Operation Windmill (OpWml) was the United States Navy's Second Antarctica Developments Project, an exploration and training mission to
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
in 1947–1948. This operation was a follow-up to the First Antarctica Development Project known as
Operation Highjump
Operation HIGHJUMP, officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946–1947, (also called Task Force 68), was a United States Navy (USN) operation to establish the Antarctic research base Little America (exploration b ...
(1946–1947). The expedition was commanded by Commander
Gerald L. Ketchum, USN, and the flagship of Task Force 39 was the icebreaker
USS ''Burton Island''.
Missions during Operation Windmill varied including supply activities, helicopter reconnaissance of ice flows, scientific surveys, underwater demolition surveys, and convoy exercises.
Malcolm Davis collected live animals, such as penguins and leopard seals, for zoological studies.
The icebreaker sailed on 1 November 1947 for the Panama Canal to rendezvous with the ''Burton Island'' for the expedition.
[U.S. NAVY SECOND ANTARCTICA DEVELOPMENTS PROJECT, OPERATION WINDMILL, 1947–1948. http://www.south-pole.com/windmill.htm]
See also
*
List of Antarctic expeditions
This list of Antarctica expeditions is a chronological list of expeditions involving Antarctica. Although the existence of a southern continent had been hypothesized as early as the writings of Ptolemy in the 1st century AD, the South Pole was ...
*
Military activity in the Antarctic
As Antarctica has never been permanently settled by humans, there has historically been little military activity in the Antarctic. The Antarctic Treaty System, Antarctic Treaty, which came into effect on June 23, 1961, bans military activity from ...
References
External links
Operation Windmill
History of Antarctica
Oceanography
Military in Antarctica
1947 in Antarctica
1948 in Antarctica
United States and the Antarctic
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