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Thule Air Base, popularly known as Pituffik Airport, is the U.S Air Force’s northern base. The exact location of Thule Air Base is at 900 miles south of North Pole and 950 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Thule Air Base is situated near Dundas and it was a former trading station founded by Danish explorer Knud Rasmussen in 1910. It was his camping base for five expeditions that he had led between the years 1912 and 1924. When the U.S. air Force took over the base they rebuilt the whole place. The base was built under much secrecy and the whole operation was conducted under the code name ‘Blue Jay’.
It was a really hectic task to construct the Thule Air Base amongst the stubborn ice glaciers and sea, but with the help of 63 supply ships the six-feet or sea ice was broken down on 9th July 1951. The crew built large runway, taxiways, pads, huge hangars, several large fuel storage tanks, storage buildings, roads, and barracks along with support facilities for 4000 personnel. All the above constructions were provided keeping in mind the drastic 480 meter of permafrost zone along with the temperature condition below -40 degree Celsius.
Thule Air Base serves as a refueling point for the long range bombers mainly directed to the Soviet Union.
Thule Air Base Greenland is really a dream project and it proved its worth as various scientific ventures were launched from there and the most renowned project was “Camp Century.” During the cold war Thule Air Base was a home to more than 10,000 peoples. The Thule Air base is an integral and significant part of the U.S. Air Force.
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