TASK FORCE FRIGID

[Music] [Applause] [Music] the mission of task force frigid was to test the present equipment clothing and weapons of the army ground forces under conditions of extreme cold and to assemble and evaluate all pertinent data on the design modifications and further development the area selected for this task was lad field fairbanks alaska the lanfield bombing range across the tanana river was the only spot available for testing of large caliber weapons on november 11 a reconnaissance crew made the first trip across the river in preparation for the construction of an ice bridge the ice was tested for thickness bulldozers were dubbed the workhorses of the arctic as they cleared away brush snow scrub spruce and alder from the site of the icebridge lightweight tractors were used to construct snow shoulders and embankments for the bridge logs were snaked from jones little and day islands by trucks to the bridge site these logs were cut to the proper length by a power saw a quick way crane placed them in a cross-hatched fashion on the cleared ice 30-minute work shifts kept construction continuous even when the temperature reached minus 62 degrees fahrenheit snow had to be blown off the logs with an air compressor so that when water was hosed over them it would freeze solid pouring water on the logs brought the ice to a final thickness of more than 40 inches this enabled tanks weighing up to 45 tons to cross the bridge with safety the severity of the winter caused the ice to freeze more than anticipated thus making it possible for all vehicles to cross without the aid of a nice grid but strict traffic control was necessary to prevent excessive strain and to avoid the patches in the river that didn't freeze due to the swiftness of the current the cargo carrier m29c better known as the weasel proved to be the most valuable all-around vehicle because of its low ground pressure and maneuverability although these vehicles operated efficiently on the road many hours of hard work were required to start and maintain them the freezing of lubricants failure of batteries unsatisfactory winterization kits and difficulties with slave kits were some of the factors which made operation of motor vehicles a great problem eventually vehicles were housed under tarpaulins with hermann nelson type heaters blowing in hot air batteries had to be removed from vehicles and recharged nightly heavy field artillery pieces were mounted on sleds and towed by the large tractors across the bridge onto the bonnefield trail to the landfill bombing range on the 18th of november the parachute infantry prepared for another jump they looked funny all right but the prospect of jumping in sub-zero weather as burdened down as they were was no laughing matter boarding the plane was a job in itself with all the bulky equipment each man carried this bulkiness also increased the exit time considerably and reduced the size of the stick to be jumped upon landing the men put on their bear paw snowshoes slung rucksacks and moved to the aerial delivery containers dropped by the various sticks after getting their trail snowshoes or skis from the containers the men moved forward to the assembly area on the 18th of february 1947 a c-82 plane was used for the first time by the airborne artillery section of task force frigid the purpose was to test the time it would take to drop a 75 millimeter pack howitzer assemble and fire it in extreme cold and deep snow handling the paracrates in light-crusted snow proved extremely difficult the time from the first man's jump to the first round of fire was 32 minutes as compared with a record five minutes in warmer climates early in january a bell helicopter yr-13 was delivered to lad field in a c-82 aircraft the job of unloading it by men wearing fur trimmed parkas and heavy mukluks was slow and painful roughly 14 men are needed for the job because the egg beater although the lightest model in use by the army weighs 2 190 pounds installing the main and tail rotor systems after unloading took about four hours the egg beater carries enough fuel for a two and one half hour flight enabling it to cover about 200 miles the cabin made entirely of plexiglass gives a fishbowl effect that's ideal for observation and aerial photo missions included in the second group of mobility tests were marches first on snowshoes [Music] and later on skis ski training was enthusiastically received by the men [Music] do [Music] those spills were frequent no serious casualties resulted most of the men became expert with the torture boards and spent many off-duty hours at the sport field days were held featuring competitive cross-country snowshoeing skiing and slalom racing the men's endurance was also tested by pulling heavily loaded sleds through thirty or forty inches of snow various kinds of sleds and toboggans including some swedish types were used but the going was hard toboggans plowed under g poles tangled with the brush and low as the temperature was the men sweated excessively half a mile an hour was the best the men could do under these