CONTINUED EXPANSION OF SOVIET ANTARCTIC ACTIVITIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-00979A000100060001-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 20, 1999
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: November 1, 1959
• Content Type: MEMO

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GEOGRAPHIC MEMORANDUM
CONTINUED EXPANSION OF
SOVIET ANTARCTIC ACTIVITIES
CIA/RR G/E 59-9
November 1959
CENTRALTEILIGENCE AGENCY
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DOCUMENT NO.
Nb CHANGE IN CLASS. ^
Office of Research and Reports CLASS CHANGED TO: TS sC
NEXT REVIEW DATE:
H? HR 70-2
1//e~ REVIEWER: 1
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GEOGRAPHIC M 4ORM DUM
CONTINUED EXPANSION OF
SOVIET ANTARCTIC ACTIVITIES
CIA/RR G/E 59-9
November 1959
A s`J AL - EL,T,TGENCE AGENCY
Office of Research and Reports
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CONTINM MANSION OF
SOVIW ANTARCTIC ACTIVITIES
I- Introduction
Recent announcements indicate that Soviet Antarctic activities are
not only being expanded to a noteworthy extent during the 1959-60 season
but are also being broadened in scope to include a number of Bloc
countries. Evidence indicates that these plans are within Soviet
capabilities and that some have significant international implications.
II. Announced Plans
According to a Home Service Broadcast on the plans for the Fifth
Expedition, the Ob, flagship and four-season veteran of Soviet Antarctic
operations, will sail for Lazaryev and Mirnyy early in November 1959.
It is to be followed by a passenger-cargo vessel, the Kooperats&a,
wtich will deliver abouko 160 people together with supplies, equipment,
and 4 new aircraft -- an IL-14, an LI-2, an Alva-2, and an MI-4 helicopter.
Another report states that the Ob will also carry tussian soil for
electrically heated hotbeds att irnyy, in order to raise vegetables
for the staff stationed there. The ships are scheduled to reach the
Antarctic by the end of December 1959 or early January 1960, and "Among
the members of the Fifth Expedition will be scientists from the German
Peoples Republic, Czechoslovakia, and possibly the Chinese Peoples
Republic. "
The announced activities of the Fifth Expedition include the
establishment of three new stir stations to supplement and support the
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work already in progress at the year-round stations at Mirnyy, Lazaryev,
and Vostok. As previously announced, a trans Antarctic glaciological
traverse from Vostok to Iazaryev via the US-operated South Pole Station
and the Soviet station at the Pole of Inaccessibility will be attempted.
According to 1959-60 plans, the Lazaryev station -- which will eventually
have a staff of 25 -- will serve as a base for collecting data on eastern
Antarctica for the compilation of "the first geological map of the mountains
of Queen Maud Land." A further report from Moscow, dated 4 November 1959,
states that the Fifth Expedition will use the so-called "Jumping" air
groups (which have already been tested by high-latitude air expeditions
in the central Arctic Basin) to land small field parties with portable
equipment at various points in the largely unexplored eastern Antarctic.
One objective of these groups will be to obtain materials for compiling
a hypsometric map of the East Antarctic." For the first time, an extensive
aeromagnetic survey of the eastern Antarctic is planned which, combined
with seismic research and gravimetric observations, will contribute to a
better understanding of the principal forms of relief concealed beneath
the continental ice. Mobile scientific stations are planned for both the
coast and inland.
After completing its mission of supplying the Lazaryev and Mirnyy
stations and equipping the trans Antarctic expedition, the Ob will
proceed to the Bellingshausen Sea area, where geologic studies will be
undertaken
Other indications of expanding activities include an announcement
by the Chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission for the Study of
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Antarctica that "Soviet aircraft will soon make nonstop flights from
Moscow to Mirnyy." The construction of new whaling ships indicates
that 3 new whaling fleets are to be put in operation, ultimately making
a total of 4 Soviet fleets operating in Antarctic waters. In a TABS
broadcast of 13 September 1959, Treshnikov, head of the 1956.57 Antarctic
expedition, stated that the atomic icebreaker Lenin would be used not
only in the Arctic but also in the Antarctic.
The Praesidium of the Academy of Sciences has recently approved
the "general direction of work on the study of the Antarctic for
1959-1965," indicating long-range planning for continued Soviet activities
in Antarctica.
III. Progress and Implications of Planned Activities
The summer station at Komsomoi'skaya is currently being reactivated
to function as a supply and fuel base for the trans Antarctic traverse;
and, if conditions permit continuance of the traverse to Lazaryev late
in the Antarctic autumn of 1960, the temporary station at the Pole of
Inaccessibility will probably be reactivated for the same purpose. Of the
new stations to be set up, the 2 that will be aids in the trans Antarctic
traverse have been located roughly; one will be south of I,azaryev and
the other near -tie Australian Lawson Station. The third may be the
Bellingshausen Station in the unclaimed sector, the establishment of
wblch was announced as an objective in 1958.
