MacGregor Arctic Expedition - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The MacGregor Arctic Expedition was a privately funded expedition which set out to reoccupy Fort Conger

Fort Conger

Fort Conger is a former settlement, military fortification, and scientific research post in Qikiqtaaluk, Nunavut, Canada. It was established in 1881 as an Arctic exploration camp, notable as the site of the first major northern polar region scientific expedition, part of the US government's...

, Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island

Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, a site within flying distance of the North Pole

North Pole

The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

. The expedition, which took place from July 1, 1937 to October 3, 1938, had four main objectives: To collect weather data; to make a magnetic survey; to photograph the aurora borealis

Aurora (astronomy)

An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...

and study its effects upon radio transmission; and to explore the area northwest of Ellesmere Island, in order to clear up the questions about Crocker Land

Crocker Land

Crocker Land was the name Robert Peary gave to a mass of land which he believed he saw in the distant northwest from the summit of Cape Thomas Hubbard, during a 1906 expedition. Peary estimated the landmass to be 130 miles away at about 83 degrees N, longitude 100 degrees W...

, which Robert Peary

Robert Peary

Robert Edwin Peary, Sr. was an American explorer who claimed to have been the first person, on April 6, 1909, to reach the geographic North Pole...

placed on the map more than 30 years earlier.

Preparation

In the spring of 1937, a three mast, tern schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

, The Donald II was purchased in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

and brought to Port Newark

Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal

Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal is a major component of the Port of New York and New Jersey. Located on the Newark Bay it serves as the principal container ship facility for goods entering and leaving New York-Newark metropolitan area, and the northeastern quadrant of North America...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

where new motors were installed and the ship reinforced and reconditioned for the expedition. It was rechristened the Gen. A. W. Greely

Schooner A.W. Greely

The A.W. Greely was a three masted wooden schooner that became known for her role in the MacGregor Arctic Expedition, a privately funded expedition to the North Pole between July 1, 1937 and October 3, 1938.-Donald II:...

on May 2, 1937, in honor of Adolphus Greely

Adolphus Greely

Adolphus Washington Greely , was an American Polar explorer, a United States Army officer and a recipient of the Medal of Honor.-Early military career:...

, leader of the ill fated Lady Franklin Bay Expedition of 1881 and 1882.

All expedition members paid their own way either by supplying necessary equipment or cash. There were originally eleven members of the expedition: Clifford J. MacGregor

Clifford J. MacGregor

Clifford J. MacGregor was a meteorologist, Arctic explorer and naval aviator.-Military career:MacGregor was in the U.S. Navy until 1926 where he was trained to pilot Zeppelins at the Philadelphia Navy Yard....

, meteorologist

Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...

for the US Weather Bureau

National Weather Service

The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...

; Isaac "Ike" Schlossbach

Isaac Schlossbach

-Isaac "Ike" Schlossbach :Ike Schlossbach was a celebrated American polar explorer, submariner and aviation pioneer....

, "second in command", navigator and chief airplane pilot, United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

(retired); Roy Fitzsimmons

Roy Fitzsimmons

Roy Fitzsimmons was an American Polar Explorer and Geophysicist. Born LeRoy Fitzsimmons, he was the youngest child of John and Alice Brown Fitzsimmons and was one of 10 children....

, Polar Geophysicist

Geophysics

Geophysics is the physics of the Earth and its environment in space; also the study of the Earth using quantitative physical methods. The term geophysics sometimes refers only to the geological applications: Earth's shape; its gravitational and magnetic fields; its internal structure and...

and magnatologist; Robert Danskin, aircraft supplier and geologist

Geologist

A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...

; Gerry Sayre

Albert Gerald Sayre

Albert Gerald Sayre was an American Radioman, Radio Amateur, Teacher and Arctic Explorer.Gerry served in the US Navy as Radioman during World War I and was a Commander in the US Naval Reserve...

, radio engineer & operator; Murray A. Wiener

Murray A. Wiener

Murray A. Weiner was a Polar Explorer and photographer.-Early years:Murray accompanied Admiral Byrd on three additional Antarctic Expeditions: Operation Highjump ; Operation Deep Freeze I and Operation Deep Freeze II Murray A. Weiner (1909 - xxxx) was a Polar Explorer and photographer.-Early...