circumstances and this only for very short lengths of time it was proved conclusively that men will never replace four footed huskies at this work after snowfalls the tents looked like pointed igloos with the temperature inside almost as cozy as an igloo outside at the anti-aircraft gun position the m55 and 40 millimeter guns were in operation here again a localized ice fog was created from the heat of a group of human bodies and the functioning of weapons the difficulty of operating signal equipment at sub-zero temperatures was also demonstrated operating a hand crank generator at minus 50 degrees fahrenheit resulted in numb hands and knees for this man the infantry unit of task force frigid conducted tests on all infantry equipment throughout the winter the t20 e2 30 caliber rifle was one of the weapons tested it can be fired either semi-automatic or automatic it has greatly increased firepower it could not be loaded efficiently by men wearing heavy arctic mittens it was discovered but using bare hands is not necessary if the trigger finger insert is used bars were equipped with improvised snowshoe bipods here again most men found it necessary to remove arctic mittens and use the trigger finger inserts as protective hand covering carefully cleaned and well lubricated small arms presented no operational difficulties in sub-zero temperature targets were often obscured by the ice fog prevailing at -35 degrees fahrenheit and lower in addition condensation of moisture caused by the burning propellants blurred the vision of the riflemen an aerial wire laying experiment was conducted in connection with the aaa the first instance of a complete field wire system being installed by cargo aircraft for a unit in the field the wire used is one-third the weight of standard field wire w110b yet has equal transmission characteristics a series of spacer boxes were loaded into a c82 plane and connected together the wire was then passed out through this payout tube the aircraft flew between 90 and 150 miles an hour at an elevation of 100 to 200 feet when over the objective a 20 pound chain and a small parachute attached to the free end of the wire were dropped out the door the ground recovery party spotted the wire and connected the field telephone to it a similar connection in the plane enabled parties at both ends to converse until the line had been entirely paid out this method of wire laying was entirely satisfactory with approximately 104 miles being laid for frigid in january and february 1947 during the final weeks of the testing period two m3 demolition snakes were detonated by the engineers these snakes are approximately 400 feet in length when complete and the total weight is somewhere around 9 000 pounds including about 4 500 pounds of explosives [Music] the towing yoke of a tank is attached to the towing hook of the snake then the snake is pulled into a position from which it is pushed over a minefield after the snake was detonated by machine gun fire from a tank engineer officers moved into the demolition area of the bombing range to observe the results of the test over this snow road constructed by company e 10th engineers the anti-aircraft artillery provisional battery moved to its test site on the banks of the tanana river tactical distances were maintained by the columns which included an m55 machine gun mount a multiple machine gun motor carriage an m19 self-propelled a a weapon equipped with twin 40s two towed 40 millimeters and an scr 784 radar the 90 millimeter a gun m1a1 when emplaced on frozen tundra was unstable in firing and shifted severely during one test the precision crew got off 24 rounds per minute even though dressed in cumbersome arctic clothing on the whole the heavy a.a guns were deemed unsatisfactory for use in temperatures much below minus 10 degrees fahrenheit [Music] the towed 40 millimeters fired well in all temperatures after sufficient warming up time for the m3 oil gears an m5a3 director was used for off carriage fire control these automatic weapons were fired at drums filled with used oil firing the m55 quad mount of 50 caliber machine guns presented no difficulties except for weakened turret power charges in prolonged cold obscuration during firing was severe at temperatures below minus 20 degrees fahrenheit during the first week in march frigidet was organized this was a column of 121 tracked vehicles ranging from the ever-present weasels to 45 ton tanks experimental sled kitchens were also tested in this operation they proved extremely practical although their high center of gravity made them inclined to topple in rough terrain so the exhaust from the weasel column threw up a thick haze over the route of march so most of the cross-country operations were conducted at night for security purposes a helicopter equipped with floats not only made mail call a daily event but served as the eyes of the column although the vehicles were camouflaged the column was easily spotted from the air even the native moose and caribou were unable to escape detection from above [Applause] tanks assisted