PROJECT COLD CASE FREDERICK A. MILAN TECHNICAL DOCUMENTARY REPORT AAL-TDR-64-23 FEBRUARY 1965

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75B00285R000100050005-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 20
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 9, 2002
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: February 1, 1965
• Content Type: REPORT

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AAL-TDR-64-23
FORT WAINWRIGHT, ALASKA
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTARY REPORT AAL-TDR-64-23
February 1965
.ARCTIC AEROMEDICAL LABORATORY
Frederick A. Milan
Project 8238, Task 823801
On file USAF release
instructions apply.
AEROSPACE MEDICAL DIVISION
AIR FORCE SYSTEMS COMMAND
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t
C
p rnen a Walk-Around Sleeping Bag survived for
a nine-piece down-filled survival outfit (Clothing Outfit,
arctic survival), survived for 52 and 72 hours. The'52-hour
survivor suffered a noncold injury which necessitated his
removal. Two subjects with the Full Pressure. Suit plus an
ex eri
1 AD
11yNUL11erm1c. Iwo subjects with the Full Pressure Suit plus
-10? F' until the conclusion of the test. The test lasted for
72 hours. Two subjects wearing the Full Pressure Suit
without additional clothing survived for 11 and '30 hours.
At the end of this time they were fatigued and moderately
as a near airbanlcs. Ambient air temperatures reached
-30? F and were below -27? F for at least 50% of the time.
On the third day air temperatures rose and remained at
simulated survival conditions in a wooded area of interior
Al k F
six subjects wearing these garments were placed under
ABSTRACT
The results of Project Cold Case, an investigation of the
cold land survival capabilities of Air Force pilots wearing
the Full Pressure High Altitude Flying Outfit (A/PZZS-2 and
A/P 225-3) are presented in this report. In December 1963,
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HORACE F. DRURY 9
Director of Research
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SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION
The Full Pressure Suit (FPS) was designed to serve as protective equip-
ment for airmen who venture into the atmosphere to altitudes at or above
50, 000 ft. The purpose of this equipment is twofold: first, to provide an
artificial atmosphere of 35, 000 ft for the aircrew member in the event of
rapid cabin pressure loss and second, to provide protection against the
environmental stresses of low oxygen tension, low temperatures and wind
blast if the aircrew member must eject from a high performance aircraft
at high altitudes. The outfit consists of high altitude coveralls, high altitude
flying helmet, high altitude gloves, full pressure, coverall pressure control-
ler and full pressure helmet pressure demand oxygen regulator. This
equipment is described in T. O. 14P3-6-81. In addition, the aircrew mem-
ber wears an alert-type boot (Boot, flying, quick-donning insulated, Type
FWU-3/P, made by the Addison Shoe Company). The coveralls themselves
are constructed of four layers: a "slippery" inner layer, a.layer containing
distensible air bladders, a restraint layer to...prevent overinflation of the
bladders and a protective cover. Exposure mittens are provided with the
suit and are normally carried in an outer pocket. This suit is impermeable
to gas or moisture transfer and must be mechanically ventilated when it is
worn by an aircrew member on alert status or in an aircraft.
The FPS does not provide a great deal of thermal insulation for protec-
tion against extreme low temperatures. This fact was immediately apparent
'.,to the Air Defense Command (ADC), even though the reports which pre-
sented the results of tests of the FPS in a cold chamber indicated that this
garment was adequate for short-time survival. The length of exposure was
too short, however, to be able to extrapolate from these cold chamber tests
to actual field conditions. An ADC (ADOOP-WT) letter dated 23 January
1963 to Headquarters, U. S. Air Force requested that Air Force Systems
Command (AFSC) be assigned responsibility for extensive cold land survival
testing of the FPS. AFSC, in turn, directed Aerospace Medical Division
(AMD) to conduct a valid field evaluation of the survival capabilities of pilots
wearing the FPS in an arctic surrounding. The responsibility for conducting
these tests was delegated to Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory (AAL), and a
test program was drafted at a meeting attended by representatives from.,
ADC and AAL at Ent AFB 6-7 February 1963. At the conclusion of this
meeting, seven Full Pressure Suits, including the -2 and the -3 models,
were hand-carried to AAL in Fairbanks, Alaska. The various items of
survival gear, both mandatory and optional items, found in ADC fighter air-
craft were procured for these tests. In addition, a Personal Equipment'
Technician who was familiar with the FPS was sent to AAL to assist with the
fitting of the garments and to give advice about problems peculiar .to them.
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Cold Case I commenced on 11 February 1963 at Fairbanks. These tests
were carried out during periods of low environmental temperature until the
end of the winter season. The results were described by Capt J. H. Veghte
in a typewritten report forwarded to ADO entitled An Interim Report on Cold
Case.