, photographer; John Johnson, cook and mechanic; Paul "Fuzzy" Furlong, mechanic and dog handler; Francis Lawrence, aerologist and Junior Naval Guard; Robert Inglis, Surveyor and Boy Scout

Boy Scout

A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...

(the youngest member of the crew); and Norman Hortman, pilot (who left en route north at Sydney

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

En Route North

The expedition set sail from Port Newark, NJ, on July 1, 1937. They made two stops in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

: Lunenburg

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...

to drop off passengers and take on fresh food and supplies; and Sydney to drop off Norm Hortman and a radio technician who had been tuning the radio equipment and to take on coal. They made two scheduled stops in Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

, one to take on fresh water and food at Fairhaven and another at Idglorssuit, Umank Fjord to pick up dogs and deliver presents to the Eskimo

Eskimo

Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....

inhabitants.

After departing Idgorsuit the ship encountered ice in Baffin Bay

Baffin Bay

Baffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...

. At the lower end of Robertson Channel they were stopped completely by a wall of ice 15 feet thick. Failing to reach Ft. Conger was a disappointment to MacGregor. Unable to proceed further they tried to seek shelter on Ellesmere Island only to find the entire coast blocked with ice. They then drifted south along the coast of Greenland urgently looking for winter quarters as new ice was already forming and there was a danger of being frozen in.

Wintering over in Etah, Greenland
Etah, Greenland
Etah is an abandoned settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northern Greenland. It was a starting point of discovery expeditions to the North Pole, and the landing site of the last migration of the Inuit from the Canadian Arctic.- Geography :...

They arrived at Foulke Fiord, near Etah

Etah, Greenland

Etah is an abandoned settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northern Greenland. It was a starting point of discovery expeditions to the North Pole, and the landing site of the last migration of the Inuit from the Canadian Arctic.- Geography :...

on August 31, 1937. Before the expedition could get settled on land they experienced a series of near disasters which almost settled the expedition at the bottom of the sound. The charts of the area showed 40 ft (12 m). of water (the ship drew 12 ft {4 m}) but much to their surprise they found themselves aground. By unloading some of the supplies they were able to re-float the ship at the next tide. On September 1, 1937 a severe gale blew the ship out to sea, the anchor being unable to hold on the rocky bottom. On the return to Etah, one of the engines backfired starting a fire aboard ship. There were some anxious moments until the fire was extinguished as there was still gasoline, ammunition and dynamite aboard. After two days they were able to get back to Reindeer Point near Etah only to find that most of the supplies that they had unloaded earlier to re-float the ship were under water, as a 10 ft (3 m) tide ebbed and flowed there. Finally the ship was unloaded and work started on enlarging a cabin left by the Humphrey Expedition of 1934-35.

So confident was MacGregor that his ice-reinforced, wooden-hulled schooner could reach Ft. Conger that he hadn’t bothered to obtain an entry permit from Danish

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

authorities (required for a base camp in Greenland). Shortly after New Years the expedition was visited by the territorial Governor who had traveled overland from Thule, now (Qaanaaq

Qaanaaq

Qaanaaq is the main town in the northern part of the Qaasuitsup municipality in northwestern Greenland. It is one of the northernmost towns in the world. The inhabitants of Qaanaaq speak the West Greenlandic language and many also speak Inuktun. The town has a population of 626 as of 2010...

). He had learned of the expedition's presence in Greenland by monitoring their radio broadcasts and instructed them to leave at the earliest opportunity.

The accomplishments

Hourly weather observations started September 8, 1937 and reports were transmitted daily to the US Weather Bureau

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , pronounced , like "noah", is a scientific agency within the United States Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere...

in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

. Pilot-balloon observations were made twice daily except during December and January. All observations were continued until the hour of sailing July 7, 1938. MacGregor believed that accurately observing and plotting the development and movement of air masses as they moved across the Arctic

Arctic

The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...

would make possible more precise, longer range Northern Hemispheric

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

weather forecasting

Weather forecasting

Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...

