|
Easy Days on Canton Island
Canton Island, a coral atoll, is located
midway between Honolulu and Austrailia. During WW2 it was an important fueling point for
aircraft attacking the Japanese. Although neighboring islands were
occupied by Japanese forces, Canton was controlled by American and British
forces throughout the war.
Being a midpoint between Australia and Hawaii, after the war PanAm
built excellent facilities for servicing aircraft and comfort for weary travelers. A
small hotel. a club for socializing, a water desalinization plant, and housing for PanAm employees. These facilities remained in use
from 1946 until 1959. Then as the Boeing 707 became the primary aircraft
for long distance flight, this refueling facility was no longer needed and abandoned.
In 1961, the USA started it's NASA space program and needed a station in the
Central Pacific for telemetry and spacecraft communications. Canton Island
was
designated by NASA as Site No. 11. It was selected as being important during the
re-entry phase when spacecraft splashed down in that area. Communication was maintained with Mission Control Center by the Goddard
teletype and voice loop networks. Communications with Pacific Missile Range (PMRF)
Hawaiian area was maintained over a teletype circuit and by a limited traffic
single sideband circuit.
I arrived on Canton in 1966 in time for the last of the Gemini missions.
My assignment was to maintain and operate the automatic
tracking antennas used to acquire signal and transmit to the spacecraft.
The island was staffed by
approximately 47 Bendix Field Engineering (BFEC) personnel. After
Gemini XII in November, 1966 the next mission scheduled was the first of the
Apollo series. Unfortunately, a training accident in Florida on January
27, 1967 killed the 3 man crew and necessitated a complete spacecraft
redesign. The Apollo program was placed on hold. It was finally
determined in July, 1967 that the benefit of keeping Canton open was not a
cost efficient proposition and Canton was closed in November,
1967.
During the period from Nov. 1966 until Nov. 1967, there was very little
work to be done. The only people on the island were the BFEC men (only
men), several US weathermen, and a British government representative whose
sole mission was to raise the Union Jack in the morning and to lower it at
night. Sometimes we would have an occasional Navy plane or a pilot ferrying a plane to Australia
stop for fuel. We all found things to occupy our time.
We had excellent quarters, thanks to PanAm. I selected a 3BR/2B house
with a lanai that extended the full length of the house. It overlooked
the lagoon and I moved a small bed out on it. In the morning we would
walk over to the kitchen where a BFEC cook would make an excellent
breakfast to order. After breakfast we would make our way to the NASA
station located about 5 minutes around the island. We would check out
our equipment to ascertain everything was operating correctly, a process that
took all of 15 minutes, then would take off to do what we wished for
the remainder of the day. I often strolled the beach and read from
books taken from the small library left over from PanAm days. After lunch
we might take a short nap before heading back to the station. There
was an outdoor theatre where a different first run movie was shown each
night. After the movie, the club would usually fill and drink was
plentiful.
We would try to find activities to occupy our time. Once a model boat
race was organized. A $5 entry fee was charged with winner take
all. There were about 20 entries. Some were quite elaborate with
many hours spent in construction. Some were ingenuous using what material
could be scavenged. I don't remember who won, but that wasn't
important. It was good fun.
Our supplies were flown in by an FAA KC-135 (707) that arrived once a month
from Hawaii. The arrival would be a big event with everyone in
attendance at the airport. It would stay overnight to discharge it's
cargo and get ready for the return trip. allowing us to read our mail and
write a reply. Supplying the island was quite expensive, so someone in
logistics correctly decided that it would cost very little more to send
quality food. We had the best cuts of steaks. The club was left over from the PanAm days and had
been well stocked when we inherited it. When word came down that the island
was to be closed in 4-6 months an inventory showed that we had over a hundred
cases of whiskey and several hundred cases of beer to consume. This was
a tall order for 47 men, but we did our best. The island supervisor
didn't think that it would look good if all alcohol at the club was free so we
priced it at 5 cents/bottle for the beer and $1/bottle or $10/case for any
type whiskey. There was little work, great food, lots to drink,
fantastic fishing. Even without female companionship, life was good.
Click
Here to See Canton Island Photos
| 
