History

Around 325 BC, the seafarer Pytheas of Massalia discovered an island six days sailing north of England which he called Thule.  It is generally thought that the island he discovered is present day Iceland.  At that time, Thule meant the "northernmost known" land.  But with increased geographical knowledge, the name eventually moved further north.  The new land, called "Ultima Thule," became synonymous with cold wilderness. 

     It is generally believed that the first settlers came to Greenland and about 4000 years ago.  Around 985 AD the first northerners came to Greenland and settled on the west coast between Julianehab and Godthab (Nuuk).  Greenlanders have lived in the settlement now known as Dundas for the past 900 years.  Actual proof of this has been found in the so-called �Commers Midden� just north of Mt. Dundas (named after an English nobleman, Lord Dundas).  Commers Midden was excavated in 1913-14, 1937, and again in 1946.  More than 10,000 artifacts that date back to the 10th century were cataloged by the  Danish National Museum. 

    The first European to arrive in the area was William Baffin, for whom Baffin Bay was named in 1616.  While in the area, Baffin named several places, such as Wolstenholme Fjord, Smith Sound, and Wolstenholme Island.  Thule had few others visitors until the late 1800s.  The first group of Europeans to spend the winter in the area was the crew of the ship H.M.S. North Star.  The bay (and our lodging facility) is named after this ship.  Between 1849 and 1850, several other expeditions took place.  Between 1892 and 1909, Robert E. Peary used the area as a base for his North Pole expeditions.  He established a close relationship with the Greenlanders by taking care not to violate the existing culture.

     Knud Rasmussen, a famous Danish explorer, began the Danish Literary Expedition in this area in 1903-04.  Rasmussen returned to the area in 1906 and again in 1908 to begin a mission station in the Thule area.  In 1909 the ship Godthab, anchored in North Star Bay, and the first two buildings (a missionary and a storehouse) were built.  The Danish flag has since flown in the area.

     In 1910, Rasmussen and his associate, Peter Freuchen, came to the area to Cape York Station (Kap York Trading Post).  At the suggestion of Freuchen, Rasmussen named the village which had grown up around the post �Thule.�  At that time, the area north of Mt. Dundas, called Uumanaq by the Greenlanders, was still inhabited.  Freuchen became the first trading post manager and held the position until 1920.  The post served many purposes, such as providing a base for scientific expeditions and providing equipment and food for the native Greenlanders.  The first Thule expedition set out in 1912 across the ice cap to north Greenland and back.  During the second Thule expedition (1916-18), Rasmussen mapped out the northernmost coast of Greenland geographically, geologically, botanically, and ethnologically.  Between 1919-1924, three more expeditions took place.  The fifth expedition took Rasmussen on his famous great sled journey, traveling by dog sled across Canada and Alaska to Siberia.

     Rasmussen returned to Thule each summer from 1926-1929.  The station was now growing.  A hospital was built in 1928-1929 and a pre-fabricated house, the Knud Rasmussen House, was built in 1929 and was later used as a school.  In 1929-1930 a Church was erected.  In 1928 the Thule Law was born; it was signed by Knud Rasmussen on 7 June 1929 and ratified by the Danish Government in 1931.  The Danish government took over the Thule district in 1931 and named Rasmussen to represent the Danish state.  In 1933, two settlements were founded in the Thule district, Siorapaluk in the north and Savigsivik in the south.  Rasmussen died that same year, and the Danish government took over his responsibilities.

     On the anniversary of Germany�s occupation of Denmark, 9 April 1941, Danish Ambassador Henrick Kauffman and United States Secretary of State Cordull Hull signed �The Agreement relating to the Defense of Greenland� in Washington.  President Roosevelt approved it on 7 June 1941.  In the agreement, the United States agreed to assume responsibility for the security of the entire  continent of Greenland. 

     From this agreement, and after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the allies established weather stations at Narssarssuaq airport, Sonderstrom (Bluie West-8), Ikateq (Bluie East-2), and Gronnedal (Bluie West-9).  In 1943 the Army Air Corps set up weather stations, Scoresbysund (Bluie East-3) on the east coast around the southern tip of Greenland, and Thule (Bluie West-6) to be operated by Danish personnel.  The weather stations gave the allies a strategic edge over the Germans in battle planning and proved to be the decisive element in initiation of the allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day. (General Eisenhower scheduled the landing at Normandy--despite strong winds across the English Channel--because he knew the winds would die down the following day based on the Greenland weather reports!)