To prepare for a second winter of testing, a mimeographed report,
Project Cold Case: A Review, prepared by Dr. F. A. Milan, the new AA I,
Project' Officer, was forwarded to ADC in October 1963. This report
reviewed the work accomplished to date, set forth the plans for the second
test season and provided interim guidance on the potential of the FPS for cold'
weather survival.
ADO(ADOOP-WT).agreed to the revised test plan in a letter dated
22 November 1963,' and testing of the FPS in Cold Case II was carried out in
December 1963.
The present report describes all the pertinent findings of Project Cold
Case and. discusses the general problems of survival in the Arctic as they
affect a solitary individual such as a fighter pilot.
SECTION 2. 'COLD CASE I
Methods. Cold Case I was carried out according to the original test plan
drafted at'Ent AFB. This plan is presented in An Interim Report on Cold
Case and therefore will not be reproduced in this present report.
The first part of the field test phase commenced on 11 February and ran
continuously until 13 February 1963. During this period ambient air temper-
atures ranged between -20 and -160 F. The second part of the field test
phase was conducted on 2 and 3 March. Ambient air temperatures ranged
between 100 and 28? F.
Pertinent- information concerning the conditions of these tests, the type of
shelter constructed, the training of the subjects and so forth has been pre-
sented in the Interim Report.. During the field tests, thermistors taped to the
skin of the subjects were used to monitor skin temperatures.. Internal body
temperatures were measured by means of an insertion-type rectal thermistor.
Results. ' An examination of the results of Cold Case I revealed the
following:
1. Numerous uncontrolled variables, especially the lack of previous
arctic survival training of most of the subjects and .the great importance of
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this training in affecting the ability of these subjects to construct an adequate
survival shelter or even a fire, flawed the validity of the test.
2. The skin and body temperature measurements' were not useful enough
to justify the time spent in obtaining them. To be sure, these data provided
a sophisticated "first order" evaluation of the thermal state of the subject ;
however, a grosser "second order" assessment could be made merely by
observing the subject. The calculations of whole body heat loss versus time
of 'exposure provided unreliable indices of the garments' thermal adequacy,
'since the general poor performance of the subjects in the survival situation
adversely affected their thermal states.
3. "Survival times" of the subjects at an ambient temperature of -2o to
-160 F. ranged between 7 and 15 hours, although 'a survival school instructor
managed to last for 48 hours. Termination of the test was -caused by the
near freezing of the feet. All the subjects were wearing an Alert-type
leather boot, which previous tests have shown to be inadequate for wearing
below +100 F.
human life for very long.
. tures within an unheated parachute-covered shelter are too low to support
insure a reasonable survival time. The A-frame parachute-covered shelter
(the "favorite" dwelling of the survival school student) is clearly not the
shelter of choice during periods of low temperature. Air temperatures
within this shelter are usually no higher than those found outside it. A fire
cannot be built inside this shelter, and the parachute acts only as a radiation
shield against heat loss to a cold sky orb as a windbreak. Measured tempera-
-modifications in "standard" Air Force survival techniques are necessary to
4. Because of the relatively poor thermal insulation of the FPS, certain
5. Because of the unusually warm weather, all of the test objectives
were not realized during Cold Case I. I
SECTION 3. COLD CASE II
Cold Case II was conducted on 16-19 December 1963, according to the
revised test plan. This plan, showing the arrangement of subjects and
variables, is presented in schematic form in Table I.
Three' subjects were selected from personnel assigned to AAL. These
subjects were the "best" of a group of recent AAL graduates of the Arctic
Subjects
hold at Eielson Air Force Base,
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Subjects
9-piece
x x x x
x x x x x x
x x X X X. X
x x x x x x,..
x 'X x. x.
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? Survival Experts (Survival/PE Tech. )
Nonexperts (Recent graduates of AIS)
-3 FPS (Authorized cut-off foot of suit)
-2 FPS
Wool Underwear
Waffle-weave Underwear
.Cushion Sole Socks, 1 pr.
Ski, Socks, 2 pr.
Alert Boot (Addison Shoe Co. )
VB White Thermal Boot
A F N 1 B Mukluk
Parachute Cloth Wickiup
Parachute
F-106-B Kit
Sleeping Bag, 1-piece Walk-around
.Clothing Outfit, arctic survival, -
TABLE I
TEST PLAN COLD CASE II
 teaches a rctAplAK44I~Aa~~e ~e~~~~soom
and field instruction. Three other subjects, one 92270 (Personal Equipment
Technician), one B92230 (Personal Equipment Technician, Parachutist) and
one..B92170 (Rescue and Survival Technician, Parachutist), were sent on
temporary duty from Tactical Air Command (TAC) to participate in the
experiments. None of these personnel had previous arctic survival experience.
