mounted on skis or runners for portability.<ref>{{Cite conference|last1=Gundlach|first1=Erich R.|last2=Gallagher|first2=John J.|last3=Hatcher|first3=John|last4=Vinson|first4=Tom|date=2001|title=Planning and Hazards of Spill Response in Antarctica  |conference=2001 International Oil Spill Conference - Risk Management|pages=241–248 |doi=10.7901/2169-3358-2001-1-241|doi-access=free}}</ref> Generator and heating fuel is delivered to the station by fuel trucks from [[McMurdo Station]], with fuels stored at the individual structures.

The extraordinary conditions encountered at Williams Field include the fact that the airfield is in a continuous slow slide towards the sea. Seaward movement of the floating [[McMurdo Ice Shelf]] upon which the airfield is constructed has forced Williams Field to be relocated three times since its original construction. Workers last moved the airfield during the 1984–85 season.<ref>[https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/stis1993/opp94005/opp94005.txt ''Berthing at McMurdo for Williams Field''], Office of Polar Programs; [[National Science Foundation]]. August 19, 1993.</ref> Subsequently, personnel housed at Williams lived in buildings constructed on sleds to facilitate relocation. In the past, up to 450 people were housed at the airfield, according to the National Science Foundation.  In 1994 the National Science Foundation constructed two dorm buildings at McMurdo Station. Transport to Williams Field uses various vehicles including Foremost Delta II and Ford E-350 vans.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Resupply at McMurdo Station, Antarctica |author=Stephen F. Nowak |magazine=Navy Supply Corps Newsletter |volume=52 |issue=2 |page=2 |year=1989}}</ref>

==Current aircraft in use==
*[[Lockheed LC-130]] – [[New York Air National Guard]]
*[[Basler BT-67]] – [[Kenn Borek Air]]
*[[de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter]] – [[Kenn Borek Air]]

==Historical notes==
[[Image:Williams_Field_Antarctica.jpg|thumb|760px|center|Williams Field support structures as seen from the cargo line]] 
*1957: Pan American [[Boeing 377 Stratocruiser]] makes round trip from Christchurch to McMurdo Sound. First civilian flight to Antarctica.
*1960: U.S. Navy WV-2 BuNo 126513 crashes after landing short of the ice runway.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conniesurvivors.com/1-1960_mcmurdo_article.htm |title=Navy WV-2 Super Connie Crash at McMurdo Sound in 1960 |date=2005 |access-date=10 November 2021}}</ref>
*1960: First ski-equipped [[C-130 Hercules]] cargo aircraft lands in Antarctica.
*1960: Sunspots knock out radio communications for eight days, forcing cancellation of all flights between New Zealand and McMurdo.
*1966: First all-jet aircraft (USAF-C-141) lands at Williams.
*1967: Earliest scheduled winter fly-in.
*1970: U.S. Navy "Pegasus" C-121J crash lands. Aircraft is destroyed but no fatalities among the 80 persons aboard. [[Pegasus Field]] is named after this aircraft.
*1979: [[Air New Zealand Flight 901]] crashes on nearby [[Mount Erebus]]. 257 people died.

== Accidents and incidents ==

* 28 November 1956: a [[Douglas C-124 Globemaster II|Douglas C-124C Globemaster II]] (52-1015) of the [[United States Air Force|USAF]] was damaged beyond repair when the nose gear failed on landing. All 17 occupants survived; the plane's parts were used to fix two other Globemasters damaged in accidents at McMurdo earlier that year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident Douglas C-124C Globemaster II 52-1015 McMurdo Station-Williams Field |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19561128-0 |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
* 13 September 1957: a [[Douglas DC-3|Douglas R4D-6L (DC-3)]] (17274) of the US Navy crashed on takeoff due to water freezing in the fuel lines. There were no fatalities; the plane was written off.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident Douglas R4D-6L (DC-3) 17274 McMurdo Station-Williams Field |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19570913-0 |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>
* 15 February 1971: a [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|Lockheed LC-130F Hercules]] (148318) of the US Navy crashed on takeoff in poor visibility when the left main ski hit a 5.5 foot snow bank and the right wing hit the ground and broke between engines; the aircraft was destroyed by fire. There were no fatalities. The plane was taking part in [[Operation Deep Freeze]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed LC-130F Hercules 148318 McMurdo-Williams Field |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19710215-0 |access-date=2023-08-09 |website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Blue ice runway]]
*[[Marble Point]]
*[[McMurdo Sound]]
*[[McMurdo Station]]
*[[Pegasus Field]]
*[[Ice Runway]]
* [[List of airports in Antarctica]]

==Notes==
<references/>

==References==
*Change of Command pamphlet. U.S. Naval Support Force Antarctica; June 10, 1991.
*Clarke, Peter; ''On the Ice''. Rand McNally & Company, 1966.
*United States Antarctic Research Program Calendars: 1983, 1985.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070111114543/http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/military/story/6242281p-5450215c.html '' Where danger and wonder collide''], The NewsTribune.com. Tacoma, Wash.; November 20, 2006.

== External links ==
{{commons category|Williams Field (Antarctica)}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091025104929/http://geocities.com/coolrunnernz/Transport/AIRCRAFT/Airplanes.htm Aircraft of Antarctica]
*[http://www.irmahale.com/1999j.html ''Moving the Airport,''] December 21, 1999.
*[http://stratocat.com.ar/bases/41.htm List of stratospheric balloon launches ] under NASA's Long Duration Balloon program
*{{NWS-current|NZWD}}

{{Portal bar|Aviation|Transport|Geography}}
{{Antarctic research stations}}
{{Airports in Antarctica}}
{{Antarctica}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Airports in the Ross Dependency]]
[[Category:McMurdo Station]]
[[Category:Coastal construction]]
[[Category:Airports in Antarctica]]