     In 1946, a combined Danish-American radio and weather station was established in the Royal Greenland Trade department Building at Pituffik (present day Thule Air Base).  Pitiffuk means �Place where they tie their boats.�  By all rights, Thule Air Base should have been named Pituffik Air Base after the original site.  Later, the Navy built a new and much larger weather station and the Army Corps of Engineers built a 4,000-foot airstrip on the south side of the valley.  In the following years, the Thule airstrip was used as a jump-off point for exploration and a supply point for construction of airstrips and weather stations on the Canadian side of the straits  (Eureka, Resolute, and Isachsen).  The East Reconnaissance Group (Project Nanook) flew B-17 mapping and photography missions from Thule�s primitive facilities.  From 1946-50, several houses, a power plant, a radio station, and a dirt runway were built at what is now called �Dundas Village.�  Dundas Village and the Inuit Village of Qaanaaq are protected by Denmark and specifically excluded from areas under US Air Force control.  In 1963 the area was given official status as Thule, the 17^th municipality of Greenland and the northernmost community in the world.

 

 CONSTRUCTION BEGINS

     Construction of a worldwide system of modern air bases was one of the the newly formed United States Air Force's most important tasks following World War II.  The Air Force studied the possibility of establishing a major operating base in Greenland when it became clear that round trip flights of planes carrying atomic weapons between mainland United States or Canadian bases and Siberian/European objectives were impractical.  The shortest route from the United States to the Soviet Union�s most important industrial areas was over the North Pole, and Thule is at the precise midpoint between Moscow and New York.  Thus, Thule became a strategic point in American military strategy.  Bombers of Strategic Air Command (SAC) flying over Greenland presented less risk of detection than if launched from bases in England.  Defensively, Thule could serve as a base for intercepting bomber attacks along the northeastern approaches to Canada and the United States.

     A board of Air Force officers made a recommendation to pursue a base at Thule in November 1950; it was subsequently supported by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and approved by President Truman.  To replace the agreement entered into during World War II between the US and Denmark, a new agreement with respect to Greenland was ratified on 27 April 1951 and went into effect on 8 June 1951.  At the request of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the agreement became a part of the NATO defense program.  The pact specified that the two nations would arrange for the use of facilities in Greenland by NATO forces in defense of the NATO area known as the Greenland Defense Area.

     Construction of Thule Air Base started (in secret) in 1951 and was completed in 1953 under the code name OPERATION BLUE JAY.  The construction of Thule is said to have been comparable in scale to the enormous effort required to build the Panama Canal.  The Navy transported the bulk of men, supplies, and equipment from the shipyards in Norfolk, VA.  On 6 June 1951, an armada of 120 shipments sailed from Norfolk.  12,000 men and 300,000 tons of cargo arrived at Thule on 9 July 1951.  Construction took place around the clock.  The workers lived on-board the ship until quarters were built.  Once they moved into the quarters, the ships returned home.

     Thule was initially designed as a forward operating base for staging SAC bombers and tankers.  It was designed and built to house up to 12,000 personnel.  It was built with a 10,000-foot (by 200�) runway and a fuel storage capacity of about 100 million gallons (the largest fuel farm in the United States Department of Defense�built to support wartime refueling of the B-47 bombers).  The agreement set aside 339,000 acres for the entire defense area, which included 2600 acres at main base, 82 miles of road, 38 fuel tanks, 10 hangers, 122 barracks, 6 mess halls, a gym, a service club, an Officers� club, a hobby shop, a library, a base exchange, a post office, a theater, a chapel, and a hospital.  There were also 63 warehouses, a laundry, a bakery, two primary power plants, and 4 auxiliary power/heating plants.  

     Buildings were built using Arctic (Clements) panels.  These large panels were used commercially in the 1950s to build large walk-in refrigerators.  To prevent the arctic permafrost from melting and causing the buildings to sink, engineers elevated them on pilings. The pilings allowed air to circulate under the buildings and remove the heat from the structure.  Many of the 150+ buildings at Thule were built in 60 days in 1951--most are still in use today.  

     The 1000-foot pier (Delong Pier) was constructed from 8 barges towed from the Gulf of Mexico placed on caissons and stabilized alongside a rock-filled causeway.

     On 18 August 1951, the new airstrip was inaugurated with a visit from General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, then Air Force Chief of Staff.  OPERATION BLUE JAY was completed in a short 104 days.  On 23 October 1951, the last construction crews left Thule but 400 men were left behind as a caretaker force through the winter.  The next spring a major part of the workforce returned to expand the base.  In November 1952, when the Air Force took control, Thule was considered operational.  By the fall of 1953, the bulk of the construction was complete.

     On 1 July 1951, the 6622nd Air Base Squadron of the Northeast Air Command arrived.  Air operations commenced on 11 September 1951.  The first fighter interceptors assigned to Thule were four F-9A's and began operations on 11 September 1952.  For air defense, the US Army installed two 75mm and four 90mm anti-aircraft guns in a ring around Thule in 1953.