bulldozers in clearing paths for the rest of the column without this trail blazing the weasels could never have pulled their heavily loaded sleds through the snow d7 tractors came to the assistance of the half tracks supply difficulties forced the return of all tanks and half tracks to base camp on the third day of frigidaire and the weasels did yeoman service from then on a landing strip 1800 feet long was prepared on the bombing range by frigideth personnel by dragging logs over the snow to level it this work took roughly two and a half hours five gliders landed on this strip bringing in supplies [Music] although one or two of them kicked up a cloud of snow and brushed there was no severe damage either to glider or cargo besides 40 cases of e-rations and other supplies there were 35 drums of gasoline brought in 1925 gallons in all the drums were loaded on a six-ton athy trailer tractors towed the gliders out to the pickup station pickups were made when the plane had a speed of 110 to 120 miles an hour and was 15 or 20 feet above the ground [Music] only the first tactical use of gliders in alaska and proved a successful experiment on the whole throughout the operation the helicopter kept a constant check on the important problem of maintaining a chain of supply for frigidette in its hundred-odd mile trip numerous tests of armored equipment went on through the winter all types of tanks were put to severe tests deep snow packed up in front of the m26 medium tank and slowed it down to three to five miles an hour the same thing happened to the m24 light tank tanks were also tested in heavily wooded terrain this m24 this m4 a3 e8 [Music] and this m26 performed well during this phase of the test in march company b 66th tank battalion prepared for a maneuver on the flat snow-covered tundra the tanks including the m18 tank destroyer in the foreground carved a trail through the deep snow for the half tracks which otherwise couldn't have negotiated it the three types of tanks moved into position for a firing test they were the m26 the m4a3 e8 [Music] and the m24 muzzle blast on the large guns like this one on the m26 was notable but general functioning was normal although the obscuration due to ice bog after a few rounds of fire made it difficult to see either the tanks or targets uphill tests on snow covered and bare frozen slopes of 34 percent were also made the m24 tank with its hydromatic transmission couldn't maintain sufficient vehicle momentum to climb more than one vehicle length up the slope the standard type track couldn't prevent the tank from slipping back even with manually selected gear ratios the m4a3e8 tank couldn't go as far up the 34 slope as the m24 before sliding backwards the m26 tank didn't make it either these tests clearly indicated the need for an improved grosser for all types of tracks the canadian snowmobile was put to the test also it moved further up the slope but like the other vehicles tested it bogged down before reaching the top the field artillery established its firing points in the bombing range its weapons were moved there by weasel high-speed tractor [Music] and on self-propelled carriages to be test-fired the 105 millimeter howitzer mounted on an m37 motor carriage was the next artillery piece to be tested as with the infantry weapons wearing arctic mittens while handling ammunition and loading the piece had its drawbacks but the hydro spring recoil system operated extremely well in this type of weather an m6 tractor moved the 155 millimeter howitzer m1 into position because it's normal prime mover the m5 tractor couldn't tow it through the deep snow here again the arctic clothing hindered the crew's work the whitewash sprayed on the jacket and recoil cylinder were for camouflage the hydropneumatic recoil system was considerably slowed down by the cold occasionally taking as long as 10 minutes to return to battery position the 155 millimeter howitzer on the m41 motor carriage like all the other self-propelled pieces maneuvered easily in the snow but the same difficulty in loading and firing was encountered by the heavily clothed crew test fire was also conducted on the 8-inch howitzer mounted on the m43 motor carriage by this time the men of frigid had spent 25 continuous days in temperatures of minus 50 degrees and lower and found field jackets warm enough for the comparatively mild zero weather as the testing period drew to a close on the 17th and 18th of april task force frigid moved from landfill to whittier on the first flap of its journey homeward [Music] on hand to bid the task force goodbye were general everest commanding general yukon sector and colonel merrick commanding officer of lad field the men of the task force could enjoy the satisfaction that comes only from a good job well done and now the development boards of the agf are doing their part of the job transforming statistics into something concrete in the way of clothing equipment and shelters that will withstand the rigors of the arctic all based on the experiences and experiments of task force frigid [Music] you