Did you know that a Citroën was used to save Admiral Byrd’s life in Antarctica?

Admiral Richard E. Byrd, the famed American aviator and explorer of the 20th century is particularly known for his expeditions to the polar regions where he discovered unknown territories and advanced scientific knowledge. For his Antarctic Expedition II, Byrd approached André Citroën for vehicles that he knew would be crucial for hauling supplies and conducting exploratory trips in the harsh sub-continent environment.

André Citroën was very interested in the results of how his vehicles performed in the extreme conditions. He had previously organized 3 ambitious expeditions, known as “Croisières,” primarily to demonstrate the capabilities of his vehicles and to generate publicity for his brand:

• Traversée du Sahara (Crossing of the Sahara):
  • This was the first major Citroën expedition.
  • It took place from December 17, 1922, to March 16, 1923 – trekking from Touggourt, Algeria, to Timbuktu, Mali, and back.

• Croisière Noire (Black Cruise):
  • This expedition crossed Africa from north to south.
  • It occurred from October 28, 1924, to June 26, 1925 — traversing the African continent from Colomb-Béchar, Algeria, to Cape Town, South Africa.

• CroisièreCroisière Jaune (Yellow Cruise):
  • This expedition aimed to cross Asia.
  • It took place from April 4, 1931, to February 12, 1932 — journeying from Beirut to Peking (now Beijing).

Agreeing to Byrd’s request, Citroën contributed three Citroën-Kégresse P17 half-tracks and provided spare parts. These vehicles would be heavily utilized in establishing supply depots and even in the rescue of Admiral Byrd from his advanced base. Citroën offered to provide a mechanic to go with the expedition, but Admiral Byrd declined.

History…

When Admiral Byrd returned  to the United States from his first Antarctic expedition in 1930, it was the  start of the Great Depression. Banks were failing and people were being thrown out of work. And yet Byrd conceived a second expedition to the “Ice” to be made  for scientific research and to discover new territory. The second Byrd Antarctic Expedition (BAE II)  would use Little America (first established in 1929 on Byrd’s first Antarctic expedition) as base camp.

Although sponsored again by the National Geographic Society, Byrd still needed to raise additional funds. He understandably received mostly small donations. Just as important were corporate donations of not money but food, fuel, and supplies. Byrd assembled two ships, the metal freighter Jacob Ruppert and the wooden Bear of Oakland which had been used as an ice breaker in the Arctic.

Questionable in Byrd’s mind was the condition of the two airplanes left at Little America in 1930 upon conclusion of his first expedition. Thus, a new Curtis-Wright Condor twin-engine long-range biplane, named the WILLIAM HORLICK, was secured, equipped with skis and floats and specially designed fuel tanks giving the plane a range of approximately 1300 miles with a full load of 19,000 pounds.

Two smaller single-engine monoplanes, a Fokker and a Pilgrim, were lent to the expedition. Additionally, a Kellett autogyro was lent for use in high altitude and short-range reconnaissance flights.

Motorized transportation was supplied by a Cletrac tractor, two Ford Model A snowmobiles outfitted as half-tracks and three Citroën-Kégresse P17 half-tracks originally designed for desert work. Both the Fords and the 42 horsepower Citroëns had the front wheels replaced with skis. Since motorized transportation still had not proven itself in the Antarctic, 153 sled dogs were collected from Alaska to Labrador and taken on the expedition.

No one had ever spent the winter in the interior of Antarctica. Byrd planned to establish a meteorology station at the foot of the Transantarctic Mountains 400 miles south of Little America to be manned by three men. Due to their late arrival, however, and the amount of supplies to be hauled by the tractors, they set up the Bolling Advance Base Weather Station 123 miles south of Little America in March, 1934.

Vehicles, dog sled teams and aviation were all used as the men struggled to establish the base. The Pilgrim monoplane made three flights but the Fokker, BLUE BLADE, crashed on take-off and the weather closed in before the WILLIAM HORLICK could be made ready. Construction of the hut began on the morning of March 22 and at 11:55 a.m. Admiral Byrd was flown in aboard the Pilgrim monoplane. Work on the site was under horrible conditions as temperatures plummeted to -60°F. Throughout the trips to and from Little America, the tractor party was plagued by water condensing and freezing in the fuel lines. They frequently stopped to disconnect the lines and blow the ice out. Fingers and hands suffered from the bitter cold with intense pain experienced by all. The dog sled teams left Bolling Advance Base for Little America on March 25 and on March 28 the vehicles departed, leaving Admiral Byrd alone to man the meteorological station for the next six months. The prefabricated hut measured 9 feet by 13 feet and was 8 feet high. The structure was completely buried in snow by the time the tractor party pulled out. Only the bamboo poles used to support the radio antennae, the 12-foot anemometer pole and the instrument shelter protruded through the snow.

