On Top Of The World
Have you had the sensation of being on top of the world ? Do you have it now ? I ask these questions to introduce being physically on top of the world.
At Fairchild AFB I volunteered for the Far East. We had a sister Bomber Squadron in northern Japan and I would likely go there. But it never came about. Instead orders came one day for my tech position, and I had been on Fairchild the longest of anyone on base in that tech. The problem was that the orders gave only a number for the assignment, and no one volunteered. So it was assigned to me.
A week furlough was given me, then it was off to Camp Kilmer, NJ. There I processed through, and then it was on to Springfield, Mass, for a MATS flight overseas. I still did not know where I was going.
But by the time I arrived at Springfield I had come down with the flu and was hospitalized. About three days later I was in better condition when a nurse offered to take me and show me the town. I should have guessed then that where I was headed was not considered good.
On Monday morning we boarded a double decker and sailed down the runway only to come to a screeching halt. The pilot taxied back and the mechanics worked on the plane the remainder of the day. But the next morning was the same event; down the runway and back. And again on Wednesday. On Thursday morning we left the ground and was on our way. Then I learned where I was going, and why the crew was so careful about the plane. It was in early February, and the Arctic at any time is no place to go down, but especially during the winter dark season.
The destination was Thule AB in northwest Greenland, about 900 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and north of Alaska. From 1951 through 1953 Thule was a closely guarded secret. As I later learned, during alerts, the Russians knew for they flew over, and over north America. We had on base one jet fighter who would go up and fly alongside the Russian Bear as far as he could.
When we came over Thule all I could see was the starlight reflection from metal buildings, and a runway covered with ice. On successful landing we taxied up to the terminal, which looked like a large house trailer. On stepping out of the plane there was the sign on the terminal; On Top Of The World. If you looked at globe map like your teacher had on her desk you would see that Thule was on top of the world about a third of the day according to the rotation of that globe.
I noticed that the plane kept the engines running. Later I learned that if the Pilot had not done the engines would have froze. And I also learned that all vehicles not in a heated building were kept running.
Today, July 18, I checked the temperature for 1-PM at Thule and it was 39F, the middle of “summer.”
I was there in 1953. If you want to read more about Thule then type Thule AB in Google and read the independent sites. But you will not find anything or very little for 1951 through 1953.
Straight line winds have been officially clocked up to 201 MPH. That kind of wind will tumble a 6-by truck. So when the winds reached 75 MPH we headed for the nearest building, if we were outside and we stayed there until the wind storm was over, lasting as much as three days. Each building was supplied with food, C and K rations, and cots for the number it could hold.
If the storm was a snow storm the snow on the ground was likely measured in feet after it was over. The barracks I was in had an outside door that looked like the door on a walk-in refrigerator opening inward into a foyer. Snow shovels were there so we could shovel a tunnel to the surface. In the center of the foyer, sloping down to it was a drain for the snow to melt and drain out.
We were isolated from the rest of the world. We could not call anywhere, but occasionally we could set a base phone on top of a radio and get Moscow Molly and listen to her ridiculous tirades. Mail could be late or dumped.
Imagine winter time with the temperature about 50 below Zero and high winds. Nearly instant death could be the result if one was not careful.
I did walk on water, hard water, ice in the frozen bay.
It is a winter wonderland. And I learned that boiling coffee in cup will have ice in it in 15-seconds if carried outside in the winter. Toss a soda pop out the door, follow it fast and bring it inside and it would be filled with ice. And anti-freeze does not work there in the winter thus the need keep vehicles running outside. I heard that tire chains would break up in winter.
I learned some things first hand!
How the Ice Cap got there is for me debatable with even the most knowledgeable Ice Age contender. Nor do I see global warming as a panic situation.
When I was there the tour was one year maximum. Today it is more, and with many more comforts.
If you would like to go up there contact one of the Danish Tours, a boat tour. Greenland is a Danish possession.
www.geocities.com/mobleria/me.html list more information about the author, and provide resources that a publisher would be interested in, and some of the expertise that supports viewing his articles and these materials. Paul is interested in writing from article size to books and invites anyone interested to contact him.
Tags: Artic, Greenland, Ice Cap, weather