During the years 1925-1941 a number of aerial surveys were conducted by the United States Government; Department of the Interior, Geological Survey Division; and the Department of the Navy, Hydrographic Office, during which time the U.S. Navy, Bureau of Aeronautics, Washington, D.C. furnished the photographic airplanes, aerial cameras, pilots, aerial photographers and other personnel and ships for the successful completion of the assigned missions.

Various Naval and Marine Corps Units over the years were especially organized and equipped for the photographic aerial surveys.

The airplane pilots and aerial photographers were officers and enlisted men who were not only well qualified for their duty assignments, they all had a sincere interest in the application and utilization of aerial photography.

The photographic problems encountered during the aerial surveys were many and varied, most of which was recorded by the Naval aerial photographers during surveys from the Tropics to the Antarctic regions. A great number of the problems encountered, and solutions for correction, became valuable information which was of great aid in 1942-1943-1944 to the U.S. Naval Officers and enlisted men in the planning for organization and operations of the U.S. Naval and U.S. Marine Corps aerial photographic reconnaissance coverage of the enemy areas during World War II.

COLORADO OIL SHALE RESERVES AERIAL SURVEY 1925

In 1925 a three plane expedition headed by Lieutenant Ben H. Wyatt, U.S.N. was flown from N.A.S. San Diego, California, to Craig, Rifle, Colorado for the purpose of obtaining aerial overlapping vertical photographs of the Western Slope in the State of Colorado which was then known as the Colorado Oil Shale Reserves.

The airplanes used for this photographic aerial survey were DeHavilands DH-4B landplanes which had a rear cockpit modification for the installation of a Fairchild K-1, single lens aerial mapping camera in a Gimbal mount, and a view finder along side of the camera mount.

The Naval aerial photographers assigned to the Colorado oil shale reserve aerial survey were: Chief Photographer Patrick McDonough, U.S.N., and Arthur St. Jaques Photographer 1/C, U.S.N. The pilots of the two DH-4B airplanes were Lieutenant Ben H. Wyatt, U.S.N. and Chief Aviation Pilot T. W. Williams, U.S.N. The photo planes operated from an improvised landing take-off strip on a farmer's field near Rifle, Colorado, which had an elevation of about 1000 feet above sea level. The oil shale area being photographed had a terrain elevation ranging from 4500 to 8000 feet, with a few mountains in the area up to around 9000.

The Fairchild K-l aerial camera used for the vertical overlapping aerial photographs had a 12 inch focal length lens, the camera was operated by the photographer in the crowded rear cockpit by hand cranking to advance the film in the magazine after each exposure, which at the same time reset the between-the-lens shutter for the next exposure.

The photographer would observe the positive image travel in his viewfinder which he timed by a stop watch in order to determine the interval between exposures for the 60% overlap of the aerial photographs. The view finder was also used to determine "crab" line of flight position of the airplane due to cross wind conditions.

Due to the camera and fuel load in the DH-4B airplane they found that 12,000 feet above sea level was about as high as they could get the plane which, when over the higher terrain areas, the photographer had to operate the exposure trigger and quickly hand crank for the film advance, reset the shutter, and then he would immediately make the next exposure, an operation that required 8 to 10 seconds to complete the cycle. At the same time he was trying to observe image travel in the view finder, and just before each exposure check his camera for level and orientation to the line of flight over the varying terrain elevations of the mountainous area in the Rifle-Craig, Colorado area.

The major Problem encountered during the aerial survey in Colorado was the turbulent up and down drafts, air conditions in the afternoon, which caused the photo plane to rise and fall with the air currents as much as 200 to 400 feet between photographs, which meant that vertical overlapping photographs made with a change in altitude of 200 to 400 feet could not be used for the intended mosaic map. Therefore, weather conditions permitting, most of their photo flights in Colorado were made between 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

The aerial photographers upon completion of their photographing an assigned area would ship the exposed film to N.A.S. San Diego, California where the film was processed, prints made for checking picture to picture overlap, flight line strip overlap, and image displacement of the higher mountainous terrain. The photo lab crew at N.A.S. San Diego would within 2 or 3 days after receiving the film from Colorado advise the Colorado survey unit as to the results of the aerial photographic coverage.

The Colorado aerial survey unit spent about 3 months in Colorado mapping an area of about 400 square miles.

Naval aerial photographers McDonough and St. Jaques along with Lieutenant Wyatt wrote a short report regarding aerial photography and flying problems encountered during the Colorado aerial survey which provided useful information to Naval aircraft pilots and photographers that were assigned duty with later aerial photographic survey operations in Alaska.

LAKE OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA AERIAL SURVEY 1925

In 1925 the Coast and Geodetic Survey requested the services of the Naval Photography Division, N.A.S., Pensacola, Florida, for the purpose of aerial vertical overlapping mapping photographs of the shore line of Lake Okeechobee, Florida, to assist the Geodetic Survey by which they could expand their triangulation system in from the East Coast of Florida to include the Lake Okeechobee area.

Lieutenants Harry Carlson, U.S.N., Dick Whitehead, U.S.N., were assigned as the airplane pilots for the aerial survey, with Lieutenant L. A. Pope, U.S.N. as the aerial photographer. The airplane used for the survey was an R6L twin float torpedo plane that had been modified to carry a Fairchild K-l single lens mapping camera in the rear cockpit.

In April, 1925. Lieutenants Carlson, Whitehead and Pope, with two R6L twin float seaplanes and a small group of enlisted aircraft maintenance men, set up their camp on the shores of Lake Okeechobee in preparation for flying the lake's shore line to obtain the required aerial vertical overlapping photographs for the Geodetic Survey.

The aerial survey of the lake's shore line was started about one month past the clear weather season in the Lake Okeechobee area. So, each morning Lieutenant Pope and a pilot, either Carlson or Whitehead, around 5:00 a.m. would take off in the R6L photo plane in order to be at their assigned 6000 feet mapping altitude about one hour after sunrise in an effort to fly a photo strip before the clouds formed over the lake area, which seemed to occur each day about one hour after sunrise. If clouds had formed over the lake area within one hour after sunrise, the pilot and photographer were through for the day because there was no photographic possibility when clouds formed over the lake. Lieutenants Carlson, Whitehead and Pope, during the photo strip flights, learned to use a free balloon pilot's statascope to maintain a mean altitude because it was more sensitive and accurate than any altimeter available in 1925. Upon completion of a flight strip, the posed roll of aerial film was shipped to N.A.S. Pensacola, where Chief Photographer Goodnight developed the film, made prints and checked for picture to picture and flight line strip overlap required for the map that was to be finally produced by the Coast and Geodetic Survey. Chief Goodnight would report the photographic coverage results to Lieutenant Pope by telegraph.

