THE ANTARCTIC SNOW CRUISER
Probably the most unique and memorable vehicle ever designed for Antarctic exploration was the rather amazing Snow Cruiser.
An incredibly huge vehicle at seventeen metres long, six metres high and five metres wide, designed by the explorer Thomas C. Poulter, it was a symbol of its time, of America overcoming all obstacles with technological prowess and human spirit.
At the time of its construction in 1938 it cost $150,000 (equivalent to $2.8 million today) and was to the be THE Antarctic research vehicle. As such it would have to fulfill three aims:
1)to serve as a mobile laboratory
2)to house personnel, and
3)to serve as a polar exploration vehicle.
Hence its great size.
To top off the majesty of the vehicle it was designed to carry a Beechcraft Staggerwing Scout biplane on its roof for conducting aerial surveys. For this and other reasons it had to be built strong. Fuel-wise alone it would be carrying 2500 gallons (9500 litres) for the Snow Cruiser and 1000 gallons (3785 litres) for the aircraft.
It was powered by two 150 bhp Cummins H-6 diesel engines which powered electric motors in each wheel hub, so it was a diesel-electric hybrid. Probably the first of its kind for such a large vehicle.
To cross the many crevasses that can be encountered in Antarctica the wheels were designed to retract. First the front wheels would retract and the rear wheels would push the vehicle across the crevasse, then the front wheel would come down, the rear wheel retract and the front wheel would drag the rest of the vehicle across the crevasse.
In 1939 it made its way from its Chicago construction site to join a ship in Boston (the North Star) to join Admiral Richard Byrd’s Antarctic expedition. Drawing huge crowds it blocked traffic all along the way as it took up both lanes of the roadway and only travelled at a top speed of 50km/hr (30mph)
It finally reached the ship and was headed to Antarctica. Offloading it proved to be a problem as it broke through it’s ramp before even setting wheels on Antarctica and was almost lost at that point.
The crew managed to recover it but when it finally landed on the continent it was found that the smooth tyres were totally unsuitable for the conditions, somewhat reminiscent of Shackleton’s attempt at using the first car in Antarctica back in 1908.
Nowadays, snow shedding tyre designs are the norm but back in 1939 it was thought that treadless, smooth tyres were the best for Antarctic conditions. The concept wasn’t totally unfounded. The Snow Cruiser was tested in sand dunes and found to sink only a few inches compared to other vehicles. However, in practise in the snow, the Snow Cruiser, even though it could move, did not do so very well or efficiently.
Also its 300 bhp engine was not powerful enough to move the 34 ton mass in an effective manner. Strangely, it was found that it could travel much better in reverse and one of its most successful trips of 92 miles was carried out backwards.
Eventually, after most of their attempts at getting around the Snow Cruiser’s problems had failed, the crew decided to turn the Snow Cruiser into a stationary lab. They covered it with ice and timber to retain heat and they planned to keep working with it but the Second World War intervened.
It was decided to relook at the project after the war so the Snow Cruiser was abandoned and the men brought home. Unfortunately they never did restart the project.
In 1946 members of the US Navy’s Operation Highjump found the Snow Cruiser and reported that it only required some basic servicing and some air in the tyres to be functional again but nothing was done.
In 1958 it was found again by an expedition who were able to dig down and enter it to find magazines, papers and cigarettes left behind by the original crew. They used it as living quarters and felt that it would take very little to get it running. Again nothing was done.
It was never found again. Suggestions for it’s demise have varied from it sinking in the ocean when a large section of the Ross Ice Shelf broke off in the 1960’s to it being stolen by those evil communists and smuggled back to Mother Russia.
The Snow Cruiser was an innovative vehicle and in many ways ahead of its time. It also embodied the can-do spirit of America at the time.
I’m hoping it is still buried there somewhere and one day will be found again, restored and returned as an exhibit in the Smithsonian as a unique piece of Antarctic history
You can view a video of it here https://youtu.be/wrN0Uji7zhE In its travels it fell into a ditch and took three days to remove it due to its great mass.