Operation Deep Freeze/New Zealand

Zippo collection

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Operation Deep Freeze / New Zealand / South Pacific

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1930's 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's

1980's 1990's 2000's 2010's Deep Freeze/NZ

Currently viewing page 9 of 9

1930's 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's

1980's 1990's 2000's 2010's Deep Freeze/NZ

"Operation Deep Freeze I was the codename for a series of scientific expeditions to Antarctica in 1955-56.

The impetus behind these expeditions was the International Geophysical Year 1957-58.

IGY, as it was known, was a collaboration effort between forty nations to carry out earth science studies

from the North Pole to the South Pole and at points in between.

The United States, along with Great Britain, France, Japan, Norway, Chile, Argentina, and the U.S.S.R

agreed to go the South Pole--the least explored area on Earth.

Their goal: "to advance world knowledge of Antarctic hydrography and weather systems, glacial movements, and marine life.

The U.S. Navy was charged with supporting the U.S. scientists for their portion of the IGY studies".

New Zealand, particularly Christchurch & the nearby port of Lyttleton,

has a long history of teams stopping on their way to Antarctica

(excellent sites on the history of Antarctica here & on Deep Freeze in Antartica here)

1957 USS Atka (icebreaker) commemorating going to both the North & South Poles in 1956/57

1957 USS Lofberg (more info here)

1957, a.k.a. USCGC Glacier - a history-making icebreaker which served in the first three Operation Deep Freeze expeditions.

1958 Operation Deep Freeze

1958 Deep Freeze USS Staten Island AGB-5 town & country

Crossing the equator

Operation Deep Freeze

In 'navy-speak" a "polliwog" is someone who crosses the equator

for the first time whereas a "shellback" is someone who has crossed it more than once (more info here).

It appears there have been quite a few Zippos done

to celebrate this crossing of the equator

- so far I have only seen ones with the Neptune logo

1960 slim Antarctic Support Activities

Town & Country

1961 USCGC Eastwind Town & Country- Operation Deep Freeze Town & Country finish.

It commemorates the WAGB world cruise of 1960-61

- the first icebreaker to circumnavigate the globe.

"The Eastwind became the first cutter to ever circumnavigate the globe in 1960

when she departed Boston on 25 October 1960,

transited the Panama Canal, crossed the Pacific Ocean, visited New Zealand

and the McMurdo Sound Station, Antarctica, and sailed home via the Indian Ocean. "

She sailed through the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean Sea, through the Straits of Gibraltar,

and arrived back at Boston in May, 1961." The Eastwind had a long association with Antarctica

& did a second global circumnavigation in 1967."

1964 regular size USCGC Eastwind - icebreaker for Operation Deep Freeze

1964 slim US Naval Antarctic Support Activities

Town & Country

1966 Deep Freeze Town & Country

1979 Operation Deep Freeze Task Force 199

1981 Operation Deep Freeze

1982 - the NOAA R-103 was the Malcolm Baldridge research ship and was used by the NOAA from 1970-1995 to do environmental studies around the world. It later became the MV USHUAIA and does private cruises to the Antarctic for passengers and researchers.

1984 Operation Deep Freeze 30th anniversary

1984 HMNZS Canterbury F-421

- a New Zealand navy boat

1985 British Antarctic survey ship

1987, ship associated with Operation Deep Freeze

1988 advertiser for a New Zealand business

1995 New Zealand Air Force - was only available to members of the New Zealand Airforce

1995 Royal New Zealand Navy - was only available to members of the New Zealand Navy

1996, an unexpected gift from a friend at the 2006 Swapmeet - cheers Jim

1997 Christchurch casino

2003 British Antarctic research ship

2004 British Antarctic research ship

Antarctic research ships

New Zealand military

finding NZ military pieces is tough as our armed forces are so small in number

New Zealand misc.

c. 1967 brushed chrome rule (#6260) with imperial & metric blade

c.1967-75 HMNZS Waikato (New Zealand navy) on a Niagara Falls factory Zippo

Close up of design with a little of the original enamel paint remaining

1968 Factory etch for the joint Australian &

New Zealand force which served 2 tours of duty in Vietnam. Pic 2 shows a close up of the design with a little of the original enamel paint remaining

1975 Zippo meets New Zealand history

Lighter with the matching tape measure & a protest badge.

The Zippos bear the logo of the now defunct

"International Woodworkers of America" trade union alongside the AFL, CIO & CLC.

The story/history that goes with it is intrinsically part of New Zealand history.

The previous owner was a high up trade union representative in New Zealand

&, in the very early 1980's, when New Zealanders were uniting

to ban all nuclear activities, the US government gave all expenses paid trips

to the US for quite a few of the top unionists,

in an effort to convince them to convince their members

that NZ should not take this stance.

Whilst in the US they meet with many top American trade unionists

& were given these as mementoes of their trip.

The "Don't buy L-P" (Louisiana Pacific Products) badge was acquired at the same time

as, at that stage, L-P was engaged in particularly nasty strike breaking techniques

c. early 1980's. This was not made by Zippo but was made specifically for a Zippo. It was originally made by a New Zealand craftsman as a gift for his then girlfriend 20 or so years ago. She gave up smoking some years later & eventually sold it to me. It is made from 2 old silver forks cunningly welded together to hold the Zippo securely in place. One of the forks originally came from Trocadero, a long running top end bakery/cafe in Wellington, NZ - their stamp is visible on the handle (between the tines).

A non-Zippo leather lighter pouch made for a Zippo from an Australian cane toad - he's not looking too happy about it!

South Pacific

1994 handilite advertising the New Zealand Zippo distributor

1994 brushed chrome

1972 Town & Country silk screen process

1977 slim with Deep Freeze on the reverse

1958 Deep Freeze USS Staten Island AGB-5 Shellback

1958 USCGC Northwind

with 1956 NZ 3d coin

1959 USS Peterson town & country

1961 slim Operation Deep FreezeTown & Country

1963/4 regular size

USS Hissem/ Deep Freeze

1957 USCGC Northwind

c. 1962 Deep Freeze

1971 Deep Freeze

1975 USCGC Glacier slim

1982 Deep Freeze slim

1991 Deep Freeze

1998 3 bases - South Pole, Palmer, McMurdo

2002 McMurdo Station

Other Operation Deep Freeze stuff

1955-56 Deep Freeze yearbook

1956-57 & 57-58 Deep Freeze yearbooks

Task Force 43 coffee mug

Various Operation Deep Freeze patches

1983 Deep Freeze "Winter over, 1984" - special for the isolated skeleton crew (as no planes can get in or out over this time)

1983 Deep Freeze slim

1943-45 Australia - with the black crackle scraped off & Australian war era coins attached by it's original owner - nothing personal against the Aussies but I would have preferred it with Kiwi coins!

c. 1952 chrome over steel Royal Australian Regiment.

Back has ?? rubbery-plastic-like logo