Alaskan Air Command Constructs
Test Landing Strip On Snow
To Accomodate Jets, Globemasters
From the Alaskan Air Command <
JUNEAU—The curtain was lift
ed today on one of the most revo
lutionary landing strips in the
arctic. Lieutenant General Joseph
H. Atkinson, commander in chief
of Alaska, accompanied Major
General George R. Acheson, com
mander of the Alaskan Air Com
mand, on an inspection tour of an
experimental runway built by the
Alaskan Air Command. Their C-54
aircraft made a test landing yes
terday.
This recent innovation to con
ventional flight was built on a
four-mile stretch of flat tundra
approximately 25 miles southeast
of Aniak, a small village in west
ern Alaska.
Appropriately referred to as
a “snowport,” the frozen test strip
is 10,000 feet long and 200 feet
wide with flat approaches at both
ends. Its boundaries are outlined
CS--.-----—
with spruce boughs and oil drums
with the center lines of the run
ways indicated by marker dye.
The purpose of transforming
this frozen tundra into an effec
tive landing strip was to deter
mine the feasibility of such strips
for greater mobility in interceptor
aircraft deployment and recovery.
It is also being tested to effect
greater aircraft dispersal in event
of emergency and to provide al
ternate bases for aircraft operat
ing in the theater.
The underlying objective is to
develop methods and techniques
of building snow strips quickly
and inexpensively but at the same
time to be suitable for accepting
both jet interceptor and conven
tional aircraft as large as the
C-124 Glo’bemaster.
The area of Aniak was selected
as the site for operation because
it was typical interior location and
appeared to offer typical problems
peculiar to construction of this
kind of strip.
Heavy equipment used in con
struction of the snowport consist
ed of a D-6 cat, a D-12 road grad
er, a Tucker snow cat, a wobble
wheel roller and a ski beaver. Ac
cording to all available informa
tion this is the first time in history
that a D-12 road grader was ever
driven cross country on its own
power.
Work was begun on Feb. 26 and
operations were conducted around
the clock by using two 12-hour
shifts. Constant temperatures at
the site ranged from 40 to 50 de
grees below zero and caused ini
tial progress to be slow.
Because of the low tempera
tures, which at times caused the
men’s mustaches to gather fro'st,
the cat engines were kept running
24 hours a day.
The first “wheel landing” was
made on the experimental strip
by a C-47 on Mar. 3. The next
type of aircraft to participate in
a landing on the test strip was
the C-54 Skymaster which car
ried the two generals (and an
Anchorage press party) to the site
yesterday. Also scheduled to land
on the frosted runway is the C-124
Globemaster.
After these conventional air
craft have run through their tests
an F-94 jet aircraft will be intro
duced to the snowport strip.
Successful completion of these
tests will write another chapter
into the story of United States air
power in Alaska—a story of the
Air Force conquering the arctic
by availing itself of the opportun
ities inherent in nature.
This snowport can be heralded
as another step forward in the
Air Force’s program to provide
“top cover for America,” this be
ing the official motto of Elmen
dorf Air Force Base, home of the
Alaskan Air Command.
North Star Will Carry
Complete Schoolhouse
To Kodiak Community
SEATTLE, UP\ — A complete
school house will be part of the
cargo of the Alaska Native Ser
vice supply ship North Star sched
uled to sail north April 1.
The school house and materials
and equipment for living quar
ters for two teachers will be de
livered at Karluk, on Kodiak Is
land, the ANS said Monday.
The April 1 voyage is the first
of three scheduled for 1954.
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Anchorage and Sitka
Basketball Teams To
Play For All-Alaska Crown
Rated Most Improved Team
ANCHORAGE, Iff) — The An
chorage High School Eagles, rail
belt conference and western Alas
ka prep basketball champions,
will go into the territorial title
clash with Sitka at Sitka this
weekend with a rating as the
most improved team in the area.
There are no stars on the squad,
which stresses team play and uses
lots of set plays on offense. The
defense alternates from man to
man to’ modified zone.
The Eagles feed the ball to
Frank Putzel and Dick Janigo
who pot with pushshots consider
ably. Bruce Cannon and John
Grames use mostly hookshots.
Fred Batson is aggressive on the
backboards while Burle Burkher
is known as the team’s play
maker and ballhawker.
The first string has Putzel and
Grames at forwards, Burker and
Batson at guards, and Cannon at
center.
Win By Late Period Scoring
SITKA, Iff)—Sitka High School
coach Duane Ongstad is worried
about that season-long tendency of
his southeastern Alaska basket
ball champions to wait until the
closing periods to open their
scoring drives.
In drills here for the weekend
territorial championship tussle
with Anchorage, Ongstad is work
ing to instill a first period push
in his warriors. The teams open
their three-game series Thursday
night here.
Rechecking season records, Ong
stad found his team trailed at the
end of the first quarter, and in
most cases until the second half,
of almost every game.
He also found that one of his
“big four”—'Willis Osbakken, 6-6
center, and John Abell, Bill Boet
tcher and Harold Donnelly, all
6-footers — hit a hot streak in
every game to set up a Sitka vic
tory. His study showed, too, that
only once did a Sitka man leave
a game via the foul route.
Sitka uses a zone defense, but
is capable of a sudden switch to
man to man. All are good at the
free throw line and Sitka has won
several games through net tosses.
Nome Directory
ROTARY CLUB
OF NOME
Walsh, Pres.
Bayer, Secty.
day Luncheon
Northwestern Alaska
Chamber of Commerce
MEETS
EVERY TUESDAY NOON
BOYD HARWOOD, President
ALASKA CHAPTER NO. 1
Order of Eastern Star
Meets the third Monday of each month.
Jane Perkins
Worthy Matron
Erelyn Branson
Secretary
LESLIE A. STEVENS
PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT
—4b6 First Ave. West, Nome, Alaska—
10 to i2 A.M. - 1 to 5 P.M.
Phone Main 82 — P.O. Box 208
ANVIL LODGE
No. 140 ;
John Cooley, W.M.
Norvln W. Lewis, Secy. ,v
Meets 1st and 3rd Thursday each Month