In 1951, critical areas of Soviet capability for delivery of atomic weapons on targets within the United States consisted of the areas of Western Siberia, the Murmansk area on the Kola Peninsula and Eastern Siberia on the Chukotskiy Peninsula opposite Alaska. All of these areas are above the Arctic Circle. The lack of accurate intelligence from these areas, posing a threat to the security of the United States was of considerable concern, particularly since we were involved in an ongoing war in Korea, with known Soviet participation.

In the Spring of 1952, with the Korean war still in progress, intelligence reports indicated that the Soviets were staging TU-4 aircraft in North Western Siberia at Dikson, on the Kara Sea and also on the Chukotskiy Peninsula. Soviet plans for these forces was unknown. During this time there was also heightened concern, by SAC and USAF, “War Planners”, that the Soviets could possibly be constructing an Air Base, similar to Thule in the high Arctic islands of the Franz Josef Land Archipelago. (There existed unfounded rumors and wide speculation to this effect.) In the event of war with the Soviets, a Soviet Air Base in the islands, being on a direct path over the high Arctic into central and European Russia, would pose a direct threat to our retaliatory overflying bomber stream. Further, if the Soviets were building a large base in the Archipelago, TU-4 bombers on one-way missions staging from one of the larger islands, rather than from Dikson, would be able to penetrate approximately 500 miles deeper into the United States heartland.

It was most obvious that there was a critical need for a reconnaissance intelligence mission into the Archipelago. Thus, the following narrative presents the story of this Presidentially approved highly sensitive “Top Secret”, mission over the Soviet islands.