Byrd returned to Boston from his first expedition during 1930, the first year of the Depression, with a determination to return to the Antarctic. Despite the fact that in 1933 he had little money of his own and only a few financial supporters, Byrd and his assistants tenaciously sought out and acquired all supplies and equipment needed to take on a second Antarctic expedition in the fall of that year.
One very special piece of equipment secured by Adm. Byrd was a Kellett K-3 Autogyro. Apparently only six K-3 Autogyros were built and with its new engine, the K-3 could takeoff in just 165 feet and with a skilled pilot aboard, could land in between five to 35 feet.
And the most famous K-3 Autogyro was NR12615 which was purchased by the Pep Boys (Manny, Moe, and Jack) automotive chain in Philadelphia and named Pep Boys Snowman.
During the summer of 1933, a 19-year-old merchant seaman from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Charles Virgil Dickens, was also docked in Boston. The teenager loved adventure, second only to story-telling; therefore, he found it difficult to decide against applying for a post on Byrd's ship when he found that the crew must agree not to talk about the secret aircraft on board ship. In his later correspondence, the seaman referred to the aircraft as the first helicopter. (it was the autogyro)
The Pep Boys then loaned this aircraft to Admiral Byrd for his second Antarctic Expedition of 1933-1934…and it became the first rotary-wing machine to operate from the South Pole.
Once in Antarctica, the craft was used for short-range reconnaissance and was usually flown by W.S. McCormick but was also piloted by Byrd. The craft performed numerous useful flights but crashed on 28 September 1934 and was destroyed. The remains were left on site and are still there - covered in ice and snow.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/5934695886/in/photostream/
Once in Antarctica, the craft was used for short-range reconnaissance and was usually flown by W.S. McCormick but was also piloted by Byrd. The craft performed numerous useful flights but crashed on 28 September 1934 and was destroyed. The remains were left on site and are still there - covered in ice and snow.
Later versions of the Kellett autogiro proved more successful, and the Army Air Corps purchased a small number of Kellett YG-1s, the first practical rotorcraft procured by the Army Air Corps, at the end of the 1930s.
you can see a LOT of photos at the Boston Library Flikr page https://www.flickr.com/photos/boston_public_library/with/5934696682/
and there are 270 photos by Leslie Jones of the Adm Byrd expedition https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/search?f%5Brelated_item_host_ssim%5D%5B%5D=Leslie+Jones+Collection&f%5Brelated_item_series_ssi%5D%5B%5D=Aviation%3A+Byrd+%5BAdmiral+Richard+E.%5D and they include the Antarctic Snow Cruiser built by Pullman for the exploration of the polar ice
the Antarctic expedition is thoroughly written up at https://www.south-pole.com/p0000108.htm and https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/159595164.pdf and https://www.jstor.org/stable/4250003
This is getting a fresh post because I just got a comment on my 2012 post about the Pep Boys Autogyro https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-pep-boys-snowman-autogyro.html Thank you Colby!
No comments:
Post a Comment