Polar Dive?

When Explorer Sir George Hubert Wilkins arrived in Manhattan from the Antarctic two months ago, he made the same announcement to newsgatherers that he has been making regularly for the past ten years: that he intends to make a submarine journey from Spitsbergen, via the North Pole, to Point Barrow, Alaska.

A year ago Explorer Donald Baxter MacMillan expressed the general feeling about such a trip when, in Philadelphia newspapers, he described such an attempt as "suicidal." Replied laconic Sir Hubert: "Perhaps it would be suicidal for Captain MacMillan."

Three weeks ago Explorer Wilkins took a definite step: petitioned the Navy Department for the O-12, a Wartime submarine, lying out of commission in the Navy's Philadelphia "boneyard." Last week the Navy announced that Wilkins could have the boat, but that he must make haste for it must be destroyed before July 1, 1936, under the terms of the London Naval Parley.

Wilkins' plan is to equip the submarine with an ice drill, capable of piercing 50 ft. of ice from beneath, to enable him to stop the craft under the polar ice pack, take on fresh air, recharge batteries, make observations. A trolley riding on the under side of the ice would indicate the position of the boat. A pressure lock would enable men in diving suits to leave and re-enter the submerged ship,

Wilkins thinks that, cruising at three knots, he could make the trip from Spitsbergen to Alaska in about 50 days.

Previous Wilkins accomplishments which make his polar submarine trip seem not incredible: extended exploration work in north polar regions with Vilhjalmur ("No Vegetables!") Stefansson, exploration of tropical Australia for the British Museum, flight from Point Barrow to Spitsbergen with the late Pilot Carl Ben Eielson, 6,000 mi. of flying in south polar regions.

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