The Lake Okeechobee aerial photographic survey, with an R6L airplane and a Fairchild aerial camera under good weather conditions was about a 3 hour flying job, but due to clouds forming over the lake area almost every day, the project required 6 weeks for completion of the aerial photographic coverage, when Lieutenants Carlson, Whitehead and Pope received a telegram informing them that the aerial photographic coverage of the Lake Okeechobee area was satisfactory to the Coast and Geodetic Survey. This was really good news to the aerial survey group at the lake because Lake Okeechobee at that time was really a place to avoid. The place was infested with alligators, poisonous snakes, mosquitoes, sand fleas, and millions of swamp bugs. Lieutenant Pope later stated that Lake Okeechobee had only one compensating factor - the bass fishing in that area was fabulous.

VENEZUELA AERIAL SURVEY 1926

In 1926 Lieutenant L. A. Pope U.S.N. was detached from N.A.S. Pensacola, Florida and ordered to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as Senior Aviator Pilot of the aerial photographic survey unit which was to Proceed to Venezuela on board the U.S.S. Niagara, a converted Gould yacht.

Chief Aviation Pilot Harold June U.S.N. was assigned as co-pilot, and Chief Photographer J. M. "Doc" Haynie as the aerial photographer of the survey unit.

The aviation unit aboard the U.S.S. Niagara had a total of 16 people. The airplane was a Loening OL-l amphibian with an inverted Liberty liquid cooled engine. The Loening OL-l was the first airplane in the Navy which had been specifically designed to carry aerial cameras for vertical mapping photography. The Loening OL-l amphibian had a removable hatch in it's hull, below and forward of the rear cockpit. Over this hatch opening was a Gimbal mount in which the Fairchild K3A, single lens, aerial camera was installed. Along side of the camera hatch opening was a 6 inch round hatch opening over which the intervalometer (view finder) was installed.

This Fairchild K3A aerial camera and intervalometer was the first electric motor driven aerial mapping camera - intervalometer unit to be used by the U.S. Navy for aerial photographic survey purposes which was a big improvement over the hand cranked Fairchild K3 aerial mapping cameras.

This K3A aerial mapping camera was powered by current supplied from a 12 volt wet battery which permitted a film wind up and shutter reset time of about 4 seconds between exposures. This motor driven aerial camera unit afforded the camera operator ample time to check for crab, align camera to flight line, and level the camera in the Gimbal mount for each exposure made over the flight line of the area being photographed.

Shortly after the U.S.S. Niagara had arrived in Venezuela, the Loening OL-1 was put ashore at Las Pedros, a Gulf Oil station on the Paraguana Peninsula.

The trade winds in the Paraguana Peninsula area averaged about 35 miles per hour which delayed the assembly of the wings on the Loening amphibian for a period of 4 days. The assembly of the wings on the amphibian was finally accomplished at about 4:00 a.m. on the fourth day when the trade winds dropped for a few hours.

After Lieutenant Pope, Chief Aviation Pilot June, and Chief Photographer Haynie had made a test flight from Las Pedros they finally took off with a hand full of sandwiches and flew to the Island of Zaparto in the mouth of the Gulf of Venezuela where they made a seaplane water landing, and then taxied with the wheels down up onto the beach where the three sat under the shade of the airplane wings, ate their sandwiches and waited for the boats from the U.S.S. Niagara to bring in men, food, lumber, gasoline, etc.

After the Niagara had delivered the equipment and supplies, the officers and men got busy and built a small barracks building complete with cooking, dining and sleeping facilities in which the officers and men lived for about five months, during which time Pope, June and Haynie had to wait for cloudless skies in order to get in six flight hours for the vertical aerial overlapping photographs of the areas designated by the Naval Hydrographic Office in Washington D.C.

The exposed aerial roll film had to be taken aboard the U.S.S. Niagara so that when the ship went to Kurasel for fuel replenishment they would get ice for cooling the developer, rinse and fixing solutions. The processing of the aerial roll film was done by Chief Photographer Haynie and Naval Photographer John Highfill on board the Niagara in an officer's stateroom. The exposed film was wound onto a reel and submerged into tank #1 (developer), tank #2 (rinse-stop bath), tank #3 (fixing), washing of the film was done in a bath tub, and the drying was done by hanging the film in a ventilator shaft.

Photographers Haynie and Highfill made contact prints from the aerial film negatives which they used to check for picture to picture overlap and flight line overlap coverage of the areas being mapped.

The Loening amphibian airplane had a wheel on each side of the hull which was in the up position for a seaplane landing, then was lowered by a hand crank while the airplane was being taxied to the beach. On the beach were two board troughs from the water to the 10 foot square concrete parking pad. The pilot would taxi to the beach where a couple of men in the water would guide the airplane so that the wheels were in the board troughs, then the pilot would increase the motor RPMs and taxi up onto the parking pad with the airplane's tail pointed toward the beach. Due to the small 10 foot square concrete parking pad, and the loose sand around it, the job of turning the amphibian around was made most difficult by the pilot using engine power. Therefore, a crew of about 10 men would have to lift the heavy tail of the airplane and slowly walk it around into a nose position facing the beach. This Laborious task was not a job which the sailors liked and, according to Lt. Pope, the sailors were very slow in getting the amphibian turned around on the concrete parking pad. So, in order to get the amphibian turned around, Lt. Pope, knowing that there was plenty of Venezuelan warm beer available, but no refrigeration for cooling the beer, and as his crew liked beer, decided that on each of their photographic flights, he would carry about 10 or 12 bottles of beer in the airplane which after being at 10,000 feet for an hour or so the beer got reasonably cold. Upon landing and taxiing up to the concrete parking pad, he told the handling crew that there was a bottle of cold beer in the amphibian that they could have after they got the airplane turned around. Lt. Pope in recalling this operation, remarked, "you would have been amazed as to how quickly those sailors could get the Loening amphibian turned around on the small parking pad" in order to get a bottle of cold beer.

After a five month stay on the Island of Zaparto awaiting favorable weather conditions for aerial photography of the assigned area which required only six flight time hours to obtain the required overlapping vertical aerial photographs for the Hydrographic Office, Lieutenant Pope and his sixteen man crew were happy to leave the Island of Zaparto to return to the United States where they rejoined their families, and after a short leave period, they were assigned duty in various Naval aviation units.

Through the years 1927 to 1944 Lt. Pope had various Naval aviation duty assignments, most of which had little or no connection with Naval photography. By 1945 Lt. L. A. Pope had attained the rank of Captain U.S. Navy, and was assigned duty in the Navy Department, Washington D.C. as Director of the Naval Photography Division, Bureau of Aeronautics.

Captain L. A. Pope U.S.N., after 30 years of active service in the U.S. Navy retired to his Wisconsin dairy farm.

FIRST ALASKAN AERIAL SURVEY - 1926

Prior to 1925 the Geological Survey Division of the Department of Interior had been charting the vast territory of Alaska which was a slow job due to the rigors of climate and the extremely mountainous, rugged land in the territory. In the summer of 1925 the Geological Survey Division of the Department of the Interior requested the Navy Department, Bureau of Aeronautics to undertake the job of an aerial photographic survey of some 10,000 square miles in the Southeastern area of Alaska.

