300203 - Topic: Major Ralph Royce and the Arctic Patrol

Of all the 104 broadcasts associated with the Empire Builders radio series, only a very small number of them were something other than dramatic sketches. The first broadcast, on January 12, 1929, celebrated the opening of the new Cascade Tunnel. One program was devoted to a performance of the Portland Symphony Orchestra, and another trumpeted the inauguration of the Great Northern Railway’s deluxe new Empire Builder train service.

On the night of February 3, 1930, the Empire Builders once again performed a dramatic sketch, but with a twist: two of the people appearing in the program were performing as themselves, rather than as fictional characters. Not only that, but the whole topic of the night’s presentation was based on a real-life event that had just occurred within the preceding weeks. This show was based on fresh news, which must have created certain challenges when composing the continuity for the program. The Great Northern’s Harold Sims teamed with NBC’s Edward Hale Bierstadt to work up the plot of the program, and then Bierstadt wrote the continuity.

The two individuals who played themselves on this broadcast were Major Ralph Royce and Staff Sergeant Kennard D. Wilson of the United States Army Air Corps. Royce was the commander of the Air Corps’ 1^st Pursuit Group, and Wilson was a radio expert assigned to the mission.

Collectible postal cover mailed out from Selfridge Field at the conclusion of the Arctic Patrol mission; signed by Major Royce.

Before addressing the content of the night’s broadcast of Empire Builders, I’d like to provide a little background on the real-life event that inspired the dramatization. Commercial radio and aviation were effectively contemporary developments of technology. They both saw their formative years very early in the 20^th century, and both were still proving themselves by the late 1920s. The Army Air Corps was one of the various iterations in the evolution of the U.S. military’s aviation operations, probably explained most simply by referencing the following table:

Aviation Section, Signal Corps                      July 18, 1914 – May 20, 1918

Division of Military Aeronautics                  May 20, 1918 – May 24, 1918

Air Service, United States Army                   May 24, 1918 – July 2, 1926

United States Army Air Corps                     July 2, 1926 – June 20, 1941

United States Army Air Forces                      June 20, 1941 – September 18, 1947

United States Air Force                                  September 18, 1947–present

In the fall of 1929, the U.S. Army Air Corps decided to conduct a training exercise to determine the ability of its fliers and airplanes to conduct military operations in frigid winter conditions. The mission consisted of squadrons from the 1st Pursuit Group, based at Selfridge Field, Mount Clemens, MI (near Detroit). This group was under the command of Major Ralph Royce.

The video clip below is a low-resolution preview of a video file available from the commercial site called CriticalPast. This is a link to their page with information on this stock video clip: http://www.criticalpast.com/video/65675051737_Curtis-P-1-airplanes_snow_skis_cold-weather-testing_1st-Pursuit-Group

Turn on your volume - this video has narration with it! The run time is 1:21.
 

The plan for the Arctic Patrol was to fly three squadrons from Selfridge Field to Spokane, Washington, with more than half of the route following in the vicinity of the mainline of the Great Northern Railway. I don’t know if keeping the aircraft in the vicinity of the GN was deliberate. I have no concrete information about it one way or the other. All the aircraft were fitted with skis, and therefore needed snowy or icy surfaces to land on and take off from. Therefore, the planned route had to remain in territory where January weather could be relied upon to remain below freezing, there had to be ample landing areas along the way (including frozen lakes), and the squadrons had to remain within a reasonable distance of populated areas with access to ground transportation such as a railroad (in the event of mechanical issues or problems with communications). Following the GN mainline (or at least some railroad mainline) begins to look deliberate.