The TAC personnel were sent to attend the 2-day classroom instruction
period at the Arctic Indoctrination School'. All subjects were then briefed
about the importance of the tests and the 'significance of the results toward
solving USAF arctic survival problems. It was emphasized that the pilot must
fly with items of equipment which, though inadequate for cold weather camp-
ing, are necessary because of operational requirements or space and weight
limitations within the aircraft. The purpose of each item of survival equip-
ment and each. item of clothing was explained to the subjects. All subjects
then were instructed in a 1-day session on the building of snow houses and
parachute cloth wickiups. The wickiup is a loosely constructed hut with, a
burns within the hut. Detailed instructions for constructing a snow house are
frame made of supple, interlaced willow or aspen trees of small diameter
covered with parachute cloth. ' Snow is banked around the bottom, and a fire
presented in Appendix II.
Survival equipment ,consisted of some of the mandatory components of the
kits carried on F-102, F-104, F-105 and F-106 A/. aircraft according to
T.O. 1451-3-51. In addition, other nonmandatory items which seemed useful
were included in the survival kit. Each subject received a plastic bag
containing the following items:
Mirror MK-3 (1).
Signal MK= 13, MOD 0 'j. '\; .:, . ' " ` (3)
3. Whistle, police, plastic (1)
4.. Container, match, waterproof (1)
5. Matches, ordinary, water resistant ' (150)
Manual, Survival, AF Manual 64-5 (1)
Parachute, complete (1)
Knife, hunting (1)
9. Ration, survival, individual 2 parts '(1)
10. Candle (1)
11. Snare wire, brass, 10 ft (1)
12. Fuel, ration heating (trioxane) - (1)
13. Saw, knife, shovel assembly,
ice and snow: t.:;:, (1)
14. Chapstick (1)
15. Glove, MA-1 with insert (1)
16..Rifle, survival M-622/410 (1)
17. Ammunition, 410 gauge (24).
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Methods
Each of the six subjects was dressed'in one suit of wool underwear, one
suit of waffle-weave underwear and one of the footgear assemblies shown in
Table I. They were transported by automobile to the survival area, which is
located about 3 miles north of the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory and is
fairly representative of interior Alaska in terrain features, vegetation and
isolation. Immediately upon arriving at 'the survival area, the subjects were
placed at previously determined sites and were left to survive. Contact
between survivors was not permitted. Test monitors checked the condition
of the survivors every 3 hours during the course of the test. These monitors
could terminate the test and bring the survivors into a 'heated wanigan within
minutes after the appearance of incipient cold injury or the onset of general
hypothermia. The subject was given the option of terminating the test if he
could not tolerate the cold any longer.
The results of Cold Case Il are shown in Figure- 1, which indicates
ambient air temperatures, hours of daylight, survival times for each subject
and other pertinent information. The test.was scheduled to run for 3 days and
nights. Air temperatures remained below -20? F for the first 2 days and
were below -27? F for at least 50% of the time. In the early hours of the
third day, a warm air mass moved into central Alaska and the air temperature
rose from - 29? F to -10? F in 1 hour. At-this latitude there were only 4 hours
between sunrise and sunset at this time of year.
Survival times were as short as 11 hours (one subject) and as long as 72
hours (three subjects). Because all subjects either wore adequate footgear
(the VB White Thermal Boot or the NiB Mukluk) or were instructed to remove
the Alert Boot and don a survival mukluk, there was little danger of freezing
their feet.
The survival time was considerably increased by the availability of the
down-filled clothing assembly. Since a survival test of this nature is full of
"unmeasurables, " the daily logs of some of the survivors are included in
Appendix I. These subjective reports point up some of the difficulties encoun-
tered by the survivors, who, it should be reiterated, are probably equivalent
to aircrews in their arctic survival training.
Subjects in full pressure suits only. The survival times of the two subjects
wearing the FPS alone were 11 and 30 hours. At the end of this time,, both
subjects were fatigued and suffered from a moderate general hypothermia.
There was no evidence of cold injury to tie feet or. hands. The differences in
survival times were due to unmeasurable factors, which included the subjects'
motivation and their ability to take care of themselves in an arctic survival
situation.
6
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.AIR TEMPERATURES
TIMES
Down
Clothing,
End of
No. 1
No. 5
No. 3
No 6
24 08 .16 24 08 16 24 08
1 Dec 17 I Dec 18 I Dec 19
a Hypothermic , FPS Alone
a Hypothormic, FPS Alone
injured Foot, Down
Results of Cold Case II Showing Ambient Air Temperature,
Hours of Daylight and Survival Time for Each Subject
Subject Number 2 voluntarily came in after 11 hours. He was shivering
violently. This subject had worn the Alert Boot for the first 5 hours. Follow-
ing previous instructions given at the briefing, he then removed the Alert
Boot, cut the rubber boot from the FPS and put on a down-filled survival
mukluk. He had removed the helmet and donned a wool toque shortly after
being placed in the survival situation. He had-constructed one sno?../ shelter
which had collapsed and had completed another. After taking' off the FPS, it
was found that the subject's underwear was soaked with perspiration. .
