Currituck (AV 7) - Naval Cruise Book

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BALLOON EXERCISES We ' re going lo the Galapagoj Islands — sounds real romantic — waving palms, swaying sarongs, beaches bathed in moon-light — oh! boy! What a let downt We found about fifty volcanic islands, wierdty shaped, which are called by some the ash heap of the Pacific. Instead of palms, we found cactus and brown grass, instead of sarongs — of all things — iguanas I In the vicinity of the Galapagos Islands, we served as a mobile base for the study of cosmic radiation. Thirteen large plastic balloons, eighty-five feet in diameter carried radiation detectors of almost every type known to the physicist some 90,000 feet into the stratosphere. The data which was gathered is a substantial contribution to the scientists knowledge of cosmic rays and high energy nuclear physics. PBM ' s of VP-4J, the U.S.S. RODMAN (DMS-21), and the U.S.S. ELLYSON (DMS-21), were engaged in tracking and recovering the balloons and their gondolas, which returned to the sea in some cases hundreds of miles away. The following scientists and engineers participated in operation CHURCHY : LCDR Malcolm D. Ross, USNR, representing the Office of Naval Research; Clifton Merrell and Milton Koivu of General Mills, Inc.; Bertram Stiller and Nathan Seeman of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D. C; Hugo Neuburg, Robert Soberman, and Roy Elkind of New York University; Robert Danietson, Kinsey Ander- son, and Laurence Peterson of the University of Minnesota; and Dr. Gordon McClure of the Bartol Research Foundation, Swarthmore, Pa. Fishing in the islands was unbelievable — a fisherman ' s dream come true. Within one minute after the anchor dropped, lines were over the side and all hands were pulling aboard three to ten pound fish. The fish, many of which were strange to us, swallowed any sort of bait — even prunes. Fishing parties went out in boats daily and brought back a wide variety of sea food. All in all, we managed to have fun in spite of our desolate surroundings. The cruise was educational to us and valuable to science. m % I } ftm- ' ■ p- ffCHy , ■SkS K S m!-

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Fueling a DMS Galapagos Volcano