There’s a Massive Antarctic Exploration Vehicle Lost Somewhere at the Bottom of the World

Pocket ^ | unknown | Peter Holderith

[Dr. Franklin]

Last seen in 1958, it was designed to travel 5000 miles and self-sustain for an entire year.

It’s quintessentially American to drive everywhere. This must’ve occurred to the planners of the United States Antarctic Service Expedition in 1939 when the joint government-private sector project ran into the question of how best to traverse Antarctica’s frozen wastelands. The obvious answer? A car. A really, really, really big car. Or so thought Thomas Poulter, designer of the doomed Antarctic Snow Cruiser seen in these pictures.

You’d think a massive machine like this would still exist somewhere, even in pieces. And surely they made more than one for the journey. But no—the single Snow Cruiser built is lost somewhere in Antarctica (or at the bottom of the Southern Ocean). Just where exactly is an international mystery that’s likely to remain unsolved forever.

...

The vehicle—there is no other word for it—had a twenty foot wheelbase and a total length of about 56 feet. Powering the cruiser were two Cummins diesel engines. Their combined 300 horsepower spun two generators, which sent their power to four motors—one per 10-foot-diameter wheel. Yes, this was a diesel-electric drivetrain in a vehicle way before that was a thing. The motors could push it to a top speed of 30 mph and up a 35 percent grade.

With four-wheel steering, the Snow Cruiser had a 30 foot turning circle, excellent for its size. It could also raise and lower its suspension, allowing it to (theoretically) push itself over wide crevasses on its smooth underbelly—like a 75,000-pound penguin. Interestingly, that independent articulation was designed to allow the craft to tuck its wheels up into the body when parked so the rubber tires could be warmed with exhaust gases.

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[SunkenCiv]

The Rise of the Diesel-Electric Locomotive | The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation
The Henry Ford
Jan 19, 2018
After World War II, the “dieselization” of American railroads was rapid. The period from about 1945 to 1960 is often called the “Transition Era” on American railroads. Newly-purchased diesel-electric locomotives worked alongside veteran steamers as railroad companies replaced their fleets. In 1945, diesel-electrics hauled just seven percent of the nation’s freight trains. Of the 21,000 new locomotives bought between 1945 and 1955, fully 95 percent were diesel-electric.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emurCCbIJVw

[Dr. Franklin]

It will eventually show up as an anomaly on a high resolution magnetic areal survey in the future.

If it's under the ice somewhere, it should be easy to detect such a large ferric mass. The right satellite in orbit could find it easily. If it's on the ocean sea floor, it would be a little more challenging. Yes, it should be found, and it would be a very interesting museum piece if it's in good condition.

[SACK UP]

Imagine the napalm potential. Or is that what napalm is gelled petroleum?