Operation Nanook
Encyclopedia
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
expedition undertaken by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
in 1946. It consisted of , , USCGC Northwind (WAG-282)
USCGC Northwind (WAG-282)
USCGC Northwind , Grand Old Lady of the North, was a Wind-class icebreaker, the second United States Coast Guard Cutter of her class to bear the name. She was built by Western Pipe & Steel in San Pedro, California and launched on 25 February 1945, sponsored by Mrs...
, , , and .
The mission is mostly documented as cartographic
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
in nature.
From 22 July to 05 August 1946, all activities in Operation Nanook centered around Thule
Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq is the main town in the northern part of the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the West Greenlandic language and many also speak Inuktun. The town has a population of 626 as of 2010...
; Norton Sound remained at anchor there, in North Star Bay
North Star Bay
North Star Bay is a bay in Wolstenholme Fjord, Greenland.The bay was the site of a Cold War nuclear accident when a B-52 bomber carrying four thermonuclear bombs crashed, spreading contaminated material over the area. Thule Air Base is located at the edge of the bay....
, servicing her two PBM's. Meanwhile, Whitewood and Atule operated from North Star Bay as they conducted exercises and tests in the Smith Sound
Smith Sound
Smith Sound is an uninhabited Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Baffin Bay with Kane Basin and forms part of the Nares Strait....
-Kane Basin
Kane Basin
Kane Basin is an Arctic waterway lying between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Smith Sound to Kennedy Channel and forms part of Nares Strait. It is approximately 180 kilometres in length and 130 km at its widest....
area. On 05 August 1946, Norton Sound and Whitewood headed for Dundas Harbour, Nunavut
Dundas Harbour, Nunavut
Dundas Harbour is an abandoned settlement in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It is located on Devon Island at the eastern shore of the waterway also named Dundas Harbour...
and Devon Island
Devon Island
Devon Island , claimed to be the largest uninhabited island on Earth, is located in Baffin Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the larger members of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the second-largest of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, Canada's sixth largest island, and the 27th...
, in order to attempt air and surface operations there. Unfortunately, the ships found the harbor iced over, with a belt of pack ice extending out three miles down the coast. The Northwind broke ice in support of Operation Nanook.
The mission
The mission was to erect a radio and weather station in ThuleThule
Thule Greek: Θούλη, Thoulē), also spelled Thula, Thila, or Thyïlea, is, in classical European literature and maps, a region in the far north. Though often considered to be an island in antiquity, modern interpretations of what was meant by Thule often identify it as Norway. Other interpretations...
. It was built from wooden barracks on the Pittufik, a Greenlandish
Kalaallisut language
Greenlandic is an Eskimo–Aleut language spoken by about 57,000 people in Greenland. It is closely related to the Inuit languages in Canada, such as Inuktitut...
word for "the place where we tie the dogs", in a large glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
valley
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
about two miles from the trade station North Star Bay
North Star Bay
North Star Bay is a bay in Wolstenholme Fjord, Greenland.The bay was the site of a Cold War nuclear accident when a B-52 bomber carrying four thermonuclear bombs crashed, spreading contaminated material over the area. Thule Air Base is located at the edge of the bay....
, which the Polar explorer Knud Rasmussen built.
The station was to be operated as joint Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
/American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
operation, under the Danish colours and Danish supervision by a crew of twenty men, ten from each nation.
Regular weather observations were maintained as Synopsies, Pibal and Radiosonde.
The station was kept in operation until 1951 when Thule Air Base
Thule Air Base
Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport , is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located north of the Arctic Circle and from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland. It is approximately east of the North Magnetic Pole.-Overview:Thule Air Base is the...
was built in the valley; the weather station was then moved to the Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
ish settlement at North Star Bay, and renamed "Dundas", until the population was moved to Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq is the main town in the northern part of the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the West Greenlandic language and many also speak Inuktun. The town has a population of 626 as of 2010...
further north in 1953.
See also
- "Operation Nanook 52." Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association The Bulletin (Nov 1952), pp. 174-177.