Negotiations with the Navy Department for the proposed aerial survey were handled by Dr. P. S. Smith, Chief Topographic Engineer of the Department of the Interior, directly with Lt. Ben H. Wyatt U.S.N., and Mr. W. L. Richardson, photographic scientist, under Rear Admiral William A. Moffett, U.S.N. Chief of the Naval Bureau of Aeronautics, who obtained the approval of the Secretary of the Navy Department for the Navy to undertake the job of the aerial photographic survey of the Southeastern Alaskan area for the Department of the Interior Geological Survey Division.

Early in 1926, the first Alaskan aerial survey unit was organized at the U.S. Naval Air Station, San Diego, California, with Lieutenant Ben H. Wyatt, U.S.N., Naval Aviator as the senior officer in charge, Lieutenant Wallace M. Dillon, U.S.N., Naval Aviator as executive officer, Lieutenant Jean Burkett, U.S.N., Naval Aviator as flight officer, Lieutenant Richard Whitehead, U.S.N., as photographic officer. Chief Petty Officer Alvin Peterson, chief photographer, Naval aviation pilot, U.S.N., and photographer first class William J. Murtha U.S.N., were assigned to the survey expedition as aerial photographers, and Ronald Woodward, photographer third class as photo lab technician. The seaplane tender U.S.S. Gannet with Lieutenant W. R. Spear, U.S.N., commanding officer. A civilian captain C. W. Call was attached to the expedition as inward island pilot aboard the U.S.S. Gannet. Dr. R. H. Sargent, Geologist from the Department of the Interior, Geological Survey Division accompanied the expedition who prepared the flight line coverage maps and checked the photographic prints for picture to picture and flight line overlap coverage.

The expedition was under the command of Lieutenant Ben H. Wyatt, U.S.N., with a crew of approximately 114 officer, enlisted men and civilians; 75 on the U.S.S. Gannet, and 39 in the aviation-photography division.The expedition was virtually divided into two operating units; the U.S.S. Gannet served as the motor power of the expedition under duty orders from the Chief of Naval Operations of the Navy Department, and the other unit was the aviation section which was quartered on an old Naval cargo barge, YF-88.

The airplanes assigned to the first Alaskan aerial survey expedition were Loening OL-4 amphibians, which in 1926 were among the first airplanes in the Navy to be powered with Pratt-Whitney air cooled radial engines.

The aerial cameras used on this expedition were: T-l three lens mapping cameras, and a Fairchild K-3A single lens mapping camera.

The Naval cargo barge was 140 feet in length and 40 feet in width with a wood frame housing over the barge deck forming a large storeroom. The barge had a re-enforced steel forward bulkhead built to withstand any sea conditions in the inland waterways of the Alaskan area.

Most of the expedition's equipment and supplies were collected at the Navy Yard at Bremerton, Washington, where it was loaded aboard the U.S.S. Gannet and the barge. Early in June 1926, the U.S.S. Gannet departed from Bremerton with the barge YF-88 in tow bound for Ketchikan, Alaska, the first operating base of the expedition.

On board the barge YF-88 were 35 enlisted men with their bedding and personal equipment and various materials, such as: lumber, tools, galley equipment, Delco generator, fuel, aerial cameras, photo lab equipment items, aircraft engine parts, office equipment items, medical supplies, etc.

During the few days enroute from Bremerton to Ketchikan, the men aboard the barge were busy building interior partitions, installing electric wiring lighting, galley equipment, photo lab darkrooms and equipment, etc. By the time of their arrival at Ketchikan the barge YF-88 had been transformed into an operating unit independent of the U.S.S. Gannet as a floating photo lab - Naval air operating base for the aerial survey expedition, including a pigeon loft on the top side of the structure for the carrier pigeons which were accompanying the expedition.

Four Loening amphibians were assigned to the 1926 first Alaskan aerial survey expedition, which were flight tested, checked and equipped at the Naval Air Station, San Diego, California.The four Loening amphibians with Lieutenant Ben H. Wyatt, U.S.N. Naval aviator, the senior officer in charge of the expedition were flown from San Diego to Seattle, Washington. One of the Loening amphibians with Lieutenant Wallace M. Dillon, U.S.N., Naval aviator as pilot and chief photographer Alvin Peterson U.S.N. (NAP) as co-pilot, made a crash landing or the Washington Coast, which resulted in its absolute wreck and serious injury to Alvin Peterson. The pilot Lieutenant Dillon was badly shaken, but not seriously injured. Chief Peterson remained in a Washington hospital for a period of about 2 1/2 months. He was able to rejoin the expedition for about two weeks in late September, at the tail end of the aerial survey. Two of the three Loening amphibians which reached Alaska were equipped and used as photographic planes, while the third one was equipped with radio and operated as an emergency communication-rescue plane.

The photographic equipment used by the expedition included three T-l (3 lens) aerial mapping cameras, two K3A (single lens) mapping cameras, one Akeley 35mm motion picture camera, two F&S 4 x 5 hand held aerial cameras, two 4 x 5 Graflex cameras, one 6 1/2 x 8 1/2 view camera.

The photographic laboratory on board the barge YF-88 was a very complete three room facility which was adequate for the photo lab operations requirements for the aerial survey operation.

The T-l (3 lens) aerial mapping cameras in flight at 10,000 feet altitude had a serious problem with the between the lens shutters failing; in some instances the shutters would not open, and in other instances they opened and failed to close. This shutter problem was not discovered until several flight lines had been flown and several rolls of film had been exposed. Due to the untiring efforts of Lt. Wyatt and chief photographer Murtha, who worked on the camera shutter problem for several days, they finally succeeded after a number of test flights in getting the shutters to function properly at the 10,000 foot mapping altitude. In fact, Lt. Wyatt and photographer Murtha made four test flights to 10,000 feet in one day in order to test the T-1 camera operations.

This T-l camera shutter problem was most perplexing and bewildering to Lt. Wyatt and photographer Murtha - to find that the camera shutter would operate perfectly, apparently endlessly in the photo lab and also in the airplane on the ground, but when the camera was carried aloft to 10,000 feet altitude the shutter would malfunction frequently. So, Lt. Wyatt and photographer Murtha, after many trial and error adjustments to the cameras, and a number of test flights, fabricated and installed a stronger shutter operating bar which gave better assurance in operating the camera shutter at the 10,000 foot altitude. However, occasionally one of the shutters would fail to function properly.

Chief Photographer Murtha made a device which he used in the airplane to frequently check the T-l camera shutter operation. This device was a small mirror attached to a 24 inch broom handle which he could hold underneath the T-l (3 lens) camera and observe the shutter operations prior to the start of a photo run and again at the end of the photo run. If he observed a shutter not working correctly, he could remove the film magazine and re-time the shutter and then re-install the film magazine. This mirror device could also be used for observing the shutter position (open or closed) by photographer Murtha during the interval between exposures which was usually a time period of some twenty seconds.

