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Project Coldfeet

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129: 82:(ONR). The previous year, ONR had set an acoustical surveillance network on a U.S. drift station used to monitor Soviet submarines. ONR assumed that the Soviets would have a similar system to keep track of American submarines as they transited the polar ice pack, but there was no direct evidence to support this. Also, ONR wanted to compare Soviet efforts on drift stations with U.S. operations. The problem was how to get to NP 9. It was far too deep into the ice pack to be reached by an icebreaker, and it was out of helicopter range. 89:. Following a recommendation by Dr. Max Britton, head of the Arctic program in the Geography Branch of ONR, Rear Admiral L. D. Coates, Chief of Naval Research, authorized preliminary planning for the mission while he sought final approval from the Chief of Naval Operations. The mission was scheduled for September 1961, a time of good weather and ample daylight. NP 9 would be within 600 miles (970 km) of the U.S. Air Force base at 144:
serial 44-85531, registered as N809Z, piloted by Connie Seigrist and Douglas Price dropped both men by parachute on NP 8. On 1 June, Seigrist and Price returned and a pick-up was made of the Soviet equipment that had been gathered and of both men, using a Fulton Skyhook system installed on the B-17.
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The project was put on hold as formal clearance had arrived too late and NP 9 had drifted too far away. News came in March 1962 that another ice station (NP 8) had also been abandoned. This station could be reached from Canadian airfields. As NP 8 also was a more up-to-date facility than NP 9 the
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Operation Coldfeet was a success. The mission yielded information on the Soviet Union's Arctic research activities, including evidence of advanced research on acoustical systems to detect under-ice U.S. submarines and efforts to develop Arctic anti-submarine warfare techniques.
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ONR selected two highly qualified investigators for the ground assignment. Major James Smith, USAF, was an experienced paratrooper and Russian linguist who had served on U.S. Drift Stations Alpha and Charlie. Lieutenant Leonard A. LeSchack, USNR, a former Antarctic
67:. A few days later, the Soviets announced that they had been forced to leave Station NP 9 (a different station, NP 8 ended up being the target) when the ice runway used to supply it had been destroyed by a 169: 203: 177: 280: 260: 234: 211: 265: 145:
This mission required the use of three separate extractions: first for the Soviet equipment, then of LeSchack and finally of Smith.
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To Captain John Cadwalader, who would command Operation Coldfeet, it looked like "a wonderful opportunity" to make use of the
86: 48: 275: 122: 17: 270: 47:. Due to the nature of its abandonment as the result of unstable ice, the retrieval of the operatives used the 207: 173: 141: 110: 34: 231: 78:
The prospect of examining an abandoned Soviet ice station attracted the interest of the U.S. Navy's
106: 79: 113:, New Jersey. The two men trained on the Fulton retrieval system over the summer, working in 68: 64: 59:
What became known as Operation Coldfeet began in May 1961, when a naval aircraft flying an
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in 1960. Not jump qualified, he quickly went through the Navy parachuting course at
238: 90: 254: 72: 38: 118: 102: 94: 114: 41: 37:(CIA) operation to extract intelligence from an abandoned 71:, and it was assumed that it would be crushed in the 63:
over the Arctic Ocean reported sighting an abandoned
97:, the planned launching point for the operation. 252: 170:"Robert Fulton's Skyhook and Operation Coldfeet" 132:B-17G N809Z which had been used in the project 204:"Project COLDFEET: Seven Days in the Arctic" 198: 196: 194: 191: 164: 162: 127: 105:, had set up the surveillance system on 14: 261:Central Intelligence Agency operations 253: 137:project's target was shifted to NP 8. 159: 87:Fulton surface-to-air recovery system 49:Fulton surface-to-air recovery system 281:Soviet Union–United States relations 24: 25: 292: 125:at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. 266:Cold War intelligence operations 140:On 28 May 1962, a converted CIA 225: 13: 1: 152: 27:1962 CIA intelligence mission 210:. 2008-04-21. Archived from 176:. 2007-04-14. Archived from 7: 208:Central Intelligence Agency 174:Central Intelligence Agency 142:Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress 111:Naval Air Station Lakehurst 35:Central Intelligence Agency 10: 297: 276:Maritime incidents in 1962 54: 244:Retrieved: 25 July 2011. 80:Office of Naval Research 133: 271:History of the Arctic 131: 123:Naval Air Test Center 117:with an experienced 65:Soviet drift station 45:drifting ice station 232:"The Boeing B-17s." 214:on January 14, 2009 61:aeromagnetic survey 237:2010-09-28 at the 134: 16:(Redirected from 288: 245: 229: 223: 222: 220: 219: 200: 189: 188: 186: 185: 180:on June 13, 2007 166: 31:Project Coldfeet 21: 18:Project COLDFEET 296: 295: 291: 290: 289: 287: 286: 285: 251: 250: 249: 248: 239:Wayback Machine 230: 226: 217: 215: 202: 201: 192: 183: 181: 168: 167: 160: 155: 57: 28: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 294: 284: 283: 278: 273: 268: 263: 247: 246: 224: 190: 157: 156: 154: 151: 69:pressure ridge 56: 53: 26: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 293: 282: 279: 277: 274: 272: 269: 267: 264: 262: 259: 258: 256: 243: 242:utdallas.edu. 240: 236: 233: 228: 213: 209: 205: 199: 197: 195: 179: 175: 171: 165: 163: 158: 150: 146: 143: 138: 130: 126: 124: 120: 116: 112: 108: 104: 98: 96: 92: 88: 83: 81: 76: 74: 70: 66: 62: 52: 50: 46: 43: 40: 36: 32: 19: 241: 227: 216:. Retrieved 212:the original 182:. Retrieved 178:the original 147: 139: 135: 121:crew at the 103:geophysicist 99: 84: 77: 73:Arctic Ocean 58: 30: 29: 119:P2V Neptune 33:was a 1962 255:Categories 218:2008-05-03 184:2008-05-03 153:References 95:Greenland 235:Archived 115:Maryland 55:History 42:Arctic 39:Soviet 91:Thule 107:T-3 257:: 206:. 193:^ 172:. 161:^ 93:, 75:. 51:. 221:. 187:. 20:)

Index

Project COLDFEET
Central Intelligence Agency
Soviet
Arctic
drifting ice station
Fulton surface-to-air recovery system
aeromagnetic survey
Soviet drift station
pressure ridge
Arctic Ocean
Office of Naval Research
Fulton surface-to-air recovery system
Thule
Greenland
geophysicist
T-3
Naval Air Station Lakehurst
Maryland
P2V Neptune
Naval Air Test Center

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress


"Robert Fulton's Skyhook and Operation Coldfeet"
Central Intelligence Agency
the original


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