374 | ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1949 
650-horsepower Norseman plane, which had been especially designed 
for cold-weather work, for flying gasoline caches to various points 
along the Weddell Coast. Weeks of continuous overcast, however, 
prevented us from completing this program. In November, by the 
time the weather had improved sufficiently for the southern explora- 
tory flights, we had deposited 28 drums of high-octane gasoline at the 
Cape Keeler Advance Base. 
During the winter Major Butler and I had decided to cooperate in a 
surface field program. A joint British-American Weddell Coast sledge 
party consisting of four men, Major Butler and surveyor Douglas 
Mason of the F. I. D. S., and two members of my expedition, Walter 
Smith, navigator, and Arthur Owen, dog driver, were to cross the 
plateau by dog team to the eastern side of the Palmer Peninsula. 
They would sledge south along the Weddell Coast to Cape Knowles, 
beyond which the territory was virgin so far as surface travel was 
concerned, though the United States Antarctic Service Expedition had 
made an exploratory flight as far south as Mount Tricorn. When the 
surface party reached Mount Tricorn, the two Americans, now forming 
the Ronne Weddell Coast party, would continue southward into the 
unknown as far as supplies would permit, in order to establish ground 
control points for our aerial mapping. So long a sledge trip without 
the aid of supporting dog-team parties would be possible because our 
Norseman plane was to deposit several caches of man and dog food 
along the route of travel (fig. 2). 
RESCUE OF BRITISH AIRMEN 
As a first step the small British Auster plane took off for Cape 
Keeler on September 15, followed by the larger Norseman plane loaded 
with 3,000 pounds of trail supplies. The smaller plane was to make 
the initial landing in the field and pick out a suitable landing area for 
the heavily loaded Norseman. The Auster did not have adequate 
radio communication and in flight unfortunately became separated 
from the other plane. When the Norseman did not sight the Auster 
at the Cape Keeler rendezvous, a search was made, but darkness and 
bad weather were approaching, and Capt. James W. Lassiter had to 
turn back. By 10 o’clock that evening a storm had set in, and the 
British plane was still missing and unreported. Accordingly, I made 
all the facilities of my expedition available to Major Butler for his use 
in searching for the missing plane. Captain Lassiter and Lt. Charles 
J. Adams made numerous unsuccessful searching flights in the over- 
cast weather during the next 8 days. On the ninth day, when hope 
was dwindling rapidly, Captain Lassiter located the three lost British- 
ers walking back on the sea ice 40 miles south of our base. We learned 
that they had actually landed at Cape Keeler on the day of the out- 
ward flight and, when they were not sighted by the Norseman, had 