. In late 1937 MacGregor, from Etah, Greenland

Etah, Greenland

, gave a long-range weather forecast for 1938, based on the observations from his expedition. Two and a half months later it proved to be amazingly accurate.

In February, Eskimos began arriving from the south. Among them was Ootah who had accompanied Peary in 1909 on the historic first trip to the North Pole.

In March, the Haig-Thomas, Wright, Hamilton expedition

David Haig-Thomas

David Haig-Thomas was a British ornithologist, explorer and rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1932 Summer Olympics. He was an army commando during the Second World War, and was killed in action during the Normandy Landings.Haig-Thomas was born in London and educated at Eton College and...

visited. They shared the hut while charting portions of Ellesmere Island and conducting biological

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

and glaciological

Glaciology

Glaciology Glaciology Glaciology (from Middle French dialect (Franco-Provençal): glace, "ice"; or Latin: glacies, "frost, ice"; and Greek: λόγος, logos, "speech" lit...

studies. In a combined venture, Schlossbach and Wright made a 300 mile (483 km) ice cap

Ice cap

An ice cap is an ice mass that covers less than 50 000 km² of land area . Masses of ice covering more than 50 000 km² are termed an ice sheet....

survey northeast of Etah. It was probably the longest continuous traverse over that region to that time.

Paul Furlong and Roy Fitzsimmons trekked across Smith Sound

Smith Sound

Smith Sound is an uninhabited Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Canada's northernmost island, Ellesmere Island. It links Baffin Bay with Kane Basin and forms part of the Nares Strait....

to Cape Sabline, Ellesmere Island to deposit supplies at a Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

cache site (a request from Charles Camsell

Charles Camsell

Charles Camsell was a Canadian geologist and Commissioner of the Northwest Territories from December 3, 1936 to December 3, 1946.-Early life:...

the Northwest Territories Commissioner

Commissioners of Northwest Territories

The Commissioner of the Northwest Territories is the Canadian federal government’s representative in Northwest Territories and the territory's Chief Executive Officer...

).

The MacGregor expedition took with them a 1933 model Waco

Waco Aircraft Company

The Waco Aircraft Company was an aircraft manufacturer located in Troy, Ohio, USA. Between 1919 and 1947, the company produced a wide range of civilian biplanes....

biplane

Biplane

A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...

for surveying and exploration. The aircraft had a single 210 hp Continental

Continental Motors Company

Continental Motors Company was an American engine and automobile manufacturer. The company produced engines for various independent manufacturers of automobiles, tractors, and stationary equipment from the 1900s through the 1960s. Continental Motors also produced Continental-branded automobiles in...

air cooled rotary engine

Rotary engine

The rotary engine was an early type of internal-combustion engine, usually designed with an odd number of cylinders per row in a radial configuration, in which the crankshaft remained stationary and the entire cylinder block rotated around it...

. Schlossbach flew the Waco four times from Etah marking several memorable aviation accomplishments; the first solo flight over Ellesmere Island; the first landing on Ellesmere Island; and the refuting of Perry’s claim that there was another island northwest of Ellesmere Island.

While exploring the coast of Ellesmere Island in 1909, Commodore Robert Peary had sighted a gray shadow on the horizon. Convinced that he had discovered an uncharted island, he christened it Crocker Land. Isaac Schlossbach armed with a sun compass and extra gas, attempted to locate Crocker Land from the air. He crisscrossed the area where Perry had placed Crocker Land. All he saw was ocean; there was no Crocker Land.

The voyage home

When the ice broke in July 1938, the explorers left Greenland after making a brief stop in Thule to pick up John Johnson who had been dog sled

Dog sled

A dog sled is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing.-History:...

ded there earlier for medical care.

The severe winter had damaged the schooner more than had been expected and an ice jam in Baffin Bay held the ship for weeks, drifting with the ice. Several seams opened up and constant pumping was required for days before reaching St. John's

St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...

, Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, where repairs were made.