On each photographic flight the Loening amphibians carried a crew of three - the pilot who was to fly the airplane at a constant speed and altitude and keep the plane as level as possible. The navigator in the rear seat was to transmit signals to the pilot in order to keep the airplane over the pre-determined flight line of the area being mapped. The photographer in the hull space below and slightly forward of the rear cockpit would, after the airplane reached the altitude of 5000 to 6000 feet, remove the hatch cover in the hull underneath the T-l camera-Gimbal mount into position over the hull opening, remove the small round hatch plug and install the intervolometer-view finder unit. The photographer would, just prior to the start of a photo run, check the view finder for image travel and set the intervalometer for operating the camera for interval of exposures for a 50 percent picture to picture overlap. Then, once the photo run was started, he would keep the camera level and oriented for crab, and occasionally checking the camera shutter with his mirror on a stick device. After the photo runs were completed he would replace the view finder hatch plug and the camera hatch in preparation for a landing.

Shortly after each photo flight, the aerial photographer would remove the T-l aerial camera from the Loening amphibian, then take the camera to the photo lab on barge YF-88, unload the three rolls of exposed film, process the film, and after the processed film had been dried, one contact print was made from each negative which was turned over to Dr. R. H. Sargent, Geologist, who would check the photographs for picture to picture and flight line overlap coverage of the area being surveyed.

Due to the amphibian crash in Washington which sent chief Photographer Alvin Peterson to a hospital for several weeks, that expedition only had two photographers: William J. Murtha, aerial photographer, and Ronald Woodward, photo lab technician. Therefore, Murtha would fly all day (weather permitting) and would assist Woodward in the lab work most of the night which was really a lot of work hours for Murtha with only a few hours rest.

Shortly after the airplane accident of Lieutenant Dillon and Chief Peterson, Lieutenant Wyatt officially requested that another chief photographer be assigned duty with the survey expedition to replace Chief Peterson who was then in a Seattle hospital and who was not expected to be able to rejoin the expedition in time to be of much help.

The Navy Department, Bureau of Navigation, Personnel Division, sent official orders to the Commanding Officer, N.A.S. San Diego, transferring Chief Photographer Patrick McDonough U.S.N. to the Alaskan survey unit.

From the time of Lieutenant Wyatt's request to the time that Chief McDonough reported, some six or seven weeks had elapsed, during which time Chief Murtha was making all of the aerial photographic survey flights, and also assisting Woodward in the lab, and also working with Lieutenant Wyatt on the T-l aerial camera shutter problem.

By the time that Chief McDonough reported for duty with the survey expedition two thirds of the planned aerial photographic survey had been completed. However, Chief McDonough was a welcomed aerial photographer in the expedition for the latter part of the survey.

Chief Photographer Alvin Peterson, upon his release from the Seattle hospital, rejoined the expedition for the last two or three weeks in Alaska.

In addition to the regular vertical aerial survey photographs made by Lt. Wyatt and Chief Photographer Murtha, they also made several hundred oblique aerial photographs with the Fairchild K3A camera for the U.S. Forest Service, Fish and Game Commission, International Boundary Commission, the Board of Road Commissioners for Alaska, the Lighthouse Service and the Governor of Alaska.

The first Alaskan aerial survey expedition was first based at Ketchikan, Alaska from June 10, 1926 to August 9, 1926, and then moved west to their second base at Juneau, Alaska from

August 12, 1926 to September 10, 1926.

Aerial photographic flights from the two bases were made during the three months June, July, and August, 1926, during which time some thirty-two rolls of aerial film were exposed covering an area of approximately 10,000 square miles, which embraced the Islands of Revillagigedo, Annette, Gravina, Duke, Chickamin River, Cleavland Peninsula, Wrangell, Woronkofski, Etolin, Zarembo, Long, Dall, Sukkwan, Prince of Wales, Lindenberg Peninsula, Kupreanof, Kuiu, and Admiralty.

The weather conditions of rain and heavy clouds in Southeastern Alaska for days made aerial photography absolutely impossible. However, there would be clear sky for two to four days during which time, due to the long daylight hours that prevail in the Alaskan area during the summer months, Lieutenant Wyatt, his navigator, and photographer Murtha made as many as four 3 1/2 hour photo flights to 10,000 feet, returning to their base to refuel the airplane, unload the exposed aerial film and reload the three lens camera magazines with fresh film.

The two Loening amphibian airplanes that were used for the vertical aerial photography carried, in addition to their fuel load, the T-l three lens aerial camera and the 12 volt wet battery to operate the camera, the camera and battery weight of over 100 pounds. They carried sandwiches, thermos bottles of coffee, milk and water for the three man crew, and also a pre-packed seven day emergency food ration package for use in case of a forced landing in the Alaskan wilderness. They also carried emergency medical kit, Springfield rifle, Colt 45 revolvers, three hunting knives, packages of moisture sealed matches, very signal pistol, and last but not least, a fishing kit, flashlights and pocket compass.

The Loening amphibian photo planes (2) used in the first Alaskan aerial survey in 1926 were not equipped with radio because there just wasn't any space available in the airplane for a radio sending and receiving set, along with the photographic gear and the emergency equipment that had to be carried on each flight.

Lieutenant Wyatt with his navigator and Naval aerial photographer Murtha made a number of photo flights in which the meager weather reports at time of take-off indicated that the upper air conditions over their target area was suitable for aerial photography. However, upon the photo planes arrival at 10,000 feet altitude over the area to be mapped, they found the area completely covered by heavy rain clouds, thus making aerial photography impossible, so they returned to their base which they often found to be socked in with rain clouds and sometimes heavy fog conditions, which made the task of finding their home base difficult and hazardous flying in among the mountainous Southeastern Alaska area.

About 1928 or 1929, Lieutenant Wyatt and Naval photographer Murtha were awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for their service in connection with the Alaskan aerial expedition in 1926. The D.F.C. award to Naval photographer Murtha was the first D.F.C. award in the Navy to an enlisted Naval photographer.

The following citation is quoted:
The Secretary of the Navy

Washington

Sir:
The Department takes pleasure in presenting a Distinguished Flying Cross to William Joseph Murtha, Photographer, First Class, U.S. Navy, for services in connection with the Alaskan aerial expedition in 1926, as set forth in the following:

Citation:

"For extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight as photographer of the Alaskan Aerial Expedition during the summer of 1926, materially aiding in successfully performing a hazardous and difficult aerial survey of Southeastern Alaska".

C. F. Adams

Dr. R. H. Sargent's official 15 page report April 27, 1927, regarding the 1926 aerial survey expedition contained a number of complimentary statements, one of which is hereby quoted: "I cannot praise too highly the work of the photographers for it was untiring and without respect to hours, a condition which, however, prevailed among the entire personnel of the expedition. I feel to give the highest praise to all of the personnel who exerted such energy, particularly in the instance of Lieutenant Wyatt to avail himself of every possible moment of flying time, and I can justly say that no time which could be utilized for photographing was lost, but that much extra time and exertion was given to carrying out the work successfully".


