US Air Force landed first aircraft on North Pole on this day in 1952; Read details

US Air Force officers William Pershing Benedict and Joseph O. Fletcher on this day, i.e., May 3, 1952, were the first to land C-47 aircraft on the North Pole. Fletcher of Oklahoma also became the first man to ever stand directly at the geographic North Pole. The two pilots spent 3 hours and 10 minutes at the pole and then flew back to T-3, a floating ice island in the Arctic. 

The historic flight was made in connection with the Air Force’s polar expedition “Icicle Island” and to carry out scientific observations of ocean depth and gravity field strength in the polar area. Following the landing, Benedict even radioed; “Operation instructions carried out. No sweat”. The landing was another step in the polar exploration activities conducted by the United States. 

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About the first person to stand on North Pole 

However, prior to this event, explorers Robert Peary and Dr Frederick Cook both claimed to have reached the North Pole by land. In 1911, Congress formally recognised Peary’s claim. But in recent years, further studies revealed that Peary did not reach the North Pole, falling perhaps 30 miles short. In 1952, Fletcher was the first person to undisputedly stand on the North Pole. 

(Image: @DrPnygard/Twitter)

Fletcher was an American Air Force pilot and polar explorer. He was the deputy commanding officer of the 4th Weather Group, United States Air Force, stationed in Alaska. Before the mission to the North Pole, his team had landed with a C-47 aircraft, modified to have both wheels and skis, on a tabular iceberg in the Arctic Ocean and established a weather station there, which remained manned for 22 years before the iceberg broke up.

(Image: @DrPnygard/Twitter)

The station was initially known just as “T-3”, however, it was soon renamed “Fletcher’s Ice Island”. Alongside Fletcher on the top of the world was Dr Albert P. Crary, a scientist who in 1961 travelled to the South Pole by motorized vehicle, becoming the first person in history to have stood on both poles.  It is worth noting that planes of "Operation Ski Jump," the Navy's mission to the Arctic, had flown over the pole while conducting oceanographic and meteorological tests. The US Navy had also landed planes within only a few miles of the pole in experiments to test the strength of the icepack.