it»Jr't : — Su m m el 



rwegian Bay. ___^^^ 



are evident from an examination of a polar orthographic projec- 

 tion made of the Northern Hemisphere- Our approaches must 

 be guarded in the Aleutians, in Alaska, and in the complex of 

 islands of the Greenland Sea — Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen. 

 This strategic concept is not new. It was William Henry Seward, 

 Secretary of State in President Lincoln's cabinet, who consum- 

 mated the Alaska purchase and made a futile effort toward pur- 

 chase of Greenland and Iceland. 



In the winter of 1946 (March 10-21) Operation Frostbite was 

 conducted in Davis Strait using a small carrier task group formed 

 around the U. S. S. Midivay (CVB41). This cruise was valuable 

 in revealing the nature of problems associated with the operation 

 of carrier aircraft in cold weather areas. The findings and rec- 

 ommendations of a special group of observers have been recorded 

 in a Bureau of Aeronautics report. (See ch. 7.) The general 

 opinion expressed by observers on this operation was : 



"The aircraft, equipment, procedures, technical orders, technical notes, and 

 other existing instructions are satisfactory for conditions of temperatures and 

 winds considerably more rigorous than the conditions which can be tolerated 

 by the deck personnel. Certain modifications are necessary to the aircraft, 

 equipment, and technique to increase cold-weather carrier operational effi- 

 ciency and to lower the limits imposed by temperature and wind conditions. 