PORTO-RICAN-NICARAGUAN AERIAL SURVEY

In 1929, the Navy Department furnished three Loening amphibian airplanes, pilots, aerial photographers, and ground crew required for the Porto-Rican-Nicaraguan aerial survey.

Lieutenant Herbert W. Taylor, U.S.N. was the senior officer pilot in charge of the survey. Naval aerial photographers assigned duty with the survey were: J. M. "Doc" Haynie; W. J. "Bill" Murtha; 0. A. "Friday" Freeman; and Eddie Kosser.

The aerial mapping cameras used by the survey for the vertical overlapping photographs were four Fairchild K3B single lens cameras, and Fairchild F-l hand held cameras for the aerial oblique photographs.

TIENTSIN CHINA AERIAL SURVEY

In 1929 the U.S. Marine Corps sent an Expedition Force into Tientsin China area which landed at Ta-Ku-Bar at the mouth of the Pai-Ho River which was then known as the "New Peintsin".

In this Marine Expedition Force was a small Marine Aviation Unit which had a photographic section headed by Captain Clayton C. Jerome, U.S.M.C., Marine Corps Aviation Pilot, and a couple of U.S. Marine Corps photographers.

The Marine Aviation Unit had one airplane, a DeHaviland DH-4B, which was packed in several crates.

Shortly after landing at Ta-Ku-Bar, the U.S. Marine Expedition Force had to build their own airstrip, unpack and assemble the DH-4B airplane.

The photo lab was set up in a tent adjacent to the airstrip where the Marine photographers developed the exposed aerial roll film, made contact prints and assembled a multi-strip mosaic map of the Ta-Ku-Bar, New Peintsin, China area.

The multi-strip aerial photographic survey. was made by Captain Jerome, U.S.M.C. pilot, and a Marine Corps photographer, who used a Fairchild K3 single lens 12" fl, aerial camera.

The water supply for the U.S. Marine Corps expedition camp area was obtained from a well on the Standard Oil Company compound which was nearby. Water was carried from the well to the Marine Corps camp in buckets by Chinese coolies.

SECOND ALASKAN AERIAL SURVEY - 1929

In January 1929, a second Alaskan aerial survey expedition was sent to the Alaskan area under the command of Lieutenant Arthur W. Radford, U.S.N., Naval aviator with a crew of approximately 45 officers and enlisted men who were assigned aviation duties.

The Naval photographers assigned duty with the second (1929) Alaskan aerial survey unit were: Chief photographer J. M. F. "Bunny" Haase, U.S.N.; photographers first class B. L. Houser, U.S.N.; A. M. Newman, U.S.N.; K. J. Moore U.S.N.; and photographer third class C. C. Blattman U.S.N.

Naval photographers Haase and Houser did all of the aerial photography work, and Naval photographers Newman, Moore and Blattman did the film processing and printing in the photo laboratory on the Naval barge YF-88, which was towed from Bremerton, Washington by the seaplane tender U.S.S. Gannett.

The airplanes used on the second Alaskan aerial survey were Loening OL-8 amphibians in which Naval photographers Haase and Houser operated the T-2 three lens aerial cameras obtaining photographic coverage of the assigned Alaskan area.

From the reports made by Lieutenant Wyatt and photographer Murtha on the 1926 first Alaskan aerial survey, many improvements had been made by 1929 in regard to the airplanes, aerial cameras, communication equipment, etc. so that the 1929 second Alaskan aerial survey unit was adequately prepared and equipped for the assigned mapping operation. The expedition had very little equipment problems. Their main problem was weather, which was in general very much like the kind that had been reported by Lieutenant Wyatt on the 1926 survey. However, by 1929 much better communication systems had been set up for reporting weather conditions in the target areas.

The 1929 second Alaskan aerial survey unit spent about three months - June, July, and August - flying the flight strips for aerial mapping of approximately 13,000 square miles from Yakatap to Kodiak for the Department of the Interior, Geological Survey Division.


NANKING CHINA AERIAL SURVEY - 1929

In 1929 the Asiatic Fleet air squadrons under the command of Commander Richard Kelly Turner U.S.N., on board the flagship U.S.S. Jason at Manilla, Philippine Islands, received orders from the Navy Department, Washington D.C. to furnish the necessary Naval aviation services under his command to conduct an aerial photographic survey of the Nanking, China area for the Chinese National Government.

Commander Turner ordered the seaplane tenders U.S.S. AVOCET and the U.S.S. HURON to Nanking, China area with Lieutenant Commander Ralph Wyman U.S.N. Naval aviator as senior officer in charge of the aerial survey unit, and Lieutenant R. S. Moss U.S.N. Naval aviator as photo plane pilot, and Naval photographer John L. Highfill U.S.N. as the aerial photographer, and Naval photographers third class L. T. Snow, U.S.N. and seaman second class Charles C. Shirley U.S.N., as the photo lab technician.

On board the U.S.S. AVOCET and the U.S.S. HURON were two Martin Torpedo T3M twin float single engine (Packard V-12) seaplanes which had rear cockpit modification for the installation and operation of a Fairchild K3B (7" x 9" negative size) 12" lens, aerial mapping camera operated by a 12 volt wet battery.

The two ships, AVOCET and HURON, anchored in the Yangtze River, downstream from the City of Nanking, China where they served as a base service facility for the two photographic T3M seaplanes.

Lieutenant Moss was the pilot of the photo plane, and Navy photographer Highfill was the aerial photographer camera operator on the photo flights during a five month period covering approximately 2,000 square miles in the Nanking, China area. Over 7.000 aerial photographs were made by Lieutenant Moss and photographer Highfill to complete the aerial photographic survey

Navy photographer Shirley was the photo lab technician who processed the aerial roll film and made contact prints from the negatives. Navy photographer Snow had the job of assembling the prints and checking for the mosaic mapping coverage of the assigned area being surveyed.

Lieutenant Commander Wyman made arrangements with the Chinese government for space in the Yangtze Hotel in Nanking for a temporary photographic laboratory facility requirements for the aerial photographic survey.

Photographer Shirley, assisted by ship's carpenters from the AVOCET and HURON converted a basement room in the Yangtze hotel into a photo lab darkroom and film drying-print wash-drying. Another hotel room was used by Snow for the print assembly and checking for photo coverage of the photo flight strips.

The Yangtze Hotel had no running water system so Shirley and the carpenters built a 200 gallon wooden water tank, which was installed on an outside unused stairway of the hotel. From this water tank they installed a gravity feed water piping to the basement photo lab.

