Naval Undersea Museum

In WWII, Reindeer Were Our Animal Allies

Of World War II's many fronts, the one you've probably never heard about was the theater of war in the Arctic. Combat there centered around a crucial supply route that stretched from North America to the Russian port city of Murmansk, across the border from the northern tip of Norway.

"It was not the easiest route," U.S. Naval historian Tim Francis tells NPR's David Greene. And it might have been impossible if it weren't for help from some of Santa's friends.

About 25 percent of war supplies and munitions manufactured in North America were shipped across the Arctic to America's Soviet allies in the war. The supply route was under constant siege from the harsh elements — and from German enemies.

"German planes would fly out of Norway. Battleships would attack on the surface. And then you had U-boats that could attack from undersea," Francis says. "So they were being attacked from all three directions."

The Allies lost maybe 100 ships on that route, he ads, carrying everything from trucks to cigarette rolling papers. But the supplies that made it to port in Murmansk still needed to be hauled to the battlefront.

Bring in the reindeer.

Once those supplies were offloaded in Mumansk, reindeer hauled them to the battlefront.

"The reindeer were pack animals," Francis says. "Anything that would work to get stuff to places where people could use it. It makes perfect sense."

"People think of mechanized armor divisions — Patton and Sherman, tanks and all," Francis says, but it was only the U.S. and Britain that had fully mechanized militaries. Animals were crucial to the war effort.

"The majority of ground combat in Europe among the Axis — and certainly the Soviets — was done with infantry on the ground using horses and donkeys. And in the north, it would be reindeer."

Across Europe in World War II, Francis puts the number of animals Allies in the millions. Today, the city of Murmansk hasn't forgotten its part in that history.

Undersea museum adds naval aviation exhibit » The Northwest ...

Naval aviation began simply and unassumingly Jan. 18, 1911, pilot Eugene Ely landed a Curtiss pusher onto a makeshift platform on the deck of the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania. Ely was the first person to land an aircraft on board a ship, a prelude to the modern-day aviators that deploy from the Navy’s immense aircraft carriers.

This year is the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of naval aviation, a milestone the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are collectively honoring. As part of this effort, the Naval Undersea Museum in Keyport recently opened an exhibit that commemorates the centennial, “1911–2011: Celebrating 100 Years of Naval Aviation”.

The exhibit highlights significant torpedo-launching aircraft used by the Navy in the last one hundred years. Historic and modern-day photographs are complemented by a real WWII air-dropped Mark 13 torpedo and models of two iconic WWII torpedo bombers, a TBD Devastator and a TBF/TBM Avenger.

“We wanted to do an exhibit to bring attention to the centennial while keeping to our mission that centers on undersea topics,” said museum curator Mary Ryan. “So we decided to concentrate on the Navy aircraft that drop torpedoes since torpedoes are one of our main subject areas.”

Video interviews with Navy personnel that fly and maintain different aircraft tie the torpedo-specific content into the big picture of naval aviation. “I fly the EA-6B Prowler four-person jet, carrier-based. We do the electronic jamming for the strike team,” explains Commander Darryl Walker in the video. “My favorite part about flying is just the crew concept and working with people,” said Lieutenant Harriet Johnson, who pilots the SH-60B Sea Hawk. “I think it’s just a fun and dynamic environment — very gratifying at the end of the day.”

1911–2011: Celebrating 100 Years of Naval Aviation will be on exhibit through the end of 2011. The Naval Undersea Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Tuesdays, October through May). Admission and parking are free. For additional information, please call (360) 396-4148 or visit the museum’s website at www.history.navy.mil/museums/keyport.

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