The exploration of Antarctica (and our current presence there) demands the best technology, especially when it comes to transportation. In the early 20th century, various expeditions brought experimental cars and motorized sledges, but none of these solutions worked as expected due to the hostile environment. The United States' answer was nothing less than pure brute force: In 1939, Thomas Poulter of the Armour Institute of Technology (now Illinois) created the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, a monster 17 meters long and 34 tons that would eventually conquer the white continent... in theory.
The Need for a New Vehicle
Much of the American effort in Antarctica was carried out thanks to the series of bases known as Little America. The first one was established by the famous explorer Richard E. Byrd (the same one of the controversial 'first flight' over the North Pole) in 1929, and abandoned a year later. Byrd returned to Antarctica in 1934, on which occasion he nearly lost his life (he spent five months alone in a weather station, half-poisoned by carbon monoxide from a stove), but that wasn't enough for him. Everything was ready for a third expedition, with a very important ally: the United States government.
Until then, Antarctic explorations were (in general) private initiatives, but the strategic interest in Antarctica multiplied with the increase of Nazi activity in the region (more precisely, the expedition of 1938 and the creation of New Swabia). Thus was established the United States Antarctic Service Expedition, with support from the Navy, the State Department, the Treasury, and the Department of the Interior. Now, Byrd knew well that transportation on the continent would be a fundamental factor. The explorer had had some success with the use of small modified tractors (in fact, they saved his life in the second expedition), but this time they needed something much more advanced and powerful.
A Giant on Wheels
The Antarctic Snow Cruiser was 17 meters long, 6 meters wide, and weighed 34 tons when fully loaded. Its tires moved independently, with a protection system that retracted them into the chassis, using engine heat to keep the rubber in good condition. It had a hybrid diesel-electric configuration with two Cummins H-6 engines of 11 liters each, and four electric motors totaling 220 kilowatts. With 13,300 liters of diesel fuel in its two tanks at maximum, it had a range of 8,000 kilometers and could sustain its five crew members for a year. It could even carry a small plane on its back. In short, a mini city on wheels.
Construction and Journey
Its construction began on August 8, 1939, and lasted eleven weeks. At the end of October, the Antarctic Snow Cruiser began its 1,640-kilometer journey from south of Chicago to the Army dock in Boston, and there the first problems arose. A failure in the steering system made it fall off a small bridge in Ohio, and it remained trapped for three days. Still, the cruiser managed to reach Boston on November 13, and depart aboard the USMS North Star two days later.
The nightmare continued with its arrival in Antarctica in January 1940. Getting the cruiser off the ship was a chaotic process that completely destroyed the wooden ramp built by the expedition members. As if that weren't enough, all celebrations were overshadowed by a small detail: the Antarctic Snow Cruiser could not move on snow. The beast that was supposedly capable of exploring hundreds of thousands of square kilometers on its own had a massive traction deficit. Its tires had been designed for swampy terrain, and the two diesel engines proved insufficient. The technicians installed both spare tires on the front and placed chains on the rear tires, but the only thing that really worked to move the cruiser was driving it in reverse, at a fraction of its maximum speed. The longest trip did not exceed 148 kilometers, and after several attempts, the expedition threw in the towel: the Antarctic Snow Cruiser was an absolute failure as an exploration vehicle, and it only found some use as a static laboratory.
Poulter returned to the United States on January 24, while the entire expedition remained there for a little over a year. The evacuation order was completed in March 1941. The United States' entry into World War II seemed imminent, and all funds intended for Antarctic exploration were redirected to other areas. From a scientific point of view, the Antarctic Service Expedition was a success, but the abandonment of equipment (including the cruiser) was significant.
The Antarctic Snow Cruiser was located once more in 1946 during Operation Highjump, and for the second and last time in 1958 thanks to the intervention of an international expedition. During all those years, the cruiser managed to stay in good condition, but there was never a legitimate effort to recover it. Later expeditions failed to find it, so it is probably buried in the snow, or at the bottom of the ocean due to the natural movement of the ice. A strange conspiracy suggests that the Soviet Union stole the cruiser. Is there any truth to it? We only know one thing: the cruiser is not there.
Source: The Atlantic