     In the spring of 1953, the Greenlandic Village of Thule, located at the base of Mt. Dundas, was moved 65 miles north to Qaanaaq, on Red Cliff Peninsula.  The Inuits said that the noise and smells from the planes and ships frightened away the walruses, seals, polar bears, and birds essential to their cultural survival.  They moved so that hunting and fishing could continue without disturbances from the activities of the modern air base.  Before the air base at Thule was built, the Inuits used the top of Mt Dundas as a burial ground.  The remains of the Danish explorer Knud Rasmussen (1879-1933) used  to lie there until being returned to Denmark in the 1990s.  Upon departing, the people of Thule demanded they take the name with them.  The settlement remained but adopted the name Dundas, taken from the nearby mountain.  In 1985, Dundas Village, at the base of Mt Dundas, closed down.

     From 1953 to 1959, Thule�s main mission was to serve as an operations base for SAC strategic bombers and tankers, supporting B-36s, B-47s, and KC-97s.  In 1957, SAC activated the 4083rd Strategic Wing at Thule, consisting of B-36 bombers. 

     In 1957, Thule became home to the 74th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS).  The unit was deactivated in March 1960 leaving Thule without interceptor protection for the first time since September 1952.  The Joint Chiefs of Staff rescinded this deactivation in June 1960, and the 332 FIS and its supersonic, all-weather F-102 Delta Daggers were assigned to Thule in August 1960.  

     In 1957 and 1958 four Nike Defense System Batteries were constructed (two on North Mountain and two on South Mountain) under the code-name �Rising Star.�  These surface-to-air missiles were linked together with the air interceptors and a control and warning system.  Each battery had two areas: launch and control.  However, the Nike program at Thule was short lived--it was shut down in July 1960.  Battery A was demolished in 1990, but two buildings still stand at A-Launch located at Dundas Village.  Battery B was demolished on an undetermined date, and the debris at the launch site was pushed into the underground silos.  Battery C is still largely intact.  It probably represents the best remaining example at Thule.  The barracks and mess hall still stand, but the storeroom is gone.  The three launch structures are still intact.  One stairwell, a soldiers� artwork still survives.  It is the depiction of a goose and refers to the Goose Air Defense Sector to which the battery belonged.  C-Control has been demolished.  All that remains is the concrete bases of the radar.  Battery D, D-Launch is located on South Mountain, overlooking North Star Bay; the launch structures are still intact as is the watchtower.

     In 1958 and 1959 additional construction consisted of five new barracks, a dining facility, the airmen�s club, two BOQs, a technical library, and two warehouses.  In 1959 and 1960 the base common water and sewage distribution mains were constructed.  Up until then, all water delivery and sewage service was done by truck!  In 1960, and over-the-road, heated, and insulated pipeline system was completed to provide central heating to all facilities.  At this time, replacement value of the buildings at Thule was valued at over $2 billion.

    The base activated as a part of the Northeast Air Command (NEAC) in January 1952 and transferred to SAC in 1957.  On 1 July 1960, Air Defense Command officially assumed command at Thule.  By 1960, the addition of long-range aircraft to the SAC inventory eliminated the need for Thule to operate as a forward support base, and the mission turned from a SAC forward operations base to air defense.

     In 1961, a Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) radar was constructed at "J-Site," 13 miles northeast of main base.  BMEWS was developed by the Raytheon Corporation in order to provide North America warning of a transpolar missile attack from the Russian mainland and submarine-launched missiles from the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans.  When constructed, BMEWS Site 1 had four fixed antenna, 400 feet long and more than 300 feet high, which were larger than a football field turned upright!  It was during this period that Thule reached its maximum manning, about 10,000 personnel.

     Also in 1961, at the dawn of the space age, the Air Force established a satellite command and control facility to track and communicate with US satellites in polar orbit.  Then called Operating Location 5 of the Air Force Satellite Control Facility, it is now known as Detachment 3, part of the 22d Space Operations Squadron.  This site is a crucial element of the worldwide Air Force Satellite Control Network (AFSCN).  As one of eight worldwide satellite tracking stations, Detachment 3 directly supports space operations by providing telemetry tracking and commanding to satellites developed and deployed by DOD, other US government agencies, and allied governments. 

     Starting in July 1965, there was a general downsizing of activities at Thule.  The base host unit, now the 4683rd Air Wing, along with the 332 FIS, was deactivated.  By January 1968, the population of Thule was a mere 3,370.

     Reflecting its new mission focus of space surveillance, missile warning, and satellite command and control, Thule became an Air Force Space Command base in 1982.

     In 1987, the mechanical BMEWS radar was upgraded to a solid-state, phased-array system in an effort to improve effectiveness and efficiency.  In 1976, 1980, 1988, and again in 1999, the systems at Detachment 3 were upgraded and expanded, making it the largest satellite tracking facility in the world.

     Because of its northern location, Thule also provides support to a wide range of logistical resupply operations and arctic scientific studies.  Whether it�s missile warning, satellite control, aviation support, or arctic studies, Thule plays a key role in America�s national security.

  Thule is the only Air Force Base with no permanently assigned aircraft and a tugboat.  The library offers two videos, �Operation Blue Jay� and �Camp Century,� that better explain how the base was built and the events that have taken place in this region.  Stop by and check them out.