Curtiss P-1C Hawk pursuit airplane of the U.S. Army Air Corps.
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force collection

The Arctic Patrol consisted of the following aircraft, all fitted with skis:

·       18 Curtiss P-1C open cockpit one-seater pursuit biplanes

·       3 cargo aircraft (including a Douglas C-1 and two Ford Tri-motor C-9s)

·       1 Douglas O-2K observation aircraft (open cockpit 2-seater biplane)

One other Curtiss P-1C, equipped with wheels instead of skis, went out ahead of the Arctic Patrol as an advance scout. Attempting to follow the same route as that planned for the Arctic Patrol, this plane was piloted by Lieut. Walter E. Richards and went out weeks ahead of the other planes, in December. Richards made it as far west as Kalispell, Montana, but while attempting to land on the plowed portion of the runway his aircraft veered off into the snow and flipped on its back. The plane had to be shipped back for major repairs, and Richards (apparently not badly injured, if at all) returned from Kalispell on a Great Northern train.



Ford C-9 at Wausau, WI, on January 16, 1930.
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force collection

The following tables show the original itinerary of the Arctic Patrol.

Outbound Leg
Date	Segment of trip	Miles to be flown	Nature of stop
8 January	Selfridge Field (MI) to St. Ignace (MI)	250	Noon stop
	St. Ignace (MI) to Duluth (MN) via Hancock (MI)	400	Overnight
9 January	Duluth (MN) to Grand Forks (ND)	250	Noon stop
	Grand Forks (ND) to Minot (ND)	200	Overnight
10 January	Minot (ND) to Glasgow (MT)	250	Noon stop
	Glasgow (MT) to Great Falls (MT), via Havre (MT)	250	Overnight
11 January	Great Falls (MT) to Kalispell (MT)	200	Noon stop
	Kalispell (MT) to Spokane (WA)	200	Overnight

 

Return Leg
Date	Segment of trip	Miles to be flown	Nature of stop
12 January	Remain in Spokane (Newman Lake, WA)	0	Noon stop
			Overnight
13 January	Spokane (WA) to Helena (MT), via Missoula (MT)	275	Noon stop
	Helena (MT) to Miles City (MT)	200	Overnight
14 January	Miles City (MT) to Bismarck (ND)	230	Noon stop
	Bismarck (ND) to Fargo (ND)	200	Overnight
15 January	Fargo (ND) to Minneapolis (MN)	230	Noon stop
	Minneapolis (MN) to Wausau (MI)	175	Overnight
16 January	Wausau (MI) to Escanaba (WI)	150	Noon stop
	Escanaba (WI) to Selfridge Field	350

Although temperatures along the planned route were already at or below freezing by the date of the planned departure, those temperatures plummeted even further once the 22 aircraft of the Arctic Patrol began to launch from Selfridge Field. Almost immediately, some of the aircraft began to experience various mechanical problems, and before long many of the airplanes were strung out along a significant distance from each other.

Many aspects of extreme winter flight were tested and prepared for. Most of the aircraft were supplied with a relatively new product – Prestone® antifreeze. In large part to emulate actual harsh conditions for such a mission, the aircraft in the Arctic Patrol flight were not hangered at night. Air mail service aircraft were in use in this territory, but they were typically hangered at night and were therefore much easier to start in the morning. The Arctic Patrol aircraft, despite the promising results of the Prestone® ethyl glycol antifreeze, were parked in the open air at night and were very challenging to get into flying condition. One solution that was hit upon – and which became one of the more significant findings of the mission – was that fire pots used by plumbers to melt the solder for repairing copper pipes (modified with sections of stovepipe) could serve as highly effective heaters to warm up the aircraft engines.

Major Ralph Royce, press photo from 1930. Author's collection

The story of Major Ralph Royce and the winter mission of the Army Air Corps’ 1^st Pursuit Group is an interesting read. You can find a very thorough and well-researched treatise on the subject, written by David K. Vaughn, in the Winter 2014 issue of Air Power History.  [Note: this link will download a 4MB PDF: http://afhistoricalfoundation.org/members/APH_archive_files/Winter_2014_Entire_Issue.pdf]

A contemporary write-up about the Arctic Patrol’s trials and tribulations summed up the general assessment of their success:

The question as to whether the Pursuiters gained ample experience in flying and handling their planes under severe weather conditions can be very emphatically answered in the affirmative. They had many hard tussles with Old King Boreas with his sub-zero blasts. There were a few mishaps [but] … happily, there were no serious accidents, and the men who participated in the flight, after they have thawed out, will no doubt look back on their long jaunt through the frigid Northwest as the experience of a lifetime. 

