| NARSARSSUAK 1955 BW-1 |
| Dec.29, 2007 I received some photographs taken by Ed Poffek while on TDY to Narsarssuak, Greenland. In the spring of 1955 Ed and six other airmen were sent to BW-1 to install a main frame in the new central office that was built there to replace the old office that was dug into the side of a hill. They also were to terminate all the tip cables and make a cable half tap from the old office. Ed didn't rem- ber for sure but he thought the new office had step by step equip- ment as that was the newest thing back then. They flew there in a C-54 Skymaster from Torbay Airport outside of St. Johns. Nfld. The C-54 is a transport plane with four engine prop propelled motors. At this date, 1st Comm. was now all moved to Pepperrell AFB from McAndrew AFB. |
| Ed Poffek |
| Here is the whole crew at the Tobay Airport. This was their first TDY job and they were all exicited. From left: Rizzo, ? , T/Sgt Bates, S/Sgt. Joe Hertzog, Dan Zimmer, Dean. |
| Torbay Terminal |
| This sign welcomed the crew. There now was day light 24 hours. |
| Crew in front of the new Central Office. The building was made from precast concrete. From left: Joe Hertzog, Dean, Rizzo, ? , Zimmer, Bates is sitting. Ed mentioned that Bates was killed in a plane crash in the late 50's or early 60's. He was on TDY to Taiwan, China. |
| Manhole in front of the new office where the cable half taps were made. Flight line is in the background. From left: Joe Hertzog, Dean, T/Sgt. Bates. |
| Rizzo in front of the new CO. |
| Ed and a couple of his friends went for a ride in the Navy P2V pictured at upper left standing on the tarmat at BW-1. While on this flight he took the photos of the Navy ice breaker and the radar site located at the head of the fjord some 60 miles from BW-1. The radar site is located about in the center of the photograph. Ed wrote, "Each year the P2V would come to Narsarssuak and spend a month.This was when the ice started breaking up in the ocean and the ships would start to bring in supplies." "The P2V would go out on patrol and chart the ice for the icebreaker, who would than lead the cargo ships to the mouth of the fjord. The icebreaker would stay until the ice thinned out enough for the cargo ships and than move further north." |
| "Aircraft had to fly low up the fjord in order to make the 90 degree turn to land on the runway at BW-1. The runway started at the fjord, then went uphill. What I understood at the time was, that prop driven aircraft of that period could not make a 180 degree turn in the fjords without crashing into the mountains. Yet when we were in the Navy plane, we were circling the ship. Believe it or not, on one of the passes of the ship I could see the whites of the crews eyes." |
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