Navy photographer John Highfill purchased several small wooden tanks, that were used for the film developing solutions, film and print washes. Navy carpenters from the AVOCET and HURON built a squirrel cage film drying reel and a print drying rack. As there was no running water service available in the hotel for the photo lab operations, water had to be carried in buckets from the Yangtze River to fill the 200 gallon tank. Arrangements were made with the Chinese government for the services of two Chinese coolies, one for carrying water from the river, and one for turning the hand crank which rotated the squirrel cage film drying reel.

Navy photographer Shirley could not speak Chinese, and the Chinese coolies could not speak English, so by hand signs they established a means of communication. However, during the five months of operation the water was carried by the coolie in two buckets hanging on a shoulder yoke from the Yangtze River to the hotel, and the other coolie operated the hand crank rotating the squirrel cage reel drying the aerial roll film.

The water from the Yangtze River was so dirty it required filtering through a home made cotton filter unit designed by Shirley. The cotton filter material had to be changed frequently in order to get enough clean water into the photo lab to wash the processed aerial film and prints. Shirley reported that the coolie even learned when to change the cotton filter.

After five months of operation in the Nanking, China area, the Naval unit returned to Manila where the Naval photographers had a small photo lab on board the U.S.S. Jason (a converted coal collier). Due to the inadequate photographic facilities on the U.S.S. Jason, Lieutenant Moss and Naval photographer Highfill made arrangements with Lieutenant George Goddard U.S. Army Signal Corps, Sixth Photographic Section at Clark Field for the Naval photographers to use the Clark Field photo lab for the final printing of the Nanking aerial photographs and the laying of the mosaic map strips. The final mosaic map of the Nanking area consisted of several panels which were fitted together with sufficient accuracy which was acceptable for the intended use by the Chinese government.


THIRD ALASKAN AERIAL SURVEY - 1932

In 1932 the third Alaskan aerial survey expedition was sent to the Alaskan area for the purpose of making an aerial photographic survey of the Aleutian Islands, from the Island of Unimak to Attu for the Coast and Geological Survey, and the U. S. Navy Hydrographic office.

Lieutenant West U.S.N., Naval aviator was the senior officer in charge of the expedition, and was the airplane pilot on most of the photographic flights. Chief photographer Sumner N. Farrar U.S.N. was the Naval aerial photographer on the photo flights.

The photo plane used on this expedition was a Grumman JF amphibian which was designed for the installation and operation of single lens and multi-lens aerial camera set up over the hull hatch below the seat and slightly forward of the rear cockpit.

The expedition staged from the Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington with the seaplane tender U.S.S. Gannett as the support-supply vessel towing the Naval photographic laboratory barge YF-88 from Puget Sound to the area of operations in the Aleutian Islands.

The aerial cameras used were the T-2 for the vertical mapping, and the Fairchild K3A for the oblique photographs. The film was processed in the photo lab on the barge YF-88 by Naval photographers Blattman and Harrell.

The major problem encountered by this expedition was similar to the previous 1926 and 1929 surveys which was weather. Due to the then very few weather reporting stations in the Aleutians, the photo planes would take off from their base and fly some 100 to 200 miles to their assigned mapping areas only to find the islands completely covered with clouds making the business of vertical aerial mapping photography impossible. In such cases the photo plane returned to it's operating base to await suitable weather conditions.

The aerial survey expedition was operating in the Aleutian Islands from mid-June to mid-September, 1932.

During World War II a number of the Aleutian 1932 aerial photographs were of great value to the Commanders of the Army, Navy, and Marine Forces in the ?????? employment of their units in the battles of the Aleutians in which they recaptured our islands from the Japanese.

ADMIRAL BYRD'S SECOND ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION - 1934 - 1935

In 1933 Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, U.S.N., (retired) organized and commanded the second Antarctic expedition which operated from their base at Little America.

Joseph A. Pelter, photographer first class, U.S.N. was selected by Admiral Byrd to accompany the expedition as the aerial cameraman on the survey flights from Little America. The airplane used for the aerial photographic flights from Little America was a Curtiss Condor, piloted by Naval aviation pilot Harold June; co-pilot, Navigation pilot W. H. Bowlin; Navigator K. L. Rawson; Radio operator, Clay Bailey; and aerial photographer Joseph Pelter.

Some five or six aerial photographic flights were made in the Curtiss Condor from the Little America base, during which Pelter used Fairchild K3A and K3B aerial cameras, mostly for oblique aerial photographs which were later used by the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office in Washington D.C. in connection with the preparation of Antarctic maps.

Pelter did keep fairly good records of the aerial photographic coverage with the assistance of the flight crew during their survey missions. Other records by Pelter in regard to photographic problems and operations encountered in the Antarctic were practically nil, which may have been the result of Pelter's illness which resulted in him being the first person in the Antarctic region to undergo an operation for acute appendicitis.

In addition to the aerial camera equipment, Pelter also had a 4 x 5 Speed Graphic camera which he used for surface photography in and around the base camp at Little America.

John Hermann, Paramount Newsreel Cameraman was a member of the expedition who, with his 35mm Akeley and Bell & Howell cameras, obtained very complete motion picture coverage of the expedition's various operations.

During the author's interview with Dr. Thomas C. Poulter in 1974, the Doctor related the following account about photographers Joseph Pelter and John Hermann at the Little America base:

Quote: "Pelter and Hermann did not get along with each other, probably due to professional jealousy. Both had light meters and each time they asked each other for a comparison light meter reading, invariably they would give each other an incorrect reading.

One day Pelter and Hermann left the main camp at Little America for some picture taking along the ice shelf at the Bay of Whales, which was some four or five miles from the main camp.

After they had completed their picture taking along the ice shelf, they were proceeding on skis back to the main camp when Hermann fell into a crevasse which was about 12 feet deep, 4 or 5 feet wide, and 100 to 150 feet in length. T#e walls of the crevasse were fairly smooth, to such a point that Hermann could not get out. So, after some 10 to 15 minutes, Pelter determined that Hermann was not injured and as he had no equipment to get Hermann out of the crevasse, Pelter told Hermann that he would return to camp and get help to rescue him from the crevasse.

Pelter returned to camp which was about two miles from the crevasse arriving just at dinner time. Pelter removed his outdoor Antarctic clothing and proceeded to enjoy his dinner along with other members in camp including Dr. Poulter, (who was in charge during Admiral Byrd's stay at that time at the advanced base). After Pelter had finished his dinner he lighted a cigarette and calmly asked Dr. Poulter, 'What you do when a fellow falls into a crevasse?' Dr. Poulter replied, 'you get a rope and pull him out, why do you ask Joe?' Joe replied that Hermann had fallen into a crevasse about two miles from the camp and couldn't get out. Joe hastened to inform Dr. Poulter that Hermann was not injured.

Dr. Poulter immediately sent three men along with Pelter, and the necessary rescue equipment to get Hermann out of the crevasse. This rescue party had some difficulty finding the crevasse due to blown snow which covered most of Pelter's ski marks on his way into the camp. However, Hermann was finally rescued after being in the crevasse for several hours.