Subject Number 1 was removed by the test monitors from his survival-site
after 30 hours. At this'time he was lying rolled in a parachute canopy inside
a poorly constructed parachute-covered wickiup. He was tired, not having
been able to sleep the previous night because of-the low temperatures, and had
no firewood on hand for the coming night. According to the FPS technician;
the FPS fitted. this subject extremely well; consequently, he could not stand
7
-301 1 I 1
TIME 08 16
DATE Dec I-6
DAYLIGHT
.:SURVIVAL
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Subjects with nine-piece survival clothing. The survival times of the
subjects wearing the nine-piece down-filled arctic survival outfit were 52 and
72 hours. At the end of 72 hours, Subject Number 4 was in very good condi-
tion. Subject Number 5 injured his foot while breaking firewood and was
taken out for medical reasons after 52 hours.
Subjects with ADC Walk-around Sleeping Bags. The survival times for
the two subjects wearing the ADC Walk-around Sleeping Bags were 72 hours.
Although this garment provided excellent thermal insulation, in its present
experimental configuration it was too narrow for the unaided subject to pull
over the FPS.
SECTION 4. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory was directed to evaluate the cold land
survival capabilities of pilots wearing the FPS. Under Project Cold Case I
and II it was found that:
1. Below 0?. F, pilots wearing the FPS with the Alert Boot would suffer
cold injury to the feet in 7 to 15 hours.
2. Below -200 F, pilots wearing the FPS alone but substituting the VB
White Thermal Boot or the AF 11T1B Mukluk for the Alert Boot would be hypo-
thermic in 11 to 30 hours. This hypothermia would be incapacitating and
would lead to death.
3. Between. -200 F and-40? F, pilots wearing the FPS with the Down-
filled Arctic Survival Outfit or the experimental ADC Walk-around Sleeping
Bag could survive for at least 7 days by using appropriate arctic survival
.techniques.
4. Below -40? F, it is estimated that pilots wearing the FPS with the
Down-filled Arctic Survival Outfit or the experimentalADC Walk-around
Sleeping Bag could survive for at least 7'days if, and only if, appropriate
arctic survival techniques were used. These techniques include the construc-
tion of a snow shelter (described in Appendix II) or the utilization of a light-
weight, portable shelter developed at the Arctic Aeromedical- Laboratory.
This portable shelter is described later in this report.
These are generalities that are applicable to arctic winter survival and
can be used as guide lines for operational planning.
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The results of Project Cold Case are applicable to arctic survival in
general. The recent ADC decision to restrict the use of the FPS to a few
training missions each year does not invalidate the, results of Cold Case,
since fighter pilots will still wear some type of partial-pressure, anti-G
garment with inadequate thermal insulating properties for cold weather
wear.
rescued and returned to his base. This.cycle of events-includes:
sequence of events which occur in an escape-rescue cycle, triggered by the
in-flight emergency which requires ejection and completed when the.pilot is
In order to see the results of Cold Case in perspective, one must con-
sider the problems inherent in the escape and survival system available to
a fighter pilot. This system concept is useful, for one can then think of. the,
Pre-flight
Ejection
Parachute Deployment
Landing
Thermal Balance Maintained
Air Rescue Service Alerted
Water Balance Maintained
Caloric Intake Adequate
for Situation
9. Located Electronically
10. Pilot Retrieved
.The sequential order of these events is also their. relative order of
importance. Thus, it is obvious that the best survival ration in the world
or the best personal locator beacon available is of no relative value unless
the pilot can successfully eject from the aircraft and unless his parachute is
deployed. It is also obvious that the maintenance of thermal balance (which
means that the survivor does not incur a cold injury to the hands or feet nor
become severely chilled) is merely one necessary event in a series of
events. The time required to complete the cycle is a function of the effi-
ciency of the Rescue Unit. The efficiency of the Rescue Unit, in turn, is
affected by a number of factors. A successful cycle completion requires
complete man-machine integration. This man-machine integration is as
much a function of training to use particular, equipment as it is the equip-
ment itself.
This consists of activities which occur before the actual take.-off for any
mission. These activities are preparatory in nature and include the
checking of the equipment in the escape- survival system by the responsible
Let us then briefly consider these events in order.
1. Pre-flight
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personal equipment shop and the survival training of the pilot. To be.
realistic, this training should be on the survival equipment which will be
available-to him.
Ejection
Parachute Deployment
4. Landing
These three events require training which presumably all pilots have to
a certain degree and does not concern us in this discussion.
