Flight of the Puckered Penguins

Biography of Commander James Edgar Waldron

Introduction

Photo Gallery

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Chapter 1 - The Adventure Begins

The author tells of his volunteering to winter-over in the Antarctic and his subsequent transfer to Air Development Squadron Six (VX-6), located at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island. After giving a brief description of this unusual squadron, with its mixed aircraft and differently trained pilots and air crewmen, he tells of his first flight in an R4D with skis and a near accident when the skis failed to retract.

Note: The early chapters are followed by a short item, called Antarctic Facts. These are encyclopedic drawn items which tell of the geological and historical facts concerning the Antarctic.

Chapter 2 - Shortened Training Necessary

Here the author is given the role of Air Development Squadron Six and its assignment as the aviation arm of Operation DeepFreeze. The author tells of his first takeoff using eighteen JATO rockets for boost. Next, the author and other Antarctic bound squadron pilots fly to Sondestrom, Greenland and test their aircraft by landing on the 10,000 feet high Greenland Ice Cap.

Chapter 3 - Leaving for the Ice

The author tells of a flight he made in a squadron helicopter and his subsequent grounding for one week for having "flat-hatted" over a nude sunbather. On September 11, 1956, The author and his flight crew departed Rhode Island on a journey which would take them all the way to the Antarctic Continent. He describes the takeoff from the Alameda Naval Air Station, in Oakland, California, when the aircraft was extremely overloaded and an engine failure could have been disastrous. Following this he describes the 16+ hours enroute to Hawaii.

Chapter 4 - Poised and Ready

While VX-6 squadron aircraft gathered at N.A.S. Barbers Point, Oahu, Hawaii awaiting orders before proceeding southward, flight crews enjoyed a bit of rest and relaxation in Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. The author takes time out to describe the squadron aircraft and their limitations.

Chapter 5 - South Pacific Crossing

Leaving Hawaii behind, Squadron VX-6 aircraft fly singularly, first to Canton Island and then on to the Fiji Island, where the flight crews wait for further orders to proceed to New Zealand. The author describes his short stay in the Fiji Islands and the flight to New Zealand which followed. The South Island of New Zealand was experiencing their early spring and the flight crews suffer from the sudden change in temperature, between Hawaii and New Zealand. A parachute training flight by the squadron R5D almost proves disastrous in that one of the parachutes hung up on the tail of the aircraft and it was thirty minutes before the jumper could free himself.

Chapter 6 - Off To the Ice

The author describes his long flight (16+ hours) from Christchurch, N.Z. to NAF McMurdo Sound. In taking off from New Zealand in a heavily loaded aircraft, the JATO rockets set the tail wheel of his aircraft on fire and observers on the ground thought the aircraft would soon be consumed. After the tail wheel burned itself out the aircraft flew over thousands of miles of treacherous seas. One aircraft lost its electronic compass and a second aircraft had to alter its course so as to steer the disabled aircraft southward. Upon arrival at NAF McMurdo there was a partial whiteout condition and several extra landing approaches had to be made to the runway. One of the squadron's P2V aircraft crashed on the ice, killing four of its crew and seriously injuring four others.

Chapter 7 - Life at McMurdo

The author tells that even in the Antarctic he is still required to work as an Administrative Officer. Besides handling the routine paperwork he also had to help identify the deceased airmen and inventory their personal effects. He ends the chapter with a description of NAF McMurdo and its environs.

Chapter 8 - The Pole is our Goal

The first Antarctic flights is to Little America Five Station, 400+ miles to the east, to deliver mail, cargo and personnel to the remote station. Little America, built on ice, is described as being far different than NAF McMurdo, which was built on a volcanic island.

Before attempting a landing at the South Pole, squadron aircraft were required to establish a weather and refueling station, Beardmore Camp, halfway to the Pole on the Ross Sea Ice Shelf. The author describes the beauty of the mountains and the ice as his aircraft proceeds inland from NAF McMurdo.

Chapter 10 - All is not work

The author indicates that there is a competitive feeling between Navy and Air Force pilots, due to their different missions and the approaches to carrying out these missions. This chapter contains two ditties which VX-6 pilots sang during their off-hours in which they needle the Air Force and lament their lame R4Ds.