Naturally, this little incident did not improve the relationship between Pelter and Hermann. However, both Pelter and Hermann obtained excellent photographs in their respective professional fields; Pelter in aerial photography, and Hermann in 35mm motion pictures." Unquote

MID-PACIFIC ISLAND AERIAL SURVEY 1935 - 1936

In 1935 an aerial photographic survey was made of the mid-Pacific Islands between the Hawaiian group and the Philippines for the U.S. Navy Department, Hydrographic Office in Washington, D.C. in connection with the development of mid-Pacific Island facilities for the Pan American Airway to the Orient.

Lieutenant Johnson U.S.N., Naval aviator was the photo plane pilot and officer in charge of the Naval aviation unit conducting the survey. Chief aviation pilot Garner U.S.N., was the co-pilot and flight line navigator of the photo plane. Chief photographer Arthur J. Carroll, U.S.N. was the aerial photographer on the photo flights during the aerial survey of the various islands: Johnson, Wake, Midway, Guam, Ulithi, etc.

The mid-Pacific Island survey unit was organized and outfitted at the U.S. Naval Air Station, Pearl Harbor, T.H., and placed on board the U.S.S. Nitro which served as their base supply operating ship through the various islands from Hawaii to the Philippines.

The airplane used for the aerial vertical and oblique photographs of the mid-Pacific Island survey was a Grumman J2F amphibian which was designed for the installation and operation of an aerial camera for vertical aerial photography similar to the previous Loening amphibians.

The aerial camera used by Arthur Carroll was a Fairchild K-17. The film was processed in a temporary darkroom on board the U.S.S. Nitro. Enough contact prints were made from the aerial negatives to determine if or not they had satisfactory photographic coverage of the island areas and, if the coverage was complete, the U.S.S. Nitro with the aerial survey unit would move to the next island to be covered.

Upon the completion of the aerial photographic survey, the U.S.S. Nitro returned to Pearl Harbor, T.H. where Chief Photographer A. J. Carroll and his small group of Naval photographers at the Naval Air Station, Ford Island made prints and pieced them together forming a mosaic map of the various islands.

The original aerial roll film negatives and mosaics were sent to the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office, Navy Department, Washington D.C. where the final maps were produced by that office for use in connection with the then proposed Pan American Airway to the Orient.

SOUTH PACIFIC PHOENIX ISLAND AERIAL SURVEY - 1939

In 1939 a Naval aerial survey expedition was sent to the Phoenix Island area for the purpose of making an aerial photographic survey of the various islands for the Navy Department Hydrographic Office in Washington D.C.

The expedition was headed by Lt. Howell J. Dyson, U.S.N., Naval aviator, along with Lt. Gerald Huff U.S.N. Naval aviator.

Two seaplane tenders, U.S.S. Pelican and U.S.S. Swan were assigned as the base supply and surface support ships for the Naval aviation operations during the survey.

The two ships U.S.S. Pelican and U.S.S. Swan with the aviation units on boards staged from Honolulu with a Grumman J2F amphibian on board each ship.

The photo flight crew on the U.S.S. Pelican consisted of Lieutenant H. J. Dyson, pilot, Naval aviation pilot Spencer co-pilot, Naval photographers J. Howard Chamblin and Fred Hewitt as aerial camera operators.

The photo flight crew on the U.S.S. Swan consisted of Lieutenant (j.g.) Gerald Huff, pilot, and a Naval aviation pilot as co-pilot, naval photographers Oscar Bowe and Joe Cerruti as the aerial camera operators.

The vertical aerial mapping cameras carried aloft in the two Grumman J2F amphibian were the T3-A, 5 lens cameras which were operated by two aerial photographers, one keeping the camera level and oriented to the line of flight, and the other was operating the view finder-Intervalometer unit for line of flight and adjustment for interval between exposures to obtain 60 percent overlap of the aerial photographs.

From the author's experience flying in the Grumman J2F amphibians in the thirties, the two photographers along with the T3-A camera, Intervalometer, 12 volt wet battery equipment in the bottom mid-section of the J2F must have been a bit crowded for a comfortable photo flight.

A single lens Fairchild K3A camera was also used to some extent for vertical aerial mapping of some of the smaller islands in the Phoenix group. A Fairchild F56 hand held aerial camera was used for aerial oblique photographs of various islands covered by the survey.

The aerial roll film was processed in a "make-shift temporary" darkroom on the U.S.S. Pelican and the U.S.S. Swan.

The aerial roll film was processed in a hand cranked Smith roll film developing fixing-washing tanks. The film was washed in sea water and rinsed in fresh water. The drying of the roll film was accomplished by hanging the film in the ship's engine room ventilator shaft.

Contact prints were made from the aerial roll film negatives which were used for checking the picture to picture overlap and flight strip overlap coverage before the ships moved to the next island of the group.

The South Pacific Phoenix Island aerial survey expedition spent about six weeks operating in the South Pacific before returning to Honolulu where the 5 lens aerial mapping photographs were printed on a specially designed rectification printer which produced satisfactory prints for the final map compilation by the U.S. Navy Department Hydrographic Office in Washington D.C.

In 1942, during World War II, the 1939 Phoenix Island survey photographs proved to be of great aid to the planning-operations officers of the various Pacific Forces under Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz U.S.N., Commander in Chief, U.S. Fleet in the Pacific Theater of Operations, 1942 - 1945.

UNITED STATES ANTARCTIC SERVICE EXPEDITION 1939 - 1940

The United States Antarctic Service Expedition was established in 1939 under the Division of Territories and Island Possessions of the Department of Interior with funds of $521,000 appropriated by Congress.

An executive committee for this Antarctic Service Expedition was appointed with representatives from The Department of State, The Treasury Department, The Navy Department, and The Department of the Interior.

The President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt designated Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, U.S.N. (Ret.) as commanding officer of the Antarctic Service Expedition.

Dr. Paul A. Siple was selected by Admiral Byrd as the commander of the West Base, Little America Group, and Richard B. Black as the commander of the East Base, Niny Fjord Group, Lieutenant Commander R.A.J. English U.S.N. as executive secretary of the Antarctic Service Expedition with offices in the Navy Department Hydrographic office, Washington D.C. where the commander was in constant radio contact with the expedition while enroute to and during their stay in the Antarctic region.

The Antarctic Service Expedition had inadequate funds in the approved appropriation for airplanes, scientific equipment and various specialized materials that would be required for the successful operations in the Antarctic. Therefore, Admiral Byrd, Dr. Siple, Commander Black, Commander English, and other members of the expedition got busy with their contacts in various U.S. Government Agencies and private industries who provided the expedition with airplanes, radio communication equipment, aerial mapping cameras, 35mm and 16mm motion picture cameras, photographic film, paper, chemicals, laboratory equipment items, etc.

The 1939 U.S. Antarctic Service expedition under the command of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, U.S.N. (Ret) was divided into two operating groups; one group assigned to the West Base, Little America, and one group to the East Base, Niny Fjord, Palmer Peninsula.