Byrd in a bind…

The first two and a half  months went well, Byrd made periodic temperature and barometric pressure readings from instruments outside and communicated with Little America on a regular schedule.

Unfortunately, Byrd was unaware of his impending carbon monoxide poisoning. Although aware of water condensing and freezing in the ventilator pipe, stovepipe and exhaust pipe of the engine, which drove the radio generator, he suddenly experienced shooting pains in his head and nausea, the sure signs of carbon monoxide poisoning. Byrd’s precautions failed to maintain proper ventilation and the generator used for power and a stove vent clogged with ice were leaking carbon monoxide into the hut.

Byrd gradually became more ill until finally collapsing during the radio schedule on May 31, 1934. He remained critically ill for more than a month as his recovery was impaired by the inability to keep himself warm and properly cared for. In spite of his weakness and subsequent relapses, meteorological observations were continually recorded. Although he tried to hide it, Byrd’s health was obviously deteriorating. Unusual radio transmissions alerted the men back at base camp so an unscheduled journey to the Bolling Advance Base was soon planned. The first two attempts to reach Byrd ended in failure as darkness, snow and mechanical difficulties overcame them. Finally, Dr. Poulter, E. J. Demas and Amory Waite, aboard a Citroën-Kégresse P17 reached Bolling Advance Base just before midnight on August 10.

Byrd’s physical condition was too poor for the return journey. The men remained, making regular observations, until October 12 when William Bowlin flew to Bolling Advance Base in the Pilgrim and picked up Byrd and Poulter while Demas and Waite returned in the Citroën-Kégresse P17.

Had it not been for the reliability of that Citroën-Kégresse P17 and it’s ability to trek over the most inhospitable Antarctic conditions, Admiral Byrd would have died at Bolling Advance Base. Rather, he went on to have a distinguished career making a third expedition to Antarctica in 1939-1940, serving in the South Pacific during WWII (he was present at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945), being appointed officer in charge of the Antarctic Developments Project Operation Highjump (1946–1947), and being appointed as officer in charge of the U.S. Navy Operation Deep Freeze I in 1955–56, which established permanent Antarctic bases at McMurdo Sound, the Bay of Whales, and the South Pole. This was Byrd’s last trip to Antarctica, and marked the beginning of a permanent U.S. military presence in Antarctica. Admiral Byrd died in his sleep of a heart ailment at the age of 68 on March 11, 1957, at his home in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, MA.

Citroën-Kégresse endurance…

A number of geological and biological scientific programs were accomplished during the Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition. On September 27, Harold June, Ken Rawson, J. H. Von der Wall and Carl Peterson set out in a Citroën-Kégresse pulling two sledges with 7,600 pounds of cargo. On October 11 they sighted McKinley Peak and the Haines Mountains to the north. The next day the men climbed to the summit of McKinley Peak and determined, after making sun and star observations, that the mountain was approximately 37 miles west of its previously estimated position. The party arrived back at Little America on October 18 after completing a round trip of 525 statute miles. This had been the first time that exploration had been carried on to such an extent in Antarctica by means of mechanized land transport.

During the winter layover in New Zealand, both the BEAR OF OAKLAND and JACOB RUPPERT were reconditioned and loaded with coal. Both sailed back to Antarctica arriving in the Bay of Whales on January 27. The men hustled to get the cargo loaded aboard but with the ice threatening the thin plates of the JACOB RUPPERT, ferrying was necessary between the two ships. This process continued until only the vehciles and planes remained at the edge of the bay. Too heavy for the BEAR OF OAKLAND, the JACOB RUPPERT slipped in long enough to haul aboard all but one of the Citroën-Kégresse, two Ford Model A snowmobiles and a small amount of various supplies. The two ships sailed out of the Bay of Whales on the afternoon of February 5, 1935.

Due to the dynamic nature of the ice shelf, portions of the Little America, have been carried away by calving icebergs. Therefore, the Citroën-Kégresse that was left behind has likely descended to the ocean floor somewhere in the southern hemisphere to become a lost legacy for Citroën enthusiasts.

The three Citroën-Kégresse on the Admiral Byrd Antarctic Expedition II not only made it a successful endeavor but served André Citroën’s objective to prove that Citroën vehicles are superior on all continents!