ARCTIC DEFENCES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 70, 8 January 1947, Page 5

ARCTIC DEFENCES

KEY TO WORLD AVIATION A NATURAL AIR ROUTE “The Arctic is the key to the future of the world,” Bernt Balchen, world famous flyer and explorer told a writer in an exclusive interview. “Not only is the Arctic America’s first line of defence.” he continued. “It is the highway to the coming expansion of world aviation. ‘The capitals of all the world’s great Powers lie close to the Arctic Circle, and the easiest route from one to the other lies to the north. The Great Circle course from New York to Chungking passes within fifty miles of the North Pole and that is ,of course,, the shortest possible flying route. It is some 7550 miles, but that will be nothing to the planes winch will be rolling off American production lines in the near future.’-

Bernt Balchen, managing editor of D.N.L., the Norwegian air lines, arrived in New York recently with a group of Scandinavian officials on the inaugural flight of the new Scandinavian air lines. Swedish, Norwegian and Danish air companies have co-operated to make this new service possible. A Natural Air Route

As representative of the infant Scandinavian Air Union, Balchen arranged the first experimental flights across the North Atlantic. He was working with the United States State Department as early as 1936 and the work that was done jointly by Scandinavia and America supplied information of inestimable value in the establishment of a North Atlantic supply route by air to Europe during World War 11. Shortly before the outbreak of wav Balcheri was commissioned in the United States Army Air Forces and led an expedition which wiped out German installations in Greenland. He also headed a special O.S.S. flying unit which dropped supplies to the Norwegian and Danish undergrounds, as well as carrying out many other highly secret missions within Scandinavia.

“You know,” Balchen continued, “I’ve spent ten winters in the Arctic. Weather at the North Pole is actually better suited for flying than it is in North .America, because the atmosphere is cold and dry. With the rapid improvements in commercial planes and the expansion of peacetime aviation, I believe there will be regular flights criss-crossing the polar regions. “I happened to be looking at a National Geographic magazine published in 1930 and the map of the polar regions showed that nearly 30 per cent was still unexplored. That was only 16 years ago. In 1936 when I first discussed regular flights across the North Atlantic route via Greenland and Iceland, people thought I was crazy. Yet, when the war started and it had to be done, thousands of bombers and fighters reached England over this route and they were responsible for the crushing blows we struck at the Luftwaffe. Now flights to Europe are routine, and the future holds no bounds when we have really conquered the Arctic.” Defence Bases Imperative

In reply to specific questions about American bases and defences in the north, Balchen, who was called the Army Air Forces’ “cold weather man” and who still holds a reserve commission, replied: “Too few people look at the map of the North Pole very carefully. It is less than 60 miles across the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia. There is less than three miles between the big and little Diomede Islands belong to Russia and the United States respectively. This means that Russia and Alaska—and Russia and Canada—are next-door neighbours.

“I understand the Air Forces are conducting extensive experiments in Arctic flying this winter and much of value should be learned. In my opinion it is imperative that America—jointly with Canada, if she will—maintain bases in Alaska, Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland and North Canada. It is imperative for the future of aviation that landing fields, weather stations, and repair shops be available at the bases to the north. Such defences must be maintained at least until the peace of the world is assured and then must be continued to assure the future development of worldwide commercial aviation.”