[Source:  “The Arctic Patrol Flight of the First Pursuit Group,” Air Corps News Letter, Volume XIV, Number 6 (February 6, 1930)]

To me, one of the interesting details of all this is that Major Royce returned to Selfridge Field on January 29, and Staff Sergeant Kennard Wilson returned on January 30. Both of them barely had time for a hot shower and a quick meal before being whisked off to New York, where they arrived on Sunday, February 2^nd – just the day before going on the air with the Empire Builders. Granted, their involvement in the broadcast was not too demanding, but they still needed to be shown around and given an opportunity to run through the performance at least once or twice.

The Empire Builders’ story of Major Royce and the Arctic Patrol opened with the customary musical interlude. Both Robert MacGimsey and Andy Sannella were scheduled to be featured on the program. The announcer (most likely John S. Young) then provided the following introduction:

You are listening to Empire Builders, a presentation of the Great Northern Railway. This evening’s program is a fictional newspaper story, but, like actual newspaper stories, it deals with real news. Very recently, the United States Army Air Corps sent a squadron of 20 air-planes on a test flight of 3500 miles from Mt. Clemens, Michigan, to Spokane, Washington, and return. Tonight’s program, although fictional in character, will include Major Ralph Royce, commanding officer of the flight, and Sergeant Kennard D. Wilson, both of whom will appear in their proper characters, in person.

Clearly it was novel for Empire Builders to incorporate a recent news event into their Monday night broadcast, and especially so for the event’s protagonists to participate directly in the telling of the story on air.

The dramatization opened with a scene at the Great Falls (Montana) Tribune newsroom. The news editor, Mr. Dye, was updated on the progress of the Arctic Patrol, which he learned was due in Minot that evening and expected to reach Great Falls the next day. The next few minutes of dialogue primarily established the romantic relationship between Jane, a reporter of the paper, and Jim, the managing editor. Jane grumped about not getting involved in the kind of reporting that she had a hankering for.

JANE:             … Mrs. Whosit Jones spent Thursday visiting her sister in Helena. Mr. and Mrs. Patrick H. O’Connor are the proud parents of an eight pound baby boy. Oh, gosh, this isn’t what I went into newspaper work for.

The response to this from her editor (and boyfriend) Jim included a comment that today we would likely bristle at for its chauvinistic tone:

JIM:                Well, I don’t blame you … just what comes of being a girl – and I’m glad you are. Say, Jane, you know we’re eating together this noon.

Before the two traipsed off to lunch together, Mr. Dye received a telegram about the Air Corps fliers. It said an Associated Press reporter travelling with the Arctic Patrol and covering their progress had taken ill. A replacement was needed, and Dye assigned Jim to take his spot.

DYE:               (CALLS)  Hey, Carey, just a minute … See here, Carey, the Associated Press wire that their correspondent with the army fliers was taken ill at Grand Forks. Want us to send someone to join up with the squadron at Minot. You’re it. The fliers will be at Minot tonight, and you’ve just got time to catch the train to meet ‘em there tomorrow morning.

The news editor went on to explain to Jim his expectations for carrying out the assignment.

DYE:               Now listen. At Minot the fliers are going to test their radio communication between the air and the ground by short wave. You’ll want to cover that. After that they’ll hop for Great Falls – here – with a stop at Havre. You’re to fly with ‘em to Havre – swell storm, and looks like a real test for them. Then you’re to leave ‘em at Havre and file your story at the telegraph office there. I’ll try to get the Great Northern to give us one of their railway wires from Havre right into this office. I’ll have a man cover the landing here. You come back by train. Got that?

