Admiral byrds antarctic expedition patches

US Navy operation to establish an Antarctic research base

Operation HIGHJUMP, officially titled The United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program, 1946–1947, (also called Task Force 68), was a United States Navy (USN) operation to establish the Antarctic research base Little America IV.^[1][2] The operation was organized by Rear AdmiralRichard E.

Byrd, Jr., USN, Officer in Charge, Task Force 68, and led by Rear Admiral Ethan Erik Larson, USN, Commanding Officer, Task Force 68.

Admiral byrds antarctic expedition patches

Operation HIGHJUMP commenced 26 August 1946 and ended in late February 1947. Task Force 68 included 4,700 men, 70 ships, and 33 aircraft.

HIGHJUMP's objectives, according to the U.S. Navy report of the operation, were:^[3]

1. Training personnel and testing equipment in frigid conditions;
2. Consolidating and extending the United States' sovereignty over the largest practicable area of the Antarctic continent (publicly denied as a goal before the exp