OPENING OF THE ARCTIC OCEAN — STRONG 397 



produced the largest icebreaker fleet in the world. The more modern 

 vessels of this fleet include four 11,000-ton Stalin-cla.ss ships and three 

 Finnish built 5,500-ton Kapitan-cluss ships. The much heralded 

 nuclear-powered, IGjOOO-ton Lenin will join the fleet soon. 



For many years the Soviets have been systematically studying the 

 science of the Arctic on a scale far beyond that of the Western World. 

 Since 1937 this work has been carried out in the far north by groups 

 of scientists established on ice floes. Since tJie floes drift very slowly, 

 the scientists can thoroughly and deliberately carry out their studies 

 over a long period of time. The pattern for this exploration was set 

 by the first party in 1937 led by Ivan Papanin who is now one of the 

 most celebrated of polar explorers. Papanin and liis three comrades 

 were landed by aircraft on a floe at the North Pole. Nine months 

 later, the floe had drifted clear of the ice and the party was removed 

 by an icebreaker east of Greenland. Since that time, a series of eight 

 expeditions have used aircraft to land men and equipment on the ice. 

 The slow drift of the ice has carried tliem around this previously in- 

 accessible region while tliey pursued tlieir studies and research. Sev- 

 eral of these expeditions manned their floes winter and summer for 

 more than a year. During 1959, two of these stations, NP6 and NP8, 

 were drifting in the Arctic. 



While the drifting stations conducted long-time studies, the tech- 

 niques and equipment developed to land the parties were used to 

 extend the area of observations by short-time observations. During 

 the 10 years after 1947, Soviet aircraft landed at more than 100 points 

 all over the Arctic Ocean for brief hydrographic, oceanographic, 

 meteorologic, and cyrologic observations. 



The nuclear submarine has proved to be a very efficient means for 

 the gathering of certain scientific information in the Arctic on six 

 cruises since 1957. This information has to a certain extent closed the 

 gap that has existed between the Soviet exploration in the Arctic and 

 the modest amount accomplished by all other countries. In 1960 it 

 would appear that even though the Soviets have a far greater experi- 

 ence and interest in the commercial, scientific, and military opportuni- 

 ties of the Arctic, the United States has a fortunate, if temporary, 

 advantage in the area because of her unique possession of nuclear 

 submarines. 



The Arctic air has been a scene of large-scale militarj- air operations 

 ever since the U.S. and Soviet Air Forces began looking at each other 

 across the Pole after World War II. The Arctic is ready for the first 

 time for a corresponding interest by the two navies of these countries. 

 The voyages of Nautilus^ Skate, Sarffo, and Seadragon have marked 

 this area as the exclusive domain of the nuclear submarine. The 

 Soviet submarine force — the largest submarine force in the world by a 

 factor of more than three times — will most certainly soon have nuclear 



