Camp Tuto Runway

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At an elevation of 1,500 feet (460 m), Camp Tuto had a 2,000-foot (610 m) runway with a hangar for use by Army liaison and light cargo aircraft. A large gravel ramp, over 1 mile (1.6 km) long, was built across the ice cap terminal slope, thus providing tracked vehicles the ability to drive onto the ice cap and proceed to destinations in the interior. Major interior ice camp camps supported were Camp Century, located at about the 138 mile mark inland from Tuto, and Camp Fistclench at Mile 218, colocated with the Air Force’s former advance radar station Site 2 (N-34). Along the flag-marked ice route, survival cabins with supply caches were set out at 30 mile intervals, also serving for weather, radio, and search-and-rescue tasks. Due to mapped crevasses, the ice cap route was far from a straight line.

About 0.5 miles (800 m) from Tuto a 1,100-foot (340 m) long ice tunnel was carved into the foot of the ice cap. This wide tunnel had temporary living accommodations, diesel generators, and basic comforts. The temperature inside was found[by whom?] to be 17 °F (−8 °C). To considerable media attention, Camp Tuto Ice Tunnel was officially opened in October 1961.

At the eastern end of the airstrip, Camp Tuto proper had numerous large aluminum-sandwich buildings, some connected with innovative tunnels for weather protection. An ionosphere station was operational until 1966. Initially, the buildings had been Jamesway Huts, but over a hundred permanent structures were eventually built in a grid pattern. The egg-shaped corrugated steel tunnels for personnel access were used in places, probably as tests for Camp Fistclench. A mess hall, supply center, communications center, and a machine shop were on camp. Two doctors and a dentist served as a first medical line before the USAF base hospital.

Nearby satellite camps existed at various times. With a primary interest in engineering and construction, the Army units also assisted the Air Force in ice runway construction trials. Tuto was the transshipment camp for installation and removal of the PM-2A nuclear reactor at Camp Century.


From Wikipedia