Thermal Balance Maintained
Thermal balance is maintained if there is no disabling cold injury to the
hands or feet or if the pilot does not suffer an incapacitating whole-body
hypothermia. Thermal balance is maintained by the insulation of the cloth-
ing, the temperature of the microenvironment within the survival shelter,
and the activity level of the pilot. ,An injured pilot is obviously at a dis-
advantage at very low temperatures unless the insulation of his clothing is.
sufficient to maintain thermal balance with resting levels of metabolism.
Air Force clothing cannot do this for long. A badly injured pilot would not
be able to construct a shelter or make a fire.
. Investigative work on the problem of insuring that a survivor maintains
thermal balance at low temperatures even though he is unable to construct a
shelter has been carried out at the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory since the
conclusion of Project Cold Case. The results of this work have shown the
feasibility of manufacturing a portable, compressible, lightweight shelter"
that is well within the. space and weight limitations of the fighter aircraft
survival kit. In its present configuration this shelter weighs less than &
pounds and can be compressed to 1100 square in. Actual temperature
measurements have shown that the metabolic heat generated by a survivor in
1 hour is sufficient to heat the interior of this shelter to +600 F when the
ambient air temperature is -400 F. This shelter has been tested in the
,arctic woodlands and on the sea ice and has given excellent performance
in both locations. Air temperatures within the shelter permit arctic sur-
vival without fire. Actual tests have shown that sufficient snow can be
melted by the heat within this shelter to provide at least a pint of water in a
12-hour period. A shelter of this type will almost insure that an injured,
poorly clad pilot can remain warm for an almost indefinite period.
6. Air Rescue Service Alerted
This is. an event which automatically occurs after an aircraft is
reported overdue.
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The maintenance of physiological water balance is second in importance
to the maintenance of thermal balance. Water is more important than food
for the maintenance of health and fitness. Caloric, balance and water balance
are mutually independent. It has been shown in numerous field tests carried
out by the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory that survivors on a restricted
caloric intake become progressively dehydrated with time. This has impor-
tant medical implications, for dehydration is partly responsible for the
apathy and malaise of a starving man in the cold.
Water balance is affected by osmotic balance. If too much osmotically
active material is ingested, water cannot be retained' because the kidney
will excrete water to dispose excess osmols. The converse is also true; if
too little osmotically active material is ingested, water cannot be retained.
because the kidney will not function efficiently. A higher protein diet pro-
vides a high osmotic intake; a pure carbohydrate diet provides too little
osmotic intake. Thus, some Air Force survival rations do not contain the
foods of choice for a pilot in an arctic area where water is normally locked up
in the solid state of snow or ice. These rations were designed to provide
maximum calorie foods per unit -weight,and volume, and the importance of
water balance was not considered. It has been shown that the combination of
dehydration and starvation leads to hemoconcentratiori with urinary sodium
losses. The sensation of thirst is normally not present. This contracted
blood volume, means an increase in peripheral vasoconstriction, which
predisposes the survivor t'o.a cold injury.
The present state of knowledge concerning the maintenance of water
balance in a survival situation seems to indicate that salt tablets and a small
amount of bicarbonate should be included with the 'survival ration. These
substances "hold in" the water.
Caloric Intake Adequate for Situation
In a study carried out at the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory, six sub-
jects underwent a 5-day survival ordeal in the cold while starving. These
subjects lost an average of 8% of their body weight.' The caloric cost of
the first day of this -survival exercise was measured to be between 4500 to
5500 kcal for each subject. This energy was expended in constructing
shelters, cutting wood, making fires and walking in order to stay warm.
Such an energy expenditure is equivalent to that of a lumberjack cutting
timber. After the first day the caloric cost fell to an average value of 2000
kcal per day, since the survivors tended to sit about their camps after they
had been established.. The caloric cost also increased with falling
The Air?Force standard survival ration provided for Project Cold Case
has an approximate caloric content of 3669 kcal. The meat food product
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 bars in this ration prov-idelabau 02?/aa1$ a oAf 9P7t5c 9Z1W9Rt199 %% -1T he
taste of these meat food.product bars is unacceptable to many airmen,
which deprives some survivors of an essential source of energy.
The American diet is about 14%a protein, 46% carbohydrate and 40% fat.
Nutritionists have concluded one important thing from a number of dietary
studies conducted on American soldiers: it is not true that if men are
.hungry enough they will eat anything.
The meat food product bar is a maximum caloric density food and is
consequently high in animal fat. The palatability of this ration is low,
perhaps because of the age of the ration and the rancid taste of the aged fat.
The psychological reactions of survivors to eating this high fat diet seem to
range from high acceptability of the ration to complete aversion. In fact,
some subjects in simulated survival exercises have vomited the meat food
product bar after once having forced it down. Most survival kits contain
packets of chili-powder or dehydrated onions which are to be mixed with the
meat food product bar when it. is cooked in a thick gruel..