The Soviets probably feel confident that the Bellingshausen Station
can be set up, if necessary with the aid of AN-2 (Colt) biplanes,, whose
ability to operate from unprepared surfaces was proved during the extensive
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Antarctic operations of both the Ob (1957-55) and the Le(1956-57); and
by the results of ice reconnaissance undertaken by the Ob in the vicinity
of the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas in April 1955 and by the 26-vessel
Slava whaling fleet in early 1959- The latter came within a mile or
two of peter I Island, or about 250 nautical miles of the intended
site -- a distance well within the capability of the AZ-2 with its
945-nautical-mile range and its 1,650-pound cargo capacity-
If the Soviets attain this goal before the penetration planned by
the US for early 1960 is completed, Soviet propaganda is likely to
exploit the fact that the USSR was able to reach the most inaccessible
part of Antarctica, an area that had defied even the most powerful
icebreakers of the US. Moreover, the establishment and maintenance of
a station in the Bellingshausen Sea area could ultimately challenge the
primacy of US rights in an unclaimed area, and have a worrisome effect
on Chile and Argentina because of the proximity of such a station to
the Security Zone of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance.
The inclusion of several Bloc scientists in the Soviet program of
Antarctic research suggests that other Bloc countries, in addition to
Poland, may eventually acquire bases in Antarctica. This, in turn,
would broaden Bloc participation'in the international administrative
machinery that may emerge as a result of the Antarctic treaty, negotiations
for which began on 15 October 1959, in Washington, D.C. This year will
be the second season for Czech participation in the Soviet Antarctic
program. The inclusion of East Germany for the first time may be an
attempt to seize,for the Bloc, initiative in exploiting German interests
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that had been built up by prewar German Antarctic activities, since the
Federal Republic excluded Antarctica from its IGY and subsequent
programs. East German and CHICOM participation was ostensibly sought
on their own initiative and could be a maneuver to test the sincerity
of the anticipated US-initiated treaty to assure freedom of Antarctic
research to all countries, The Soviets are also transporting 18 Poles
to the former Soviet station Oazis, which has been renamed Dobrowolski
by the Poles. Eleven of the Poles will remain in the Antarctic for the
winter.
Preparations for the trans-Antarctic glaciological traverse are
already underway. The first preparatory tractor train, consisting of
5 tracked vehicles with equipment, supplies, and a scientific staff of
16 men, departed from Mirnyy on 27 September and arrived on 19 October
at Komsomol'skaya, where 3 specially built, self-contained tracked
vehicles, 6 sleighs, and 125 tons. f freight were delivered in February
1959. At Komsomol'skaya the main party for the traverse will be formed.
Early in October the Soviets began flights (using an L1-2 airplane) from
Miruyy to Lazaryev -- a distance of more than 1,650 miles -- in preparation
for the air support of the 1959-60 scientific program.
Nonstop flight from the USSR to Antarctica has been a goal of the
Soviets for several years. Such flights were planned as early as 1955;
but the subsequently procured transit rights via the Cocos Islands and
Perth, which were obtained from Australia by negotiation, were never
exercised. In 19%, a Soviet scientist again mentioned that nonstop
flights to the Antarctic were being planned. A recent report, attributed
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to Treshnikov, states that a TU-111 my soon be used. whether the
Antarctic landing facilities can be made adequate for aircraft large
enough for nonstop flights is as yet uncertain. Soviet motives for so
grandiose an undertaking, involving more than 9,000 nautical miles of
flight (7,600 nautical miles by the great-circle route) undoubtedly
stem from the desire for a spectacular demonstration of Soviet air
capability and for greater operational advantages, including increased
flow of key scientific personnel, scientific instruments, and perishable
foods.
Factory ships are under construction for three new whaling fleets,
but it is not known as yet whether they will all have scientific research
vessels similar to the one attached to the Slavs fleet. The 14,OOO-ton
factory ship Sovetskaya Ukrains, will begin operations during the 1959-60
season, and construction has begun on the Sovetskaya Rossiya? a sister
ship. The third, the 1+0,000-ton factory ship Yur qrukI , is being
built in the Soviet Zone of Germany. The Sovetskaya Ross a will operate
out of Vladivostok and the other two from Kaliningrad; the veteran Slava
whaling fleet will continue its activities out of Odessa- Upwards of
60 Soviet whalersy plus support vessels, can ultimately be expected in
Antarctic waters. Whalers in such large numbers may eventually lead
not only to a Soviet domination of the industry but also to a breakdown
in international controls for the conservation of whaling stocks.
The use of the atomic icebreaker is not expected during the 1959.6O
season. The Lenin, now undergoing a test cruise, has as its priority
mission the serving of research and shipping requirements in the Arctic
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Basin. It is believed that the Soviets will limit its operation
during the first year to extensive testing and training in the areas
nearer home rather thau extend the venture into the more distant
waters of the Antarctic. Ultimately, however, use of the Lenin can
be expected to ;Lengthen the operational period and expand services in
the Antarctic an well as the Arctic. Moreover, it will extend the
range of choice to many suitable station sites that otherwise might
be inaccessible.
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