Materials are arranged in chronological order.
Accession No. PA.1998.0008: Dan Dennison, 1998 October; Accession No. PA.2011.0002: Wendell Summers, 2011 January; Accession No. PA.2011.0023: Wendell Summers, 2011 June
[identification of item], Operation Highjump Collection, SPEC.PA.56.0249, Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, Ohio State University
Contains DVDs and a VHS videocassette.
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the University Archives reading room only. Audiovisual materials may need a use copy produced before access is allowed. Contact the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program at polararchives@osu.edu for more information.
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.
Processed by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2025 November; Finding aid written by: Audrey Wimbiscus, 2025 November
Operation Highjump was a United States Navy operation to establish the research base Little America IV on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. Officially titled the United States Navy Antarctic Developments Program and also referred to as Task Force 68, Highjump occurred from August 26, 1946 to late February 1947. It was organized by Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, Jr., and led by Rear Admiral Ethan Erik Larson. Operation Highjump consisted of 4,700 men, 13 ships, and 33 aircraft. Besides establishing Little America IV, the operation was tasked with training personnel on working in Antarctic conditions; testing various vehicles and equipment; standardizing construction techniques for bases on snow and shelf ice; conducting photograph surveys and mapping of the coasts of the continent; and determining the feasbility, costs, and risks of operating seasonal or permanent bases in Antarctica.
The Operation Highjump Collection contains collected materials both from and about Operation Highjump; materials date from 1947-1948 and the 1990s-2010. Items from Operation Highjump and immediately after include a souvenir edition of the "Bergy Bits" newsletter, and a 1948 United States Navy report on observations from Operation Highjump. Items about Operation Highjump consist of a newsletter and menu from the 1996 Fiftieth Anniversary gathering of people who were a part of Operation Highjump, photocopies made in the 1990s of 1946-1947 newspaper articles and clippings about Operation Highjump, a VHS videocassette with recordings of several television shows about Operation Highjump, and a 2010 DVD of crewmember Wendell Summers narrating his experiences on Operation Highjump.