One can conclude that there is a ,,requirement for the development of a
palatable ration (which will not adversely affect physiological water balance)
for short-time arctic survival.
event of radio failure. The pilot must be trained in the simple operation of
this personal locator beacon in order to obtain maximal efficiency of rescue
The new personal locator beacon (AN/URT-21) used in conjunction with a
UHF-ADF receiver in a high-speed, high-flying aircraft should markedly
decrease the search time required to locate a survivor in the Arctic.
Signal flares should remain in the survival kits as back-up items in the
9. Located Electronically
operations.
10. Pilot Retrieved.
The pilot must be trained to assist the Rescue Unit in his retrieval. This
can be accomplished by familiarizing the pilot with the equipment, especially
the helicopter pick-up sling, which will carry out the actual rescue.
The foregoing sequence of events can be considered as a simple sche -
matic diagram. There is certainly sufficient information available from
Air Force records of successful or unsuccessful ejections, parachute deploy-
ments and parachute landings to obtain statistical probabilities for the
chance oaf success of these isolated events. This information is available in
the publication USAF Emergency Escape Experience 1950-1959 Prepared by
the office of the Deputy Inspector. General for Safety (2) and in Bell and
Chunn's Summary and Evaluation of Aircraft Accidents and Fatalities (1).
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The'fir t 01 these publications states in part: "Post-ejection survival
situations, in which there was an environmental threat to the life of the
ejectee, have received a remarkable amount of attention. This is
especially true considering the frequency of such situations. This emphasis
on survival stems more from emotion than reason with the exception of over
water ejections. In fact, there have been only 11 over land ejections (in a
total of 1897 ejections) in a ten-year period which required the crew mem-
ber involved to use the 'survival techniques' of building a fire, erecting a
shelter, etc. Most of the items routinely carried in specially designed
survival kits have never seen critical use. The exceptions are water flota-
tion equipment and signalling devices. In the latter category the survival
radio has been needed but has routinely been inoperative. " (2)
These statements are indeed true, and they apply to Air Force tactical
aircraft experience gained over a 9-year period which included the Korean
conflict. However, sudden deployment of tactical aircraft to an arctic area
would require an immediate cold land survival capability on the part of the
aircrews. This capability requires that aircrews be trained and equipped
well in advance of their deployment.
.air temperatures ranged between -300 and -4Q0 F.
injury after a simulated bailout in a wooded area of arctic Alaska. Ambient
out Survival Kit (3). This report documented the inability of trained Air Force
survival technicians to survive for more than 22 hours without severe cold
A previous test of the survival capabilities of pilots wearing winter fly-
ing clothing assemblies and the CSU-4P partial-pressure suit yielded
similar results as those of Cold Case. The results of this test were
reported in an AAL Technical Note, Evaluation of the KC-135 and U-2 Bail-
The reasons for this short time tolerance were:
1. Airmen are generally taught in'-survival" schools to construct a
parachute-covered A-frame shelter. This shelter provides inadequate
protection at very low temperatures.
2. The clothing (winter flying assembly on three airmen and the
CSU-4P partial-pressure suit on one airman) provided inadequate thermal
protection for sleeping at very low temperatures.
3. The MC-1 sleeping bag provided inadequate insulation for a sleeping
survivor when used in a traditional Air Force parachute-covered survival
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DAILY-LOGS OF THREE SUBJECTS
Arrived at test area at approximately 0915 hours and immediately began
working on snow hut. Within 10 minutes I began perspiring around neck and
forehead, so I removed helmet. Then felt much better and was able to move
more freely. I continued work on snow house. . Hands were, chilling in the
gloves attached to the suit and by this time were very cold. So I removed
these FPS gloves and replaced them with MA-1 gloves. Completed piling
snow for snow hut.
At approximately 1030 hours while waiting for snow to set, I gathered
boughs for a bed and dead wood for fire., I also set two snares on rabbit
runs. While working on snow house the bolt on the shovel handle broke and
handle was useless to me from then on. I remained fairly comfortable while
moving around except for headand ears, so I put wool capon. At about
1.130 hours I began to dig out -snow house. The shovel was too cumbersome,
so I used retainer plate from parachute for this purpose. This worked out
very well. I had the hut completed in about 40'minutes and then decided to
build a fire. While working on the fire the snow house fell in. I still had
plenty of light, so I immediately. began on another hut. I completed this in a
very short time and decided. to wait at least 1 1/2 hours before digging it out.