This is another moment in the radio drama that at least suggests some reflection of reality – one of the guests of the show, Staff Sergeant Wilson, was assigned to the Arctic Patrol for the express purpose of establishing and operating a shortwave radio transmission and receiving station onboard one of the Ford C-9 aircraft. Arrangements were made in advance of the mission to enlist the assistance of an organization called the American Radio Relay League. The ARRL still exists (with over 160,000 members), and has been around since it was formed in 1914.



Staff Sergeant Kennard D. Wilson with radio equipment onboard the Ford Tri-motor C-9 aircraft.
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force collection

So… back to our radio play. Jim now has an assignment to race to the railroad depot to catch the 5:30pm Great Northern train to Havre, arriving at 9:30pm. From Havre, a connection with the Empire Builder at about 10pm would take him eastbound and arrive Minot, North Dakota, twelve hours later.

Racing out of the newsroom to catch the train, Jim ran into his gal Jane, and he asked her to ride to the depot with him. They caught a taxi and told the driver to step on it. The accommodating cabbie went flying down the streets of Great Falls on the slippery, icy pavement, and succeeded in smashing into another car. The cabbie was knocked cold, and Jim got banged up, but Jane was injured only slightly. This naturally set up an arrangement of necessity – it was now Jane’s assignment to complete in Jim’s stead. It was her big chance to prove her worth to Dye, the news editor (even if she was “only a girl”).

Okay - I cheated a little here. This photo does show sound effects men of the Empire Builders radio series, but it was taken in December of 1930 after the broadcast location shifted from NYC to Chicago. But here's the verbatim sound effects direction from the continuity for this night's broadcast: 

(THE TAXI SMASHES INTO ANOTHER CAR. THE CRASH. THE SOUND OF BROKEN GLASS AND ALL THE REST OF IT)       Author's collection.

Still bleeding a little from her dramatic ordeal in the taxicab, Jane boarded the Great Northern train out of Great Falls just in the nick of time. If you’ve been reading any more than just a couple of these reviews of Empire Builders programs, I don’t have to tell you who she bumped into upon boarding the train.

It seems the Old Timer was in the Butte area looking over some property he had there. He was traveling with his sidekick, January the hound dog. The Old Timer conferred with the conductor about coming up to the baggage car in a bit to look in on January, and then he had a chat with Jane (when she returned from the ladies’ room after cleaning up a little).

The Old Timer asked Jane if she was traveling to Havre.

JANE:             Oh, yes, I’m catching the Empire Builder there for Minot.

PIONEER:      Goin’ on to Minot, are you? Maybe you live there?

JANE:             No, I live at Great Falls. I’m on the Great Falls Tribune, and I’m going to Minot to join the army fliers, and fly back with them from Minot to Havre.

PIONEER:      Well, dad burn it, not in weather like this? What do you think of that. Ain’t you scared?

JANE:             Not a bit. I’ve never flown, but I’ve always wanted to, and there can’t be anything safer than the army planes. And anyway, what could be sweeter? If anything goes wrong, I’ve read that all you have to do is to step out, count ten, pull a cord and float back to earth.

Jane then commented on how she was looking forward to getting a sleeping compartment on the Empire Builder at Havre, and then getting a good night’s rest enroute to Minot. The Old Timer confirmed they would arrive in Minot by about 10am. Once again, the fictional story of the radio show faithfully represented the actual schedule of real Great Northern trains.

The continuity next gave instructions for some transitional sound effects. It is intriguing to see what was called for:

(TRANSITIONAL MUSIC FADING OUT AND INTO BUZZ OF SHORT WAVE TELEGRAPH KEY. A MAN WHO KNOWS AND CAN SEND SHORT WAVE MUST BE EMPLOYED FOR THIS SCENE)

It would be interesting to know whether the short wave duties were taken by Sergeant Wilson. It’s hard to imagine anyone else being on hand who was better qualified.