During the voyage from St. Johns to Newark, off the Grand Banks

Grand Banks

The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. These areas are relatively shallow, ranging from in depth. The cold Labrador Current mixes with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream here.The mixing of these waters...

, on September 21, 1938, they encountered one of the worst hurricanes

New England Hurricane of 1938

The New England Hurricane of 1938 was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869...

that had ever moved up the Atlantic Coast.

The expedition finally returned to Port Newark on October 4, 1938 having been out fifteen months and four days.

Postscript

With only ten members and a scant budget, the MacGregor Arctic Expedition could not rival the major undertakings of Byrd

Richard Evelyn Byrd

Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...

or Scott

Robert Falcon Scott

Captain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...

. But it certainly was comparable in size and purpose to many other polar expeditions of its era. Besides its scientific and aviation accomplishments, the 15-month-long MacGregor Arctic Expedition was a valuable experience for several members who would serve again on polar expeditions. Ike Schlossbach would continue to be on expeditions until he was 70 years old; Paul Furlong would be with Grenfell in 1939; Roy Fitzsimmons would go on the United States Antarctic Service Expedition

United States Antarctic Service Expedition

The United States Antarctic Service Expedition , often referred to as Byrd’s third Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition jointly sponsored by the United States Navy, State Department, Department of the Interior and The Treasury...

, 1939-41; Murray Wiener would be with Byrd on several expeditions and serve on Byrd's personal staff.

"The MacGregor Arctic Expedition had some notable achievements. Probably the most notable is its obscurity. Unlike most of its contemporaries, the MacGregor Arctic Expedition is virtually unrecorded in polar history." - Hal Vogel

The crew

Clifford J. MacGregor

- Commander - Meteorologist

Commander, US Navy Reserve

US Weather Bureau

Newark, NJ

Isaac Schlossbach

Isaac Schlossbach

-Isaac "Ike" Schlossbach :Ike Schlossbach was a celebrated American polar explorer, submariner and aviation pioneer....

- Second in Command - Navigator

Navigator

A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...

, Airplane Pilot

US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD

Lieutenant Commander – US Navy (retired)

Nautelis Arctic Expedition

Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition

Neptune, NJ

Roy G. Fitzsimmons

Roy Fitzsimmons

Roy Fitzsimmons was an American Polar Explorer and Geophysicist. Born LeRoy Fitzsimmons, he was the youngest child of John and Alice Brown Fitzsimmons and was one of 10 children....

– Geophysicist and Magnetologist

Seaton Hall Collage, Class of 1937, Physics

Carnige Institution, Magnetology

Captain - US Army Air Force

Newark, NJ

Robert Sterling Danskin – Aircraft Supplier - Geologist

Geologist

Burdett College class of 1929

Arlington, MA

Albert Gerald Sayre

Albert Gerald Sayre

Albert Gerald Sayre was an American Radioman, Radio Amateur, Teacher and Arctic Explorer.Gerry served in the US Navy as Radioman during World War I and was a Commander in the US Naval Reserve...

– Radio Engineer

Commander US Navy Reserve

Cornwall On Hudson, New York

Murray A. Wiener

Murray A. Wiener

-- Photographer

Bradley Beach, NJ

John Johnson – Cook - Mechanic

Farmingdale, NJ

Robert Inglis – Assistant Surveyor

Boy Scout

Trenton, NJ

Paul B. “Fuzzy” Furlong – Mechanic - Dog Handler

Upper Montclair, NJ

Francis D. Lawrence – Aerologist

Junior Naval Guard

East Orange, NJ

Norman Hortman - Pilot

(Left en route north at Sydney, Nova Scotia)

External links

MacGregor photograph
[ MacGregor Arctic Expedition; Monthly Weather Review]
Oral History, Robert Inglis

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Preparation

En Route North

Wintering over in Etah, GreenlandEtah, GreenlandEtah is an abandoned settlement in the Qaasuitsup municipality in northern Greenland. It was a starting point of discovery expeditions to the North Pole, and the landing site of the last migration of the Inuit from the Canadian Arctic.- Geography :...

The accomplishments

The voyage home

Postscript

The crew

External links