By this time my hands were very cold, so I replaced the leather gloves with
the mittens to the.pressure suit. I left the wool inserts on. At that time I
cut the parachute and cut a piece out large enough to make a door for the
snow hut. I went looking for some rabbits without success, but walking
around kept me warm and comfortable. After approximately 1 1/2 hours I
dug the, snow hut out again. ?This time I was a little apprehensive of the
consequences. I was very careful and did not make it as large inside as I
would have liked to. I placed the boughs inside the shelter and folded the
canopy in even layers on top. of the boughs. During the day and until the sun
went down, my feet remained comfortable, but now my feet were chilling
rapidly. After I got a fire going, I sat down and removed the quick-don
boots and ski socks. I replaced them with the down-filled assembly after I
cut the rubber booties off the suit. This was a great improvement, and I
might say that these were very comfortable through the remainder of the
test. At this point I started getting chills throughout the torso, "so I decided
to have some hot tea.and a half meat food product bar. These went down
well but they.did not stop the shivering. I walked. about some.to see if this
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might help, but it did not. So I decided to see if I could get warm in the hut.
I remained in the hut for approximately 1 1/2 hours, and it might be noted
at this time that I became very cold at all points of contact with the suit,
such as .the knees, elbows, shoulder, etc. Lying in the hut between the
parachute didi not help in the least. So I got back out and built the fire up.
There was still no relief. By this time my shaking was uncontrollable and I
decided to walk around. My Pressure Suit seemed to be soaking wet and no
matter what I did, it seemed to get worse. After approximately 4 hours of
uncontrollable shaking I.went out of the test. It might be noted that during
all this time, both my feet and hands remained absolutely comfortable..
Monday. Placed in survival area at approximately 1015 on 16 Dec 63.
The site picked to build snow hut and set up camp was on edge of a lake.
First thing done was to look over survival equipment. Then I got together
some dry wood and built a fire. I took the shovel, put on the handle and
proceeded to pile snow. The pressure helmet got very heavy on my shoul-'..
ders. Got out the stocking cap and put it on in lieu of the helmet. (As of
now, can see no survival use for the pressure helmet in the Arctic). The
wool stocking hat is a very good and useful item and should be mandatory in
all world-wide survival kits.
After I had a pile of snow approximately 4 1/2 to 5 feet tall, I let the
pile set. While I was waiting for snow to set good, (approximately 2 hours)
I built a lean-to and moved my fire. I also made'some tea. This was very
hard to do as the only type of container available was the ration container.
By the time I had my tea and located all my survival equipment. under the
lean-to it was time to dig out the inside of the "snow house. The sun had set
and it, was getting dark about the time I finished. I cut a scarf from the para-
chute canopy to retain the body heat by sealing off opening around neck ring.
I made another cup of tea, ate a fruit cake bar and was ready to bed down.
When I went to put on the ADC Walk-around Sleeping Bag I found the bottom
to be too small to get over the shoulders. I needed assistance in this. .I
then went into the snow house. I had not any way to close the door, but it
was dark and cold and by this time I was tired so I crawled in the house to
sleep. 'At first the temperature in the snow house seemed fine, but that was
short lived. I had a candle and matches with me, so I. made a light. It was
afte"r"! had blown out the candle and had done no moving about for approx-
imately 1/2 hour that my feet got very cold. I still had my boots on. A
monitor came by at this time (1800 I guess) and wanted to know where the
..door was. Well, I was not in the mood for silly questions at this time, but
he did say.I should do something to close up the opening.. Well, I fished for
the matches and candle, ' lit. the candle, 11 (there is not sufficient striking
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 stirface on the ina fain T c`1 hovel
Apfro ec Forieasee2r001'I/~'$ : CI~}~~0000~1
in the house it-i me so took more snow from the inside of the house and
moved it to the doorway. This operation took some doing and a lot of mov-
ing around from one position to the other (I did not have room to sit up
inside). I would shovel for a time, -rest for a time. I had all but a couple
square inches filled in. In about 30 to 45 minutes the snow made a good
fill. It worked out so I had the opening covered. By this time I was really
tired, and so I lay down to sleep. My feet were the coldest part of my body.
I was unable to get comfortable, did.not sleep, only semi-sleep for short
periods.
Tuesday. I came out of the snow house at approximately 0730 in the
morning, Tuesday, 17 Dec 63. I felt stiff, but the feeling went away by the
time.I had a fire going. I fixed a cup of coffee and 'ate a cereal bar. I felt
.real good then. I spent the day improving camp site, keeping the fire going
and putting a pine branch floor in the snow house. I used the parachute
harness, seat and back cushion to make a head and shoulder pillow to sleep
on. Using the meat bar, onion powder and chili powder in the survival
ration I made up a can of soup; ate it .and a fruit cake bar. Had a cup of
coffee. Cut some logs for a fire the next morning.
I went in the snow house for the night at approximately 1730. I then
scooped out some snow, making the inside of the snow house larger. I used
this snow. to fill the doorway for the night. I took off my boots and tied up
the draw string on the bottom of the ADC sleeping bag. I wanted to see how
this would work out.
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Wednesday.- Sleep was..a little better on Tuesday night. However, my
feet seemed a lot colder than the night before. I had to keep rubbing them
together to keep them warm. This, plus the fact that to keep warm I kept
my feet pulled up in the sleeping bag, caused me to get cramps in my inner
.thighs. My hips and shoulders were sore and stiff. When I came out of the
snow house at 0800, the first thing I saw was that my lean-to had blown down.