The West Base group was under the leadership of Dr. Paul Siple, who had under his charge the following aviation personnel: Naval Aviation Pilot James C. McCoy, U.S.N., Senior Pilot Walter R. Giles, Technical Sergeant U.S.M.C. Co-pilot and radio operator Oriville Gray, Aviation machinist mate first class U.S.N., airplane mechanic; Theodore A. Petras, master technical sergeant, U.S.M.C., Beechcraft airplane pilot; and Charles C. Shirley, photographer first class U.S.N., aerial photographer.

The East Base group was under the command of commander Richard B. Black U.S.N.R. with the following aviation personnel: Naval aviation pilot Ashley C. Snow, senior pilot; radioman first class, co-pilot; Howard T. Odom, airplane mechanic; and chief Photographer Arthur J. Carroll, U.S.N. aerial photographer.

The airplanes used for the aerial photographic flights in the Antarctic were: Curtiss-Condor twin engine for the long distance flights, and a single engine Beechcraft for short distance flights from the West Base.

Naval photographer Carroll made ten aerial photographic flights from the Niny Fjord East Base, and Naval photographer Shirley made fifteen aerial photographic flights from Little America, West Base. Some 4,000 aerial photographs were made by Carroll and Shirley during their flights in the Antarctic region.

Both Carroll and Shirley made several long distance photo flights, some of which were about 2,000 miles round trip. On these long distance flights they carried additional gasoline - 200 to 300 gallons - in 5 gallon cans which was used for re-fueling in flight by pouring the gasoline into one of the empty or nearly empty main fuel tanks in the Curtiss-Condor airplane and then throwing the empty 5 gallon can out of the airplane.

On a few extremely long distance flights in the Antarctic they would make a ski landing in the snow at one of the advance base camps where several 55 gallon drums of gasoline had been delivered by dog sled or by tractor to the cache. Re-fueling at these advance camps was accomplished by the 3 to 5 man flight crew in 10 to 45 degree below zero temperature by hand pumping the gasoline from the 55 gallon drum into 5 gallon cans, and then carrying the filled 5 gallon cans to the airplane where they poured the 5 gallon can of gasoline into the airplane's main fuel tanks.

Naval photographers Carroll and Shirley operated their Fairchild aerial cameras during the Antarctic photo flights under the most adverse conditions with temperatures ranging from 10 to 50 degrees below zero.

During the longer photo flights into the Antarctic unknown and uncharted regions, both Carroll and Shirley would take aerial oblique photographs every few miles looking from the starboard (right hand side) and the port (left hand side) of the airplane at which time the navigator or co-pilot would plot on his navigation chart the necessary position data which was used later for identification purposes by the Hydrographic Office in the Antarctic Survey map preparation.

Additional aerial photographs were made at certain key locations during the flight while the airplane was slowly making a complete 360 degree circle which permitted the photographer to obtain some 20 overlapping photographs which produced a complete aerial panoramic view of the uncharted Antarctic area being surveyed.

On the long distance photo flights of 1,000 miles out from the West or East Base into the unknown Antarctic region, and 1,000 miles return to base, both Carroll and Shirley made from 500 to 700 aerial photographs with their Fairchild K-17 cameras. Exposed aerial roll film had to be removed from the camera magazine and fresh film reloaded into the magazine while in flight under 10 to 50 degree below zero temperatures. This film reloading operation was accomplished by Carroll and Shirley with the comfort and feel by the silk gloves that were worn inside of the heavy cold weather caribou mittens.

On the long distance 1,000 to 2,000 mile lights, the Curtiss-Condors carried emergency food and special Antarctic equipment items sufficient to last the flight crew for a period of nine months in case the airplane had to make an emergency landing in the Antarctic and the crew would have to await a rescue party.

During one photo flight in the Curtiss-Condor from the East Base site, Pilot Snow, Co-pilot Perce and Photographer Carroll were on their return flight path several hundred miles from their base, the airplane was flying at 10,000 feet altitude, passing between two ranges of mountains which were in excess of 15,000 elevation. The airplane was suddenly caught in down draft air currents which within a few minutes caused the airplane to drop to 9.000 feet altitude, when Pilot Snow regained climbing control of the airplane at about 100 feet above a heavily crevassed ice glacier, some 15 miles wide and about 50 miles in length, an area which did not contain a smooth surface large enough for the Curtiss-Condor to be safely landed under any condition.

After each long distance photo flight, and during the interval before the next scheduled photo flight, Naval photographers Carroll and Shirley would process the six to eight rolls of exposed aerial film each of which was 9 inches wide by 75 feet in length.

The process of developing-fixing washing and drying the aerial roll film was a time consuming job done in a small 8 x 10 foot darkroom. Temperatures in the photo lab darkroom ranged from near zero degrees at the floor level to about 50 degrees above zero at 4 feet above the floor. Electrical emersion heater unit was used to bring the processing solutions from 50 degrees Fahrenheit to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

Navy photographers Carroll and Shirley at their respective bases, with some assistance from other camp members, carried clean snow-ice in buckets for several hundred feet into the photo section where the snow-ice was dumped into a 30 gallon G.I. can on top of the pot-bellied coal fired stove to melt the snow-ice into water. After the snow-ice was melted, the water was hand pumped up to a 200 gallon storage tank which was located near the ceiling of the photo section. Water required for the processing of the aerial roll film was obtained as needed from the 200 gallon tank by gravity flow to the sink in the photo lab darkroom.

Naval photographers Carroll and Shirley had an arrangement with their base crew members for the processing of their roll film pictures made in their privately owned cameras. The private roll film processing required that each expedition member desiring to have his film developed would have to carry about 90 buckets of snow-ice to the pot-bellied stove for each roll of film that was to be processed. Ninety buckets of snow-ice melted into about 30 gallons of water. Most of the expedition members had one or more cameras which they were using for their personal picture taking and, of course, they were anxious to get their film developed and printed by Carroll and Shirley. Therefore, the problem of carrying snow-ice for photo lab water was not much of a problem for Carroll and Shirley.

A number of aerial photographs made by Naval photographers A. J. Carroll and C. C. Shirley were reproduced in the U.S. Navy Department Hydrographic Office publication #138 under the title, "Sailing Directions for Antarctica 1943 by Captain R. A. J. English, U.S.N.

In addition to the aerial survey photographs made by Carroll and Shirley in the Antarctic, 1939 - 1940, they were the first photographers to use Eastman Kodak, Kodachrome 16mm motion picture film on which they obtained for the first time several thousand feet of beautiful color motion pictures.

In 1939, Mr. Johnnie Whittle, Eastman Kodak Company, Washington, D.C. representative was instrumental in getting the Eastman Kodak Company Sales Division in Rochester, New York to furnish free to Naval photographers Carroll and Shirley, two Cine Kodak Special 16mm cameras, and several thousand feet of 16mm Kodachrome film for experimental use by the United States Antarctic Service Expedition, 1939 - 1940.