Why Whit­­e Alice was necessary

From the Alaska Corps of Engineers Website Alaska District - April 2001

 

August 10, 2017

Photo courtesy of James C. Stevens

The annual resupply tug and barge operation landed on the beach in Duncan Canal and brought annual provisions to the site. The operation, called Mona Lisa, brought groceries, fuel and annual provisions for the operation of the communications site.

After the Soviets detonated an atomic bomb on August 24, 1949 the United States nuclear monopoly came to an end. Enemy bombers flying over the Arctic Circle from air bases above the Arctic Circle could reach the American heartland in a few hours.

Early warning radar stations in Alaska and Canada could provide advance warning of a Soviet bomber attack, but the radars would only be effective with efficient and reliable communications to military control centers.

The first Alaska radar network communications system failed because of atmospheric interference. A new technology, the forward prop...



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