This transition brought the listeners into a scene with girl-reporter Jane in a telegrapher’s office at the Minot airport. Jane asked the telegrapher to convey a message to Major Royce.

JANE:             Can you get them from here, from the flying field – on the short wave?

TELEG:          Yes, ma’am, I’m getting them perfectly clear. There’s only Major Royce and Sergeant Wilson up now, testing communications.

JANE:             Can you tell Major Royce I’m here – Jane Cody of the Great Falls Tribune, with instructions from the A. P. to fly with him from Minot to Havre?

TELEG:          Sure I can tell him. Just a minute.

Major Royce landed his plane and came inside to confer with Jane and Stevens (the telegrapher).

MAJOR:         Hello, Stevens. Is this Miss Cody?

JANE:             Yes, Major Royce, I’m Jane Cody. Is the squadron going to take off?

MAJOR:         I don’t know. That’s what I landed for – to find out. We can get off here all right, but west of Minot reports are dash bad. You know the object of this flight, don’t you, Miss Cody?

JANE:             Only in a very general way, I’m afraid.

Royce explained the Arctic Patrol’s mission concerning adverse weather operations, and also mentioned the role of Sergeant Wilson with regard to radio communications. Jane then got to the point of what her goals were.

JANE:             Of course the thing I’m most anxious to know about now is, are you going to take off for Havre and Great Falls, and am I going with you?

MAJOR:         That’s up to you – if you’ve got the nerve. That’s settled. But – as for taking off today … What’s the latest on the weather, Stevens?

TELEG:          Plenty, Major. From what’s been coming in the last few minutes, I take it that there’s a young blizzard on between here and Havre – heavy snow and a forty mile wind.

MAJOR:         That settles it. I wouldn’t send the squadron up in that.

Despite the fact Jane had never flown in an airplane, and despite the fact seriously adverse weather was forecast, Jane was determined to come back to Great Falls with the news story that she believed would launch her into much more fulfilling opportunities with the Tribune.

This is where the fictional radio story takes another extreme turn away from reality – although the listeners, with but very few exceptions, would not be the wiser. Although Major Royce prudently stated the squadron would not be sent up into the teeth of a blizzard, he bravely asserted that he would instead risk his own neck and go on with his own plane. And he would bravely take Sergeant Wilson with him and risk his neck. And he would bravely take girl-reporter Jane, too. Major Royce, in real life, flew one of the 18 Curtiss P-1C Hawks. They were open cockpit biplanes. They had the capacity to accommodate the pilot. Only the pilot. Not two people, and certainly not three people. And all the conversations they have while flying in the open cockpit! Oh well – it’s just a story, right?

Major Royce announced he intended to depart for Havre and Great Falls in about ten minutes. This gave Jane just enough time to rustle up some “flying togs” to change into.

The intrepid trio hopped into the Major’s airplane and took off for Havre. They soon found themselves flying right into the teeth of the approaching storm. Visibility dropped to near-zero; Royce could no longer make out the ground below him.

MAJOR:         I’m going to drop Sergeant, and see if we can pick up a landmark.

SERGEANT:  Standing by, sir.

                        (SOUND OF ALTITUDE CHANGE)

Other than exhibiting a decrease in the aircraft engine’s horsepower, I’m not sure how you recreate the sound of an altitude change. But just in case that was not effective, they resorted to dialog to get the point across:

SERGEANT:  Five hundred feet, sir.

MAJOR:         Can’t see a thing yet. We’ll have to drop lower.

SERGEANT:  One hundred feet, sir. There’s the railroad tracks.

Wow. Talk about flying by the seat of your pants. Any lower and they could just shout from the plane and ask a farmer for directions. But there were no farmers available, and they were still a little too high for that. Next best option?

MAJOR:         What’s that ahead of us?

SERGEANT:  That’s a train, sir.

JANE:             Oh, that must be the Oriental Limited! She’s almost due at Havre now.

SERGEANT:  Look at her plow through it, hitting right along. We can follow her into Havre.

