Loew's, Inc., Collection. 1939 - 1948. Motion Picture Films. 1939 - 1948. THE SECRET LAND

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Loew's, Inc., Collection. 1939 - 1948. Motion Picture Films. 1939 - 1948. THE SECRET LAND

1948

https://catalog.archives.gov/id/95668

Reel 1, Sec. Forrestal explains the purposes of the Navy's Antarctic Expedition; Adms. Nimitz, Byrd. and Cruze consult maps; Adm. Byrd boards the command ship Mt. Olympus at Norfolk and examines Huskies; sailors learn to care for and harness Huskies; Mt. Olympus and icebreaker Northwind leave Norfolk. Maps show routes of the ships proceeding to Antarctica from Norfolk and San Diego. At the equator King Neptune ceremonies initiate polliwogs on the Mt. Olympus. A fleet tanker refuels the Mt. Olympus, the submarine Sennett and other ships weather heavy seas, a PBM falls into the sea from its seaplane tender, and six DC-3's or R4D's taxi to and are lifted aboard the aircraft carrier Phillipine Sea. At Christmas Mt. Olympus sailors attend religious services, the cooks and bakers prepare dinner, and Santa Claus distributes gifts. The expedition's Central Group ships rendezvous at Scott Island, but heavy seas prevent a landing. Adm. Cruzen transfers to the Northwind. The ships sight a Norwegian whaler, pass through ice fields and observe seals, birds, and Adelie, Emperor, and Rock Hopper penguins. Helicopters find a route through an ice field, locate Brit. Capt. Scott's old base camp, and crash near a ship. The Northwind frees the ice-damaged Sennett and tows the submarine from the area. Western Group personnel capture seals. The Northwind frees icedamaged Sennett and tows the submarine from the area. Western Group personnel capture seals. The Northwind frees ice-entrapped supply ships Merrick and Yancey. Adm. Byrd flies with two DC -3's from the Philippine Sea to Little America and the other DC-3's follow as a blizzard approaches. Weasel tractors, supplies, and Huskies are unloaded from ships. Explosives and bulldozers hew a road to the base camp, where Quonset huts, tents, and storehouses are erected; snow is melted for water; and men eat, feed Huskies, hold a religious service, and are buffeted bythe storm. Reel 2, men clear snow from tents, thaw out airplane engines, raise the U.S. flag, remove the wheels from the ski-equipped DC-3's, and build food cairns; Adm. Byrd inspects snow-buried Little America camps 1 and 2; frogmen test cold water survival suits; and DC -3's fuel and take off. Motorboat rescues the Eastern Group's Capt. Dufek who falls while transferring from the seaplane tender Pine Island to a destroyer. A PBM from the seaplane tender Currituck sights a large green, wooded, fresh-water-laked oasis. Central Group supply ships leave Little America as winter ice closes in. Adm. Byrd with four DC-3's extensively photographs the oasis. Adm. Byrd's plane develops engine trouble, but is lightened and returns to Little America. A missing Eastern Group PBM is located by a PBM which guides the survivors to the water's edge from where the PBM returns them to food, rest, and the sick bay aboard the Pine Island. Adm. Byrd and his men secure the DC-3's, mark the location of the supply dumps, and leave Little America aboard the Northwind.

eng, Latn

National Archives at College Park

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 6514073

National Archives at College Park

Related Entities

There are 5 Entities related to this resource.

Forrestal, James, 1892-1949

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w67t8d1q (person)

James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. Forrestal came from a very strict middle class Irish Catholic family. He was a successful financier on Wall Street before becoming Undersecretary of the Navy in 1940, shortly before the United States entered the Second World War. He became Secretary of the Navy in May 1944 upon the death of his superior, Frank Knox. Preside...

Nimitz, Chester W. (Chester William), 1885-1966

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6s866k3 (person)

Chester William Nimitz, Sr. (/ˈnɪmɪts/; February 24, 1885 – February 20, 1966) was a fleet admiral of the United States Navy. He played a major role in the naval history of World War II as Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas, commanding Allied air, land, and sea forces during World War II. Nimitz was the leading US Navy authority on submarines. Qualified in submarines during his early years, he later oversaw the conversion of these vessels' propu...

Byrd, Richard Evelyn Jr., 1888-1957

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6bw85m2 (person)

Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader crossed the Atlantic Ocean, a segment of the Arctic Ocean, and a segment of the Antarctic Plateau. Byrd claimed that his ex...

Dufek, George J. (George John), 1903-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w63r51xr (person)

George John Dufek (1903- ) was an American naval officer and arctic expert. Born in Rockford, Illinois, he joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) at his local high school and was appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1921. Upon graduation in 1925 he received his ensign's commission and commenced his career aboard the battleship USS Maryland . In 1932 he entered flight training school at the U.S. Navy air station in Pensacola, Florida; after graduati...

Cruzen, Richard H. (Richard Harold), 1897-1970

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dm1hgm (person)

Richard Harold Cruzen (Apr. 28, 1987-Apr. 15, 1970), retired U.S. Navy admiral, was second in command to Admiral Richard E. Byrd during Antarctic expeditions from 1939 to 1941 and from 1946 to 1947. From the description of Cruzen, Richard H. (Richard Harold), 1897-1970 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10615270 ...