The wind had come up during the night and had caused one end to blow down.
The other end was secure to a tree on the shore. ' I made a fire, drank some
hot coffee, and ate the last cereal bar. Things then looked a lot better. I
set out to move the lean-to. After I had completed the lean-to and made
some more soup I felt real fine. I cut wood for the fire, piled more .snow
on the snow house and just stayed busy.. All the work was done in slow time
to keep down sweat.
At approximately 1800 hours I went into the snow house-for the night.
I think that is one thing that can get you down, so much time in the snow
house and so little time outside. I left my boots on for the night, and I
seemed to sleep a little better for approximately 4 hours at a time. I'would
lie awake for about 2 hours. The comfort in sleeping did no,6.improve
over the previous two nights. I came out of the snow house at 0745 in the
morning. I made a fire- s.nd coffee and was "rescued" at 0900.
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The following things need to be improved in the survival and protective
field:
The survival ration needs to be improved. With a little larger second
container could use more cereal, sugar, 'coffee and tea. The survival kits
have a need for a medium-size pan-and some type of cups. Even a fork
and/or spoon would be of great help to one's state of mind in a survival
situation. The shovel, saw combination is a bad piece of equipment. When
using 'the handle on the saw and sawing wood of any size the handle keeps
coming off.
Subject Number 4
Monday, 16 Dec. I arrived out in the field about 11:15. Built shelter
after first removing helmet and donning toque. My neck got a little cool, so
I put`a`piece of parachute material around the neckpiece. Put on the MA-1
gloves. Finished shelter and got firewood - there was plenty available.
Shot at squirrel and missed. Shot again and connected. Built fire and ate
.squirrel. Got ice from lake for water and coffee. Put on down gloves at
1640. Down gloves warmed my hands very quickly. Ate one fruit bar and
had one cup of coffee with one sugar at 1,900. At 1930 put on down jacket
over flight suit. At?2000 took off alert boots, one pair of socks and cut off
rubber shoe section of flight suit. Put on one pair of socks, booties and
down booties. Got ready for bed and went to sleep about 2045 or so.
Tuesday, 17 Dec. Slept on and off and got about 8 hours sleep. Woke up
a little chilled (hands and feet). Put on alert boots and got fire started. I
found out later that six of my fingers were partially frostbitten. They got
this way while I was trying to start my fire. I kept the down parka and
mittens on about all day. They were very warm and comfortable.. Set
snares about 'D830 but no luck :all day. Gathered much firewood. Had about
120 cc cool water at 1030. Had one coffee with one sugar and a cereal bar
at 1330. I checked Quade about 1430 because I saw no fire or movement
around his camp area. He was lying inside his tent, his feet wrapped in
chute material. I asked if I could help, but he said no. I told Burkett and
Williams about Quade when they came by at 1500. They took him back to
the lab. Between 1600 and 2130 I walked around the lake.many times
(around 25 to 30) to keep warm and also to give me something to do. After
Quade left I was completely isolated from the other subjects. I had another
coffee with one sugar at 2000. I gathered enough fire wood in the.tent so I
wouldn't have to keep going out for it. I sat up and read for aw.aile. Sacked
out about'2145. Back sore at base of spine. This was from sitting up in the
tent. Wood was much cleaner burning hardly any smoke. .
18
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Wednesday, 18 Dec. Got up about 0910. Got dressed in alert boots and
went out to check snares. .Got one rabbit. Cooked and ate him about 1040.
Had difficulty in thoroughly cooking the rabbit. Had one cup of cool water
with the rabbit. Had a cup of tea with one sugar at 1330. Also had 1/2 fruit
bar. Felt very tired before this. The tea and fruit bar seemed to restore
my energy. Had another tea with one sugar at 1730. 1 cut all the metal
parts off the parachute pack to use as a mattress. Used it Tuesday night but
one buckle dug into my hip all night. I couldn't sleep with the arms inside
the down bag because it spread the front open too much. I put my arms back
outside after one hour on Tuesday night. Sat up by the fire until about 2145'
and then sacked out. Had one more coffee with one sugar. I did not defecate
in the 72 hours that I was in the field.
Recommendations. 1.. That some of the higher calorie freeze-dried
rations be tested for use as a survival ration. I feel that a survivor would..
'taste the meat bar, and not liking it would not eat it until absolutely neces-
sary - fourth or fifth day. At that time I feel that the sudden input of a high
t' or
~ m
h
7 T1,~t r~arannn~ iisinff the down clothing be advised not to turn the
g
ea or vom
fat diet would upset his stomach enough to cause diarr
both. This could lead to a serious situation.
arms inside out while sleeping.
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