Byrds Second Expedition

After Byrd s second expedition, the exploration of Antarctica by means of ships, aircraft, and dog sleds continued by the American, British, and German expeditions listed in Appendix 1.10.1 (Byrd 1935 Victor 1964 Reader s Digest 1985,1990 Stonehouse 2002). 

For the second expedition to Antarctica Byrd, once again, had two ships (Bear of Oakland and Jacob Ruppert) which arrived off the coast of Edward VII Land on December 20, 1933. After penetrating the pack ice, the ships entered the Bay of Whales on January 17, 1934 and unloaded their cargos including 150 sled dogs, four aircraft (including a helicopter), several tractors, three Guernsey cows, and a calf who were to provide fresh milk for 56 men. None of the land-based expeditions of Robert Scott, Ernest Shackleton, and Roald Amundsen was as well equipped or included so many men. Nevertheless, both of Byrd s expeditions relied on traditional as well as on modem means of transportation. 

Byrd set up a weather station at 80°08 S and 163°57 W on the Ross Ice Shelf and moved there in March of 1934 in order to spend the winter making a continuous series of weather observations. At first, all appeared to be well until his team members at Little America II noticed that Byrd was beginning to behave erratically. They quickly organized a small tractor train in August of 1934 and brought Byrd back to Little America II where he recovered from what was later 

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Exploration of Antarctica Following Byrd s Second Expedition (Stonehouse 2002)... 

Byrd RE (1935) Discovery the story of the second Byrd Antarctic expedition. Putnam, New York Byrd RE (1938) Alone. Putnam, London Campbell KSW (ed) (1975) Gondwana geology papers presented at the Third Gondwana Symposium. Australian National University Press, Canberra, ACT Chapman W (ed) (1965) Antarctic conquest the great explorers in their own words. Bobbs-MerriU, New York Cherry-Garrard A (1922) The worst journey in the world. 

Dodge, C. W., and Baker, G. E. (1938). Botany of the second Byrd Antarctic Expedition. 

Siple, P. A. (1938). The Second Byrd Antarctic Expedition—Botany. I. Ecology and Geographical Distribution. Ann. Mo. Bot. Gard. 25, 467-503. 

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