There you go – the Great Northern Railway comes to the rescue yet again. [Okay – I have to call them out on this one. The GN’s Oriental Limited arrived Havre eastbound at 1:40 a.m., and westbound at 3:35 a.m. In the story they seem to be arriving Havre around midday.]  Major Royce determined that conditions were just too low to land at Havre (which is spectacularly unsettling – if it’s too low to land there, why push on into the same storm and hope to make it to Great Falls, over a hundred miles away?). They never should have tried to fly into such abysmal weather conditions in the first place, but at that point, get on the ground and live to fly another day! Well … it’s just a story after all, isn’t it? In any event, overflying Havre just wasn’t going to sit well with the reporter on deadline.

MAJOR:         That’s where we were going to land. I tell you, frankly, Miss Cody, that I’m not going to take a chance in this storm. Besides we couldn’t take off again. I’m going to follow the tracks through to Great Falls, and pass up Havre.

JANE:             But I can’t! I’ve got to file my story. There’s a wire set up for me at Havre! I’ve got to send my story in from there! Otherwise I can’t make my dead-line!

It seems that Jane was about as determined as a strong-headed young girl-reporter could be. Major Royce was just as determined not to land in Havre. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Particularly in fictional radio stories. [Hey kids – don’t try this at home!!]

JANE:             . . .  I’ve got to get off at Havre!

MAJOR:         I’m sorry, Miss Cody, but – you can’t.

JANE:             I must! …. I’ve got a parachute. I’ll jump!

MAJOR:         No you won’t!

SERGEANT:  We’re there now.

JANE:             This is my chance! It’ll make a better story anyhow.

MAJOR:         Don’t be a fool! Get back in here!

SERGEANT:  Hang on to that strut!

JANE:             I’m on the way!

Only one hundred feet off the ground. This is going to end badly. But hold the phone, they won’t let her jump so low to the ground…

MAJOR:         Wait! Wait till we bring the plane up. We’re too low for you to jump. (REGISTER ALTITUDE CHANGE)

SERGEANT:  My God, Major, if that girl doesn’t make it I’m going to be sick!

MAJOR:         If you’re any sicker than I am, you’ll have to take medicine for it! Holy Smokes, she’s got nerve!

SERGEANT:  This ought to be high enough.

MAJOR:         We’re seven hundred now.

SERGEANT:  (CALLS)  Count ten, and pull the rip cord! Jump, Miss Cody! Jump!

JANE:             (OFF)  Good luck!  …. Goodbye!

Jane made it safely to the ground, and the next thing you know, she’s banging on the door of the telegraph office at the Great Northern depot. The agent opens the door and lets her in . . .

JANE:             Listen – I’m Jane Cody of the Great Falls Tribune! I’ve just jumped from Major Royce’s plane on its way to Great Falls! Have you got a wire set up for me here? I’ve got to send in my story.

MAN:              Gee whiz, Miss Cody – you jumped?! … Yes, Ma’am, we’re all ready for you – got a typewriter here, and the wire is clear right through to the Tribune office.

JANE:             Good! Just a second till I warm my hands and I’ll be ready. I’ll give you the story as I write it, and you can put in on the wire page by page. That way we won’t lose any time.

As is usual with happy endings, Jane got her story in on time, and the editor was very pleased. Turns out her boyfriend’s arm was not broken as she feared, and it’s a safe assumption everyone lived happily ever after.

Here’s how the announcer closed the program:

ANNOUNCER:

            The Great Northern Railway desires to extend to the United States War Department, and especially to the Army Air Corps, its cordial thanks for their co-operation in presenting tonight’s Empire Builder program. The Great Northern further thanks Major Royce and Sergeant Wilson, who appeared in person on the program, and congratulates them on the skill and courage displayed in the recent test flight – a great portion of which was made over the routes of the Empire Builder and the Oriental Limited. Empire Builders, a presentation of the Great Northern Railway, comes to you from the New York Studios of the National Broadcasting Company.