Editing Operation Deep Freeze (section)

==Prior to International Geophysical Year==
[[File:R4D-5L Que Sera Sera landing at South Pole 1956.jpg|thumb|left|U.S. Navy [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain|R4D-5L "Dakota"]] making the first landing at the South Pole, 31 October 1956]]
[[File:Deep freeze.jpg|thumb|left|Squadron patch for the Navy Antarctic Development Squadron SIX ([[VXE-6]]), known as the Puckered Penguins.]]

The [[U.S. Navy]] already had a record of earlier exploration in Antarctica. As early as 1839, Captain [[Charles Wilkes]] led the [[United States Exploring Expedition, 1838-1842|first U.S. Naval expedition]] into Antarctic waters. In 1929, Admiral [[Richard E. Byrd]] established a naval base at [[Little America (exploration base)|Little America]] I, led [[Richard Evelyn Byrd#First Antarctic expedition, 1928–1930|an expedition]] to explore further inland, and conducted the first flight over the South Pole. From 1934 to 1935, the [[Richard Evelyn Byrd#Byrd's later Antarctic expeditions|second Byrd Expedition]] explored much further inland and also "wintered over". The third Byrd Expedition in 1940 charted the [[Ross Sea]].

Byrd was instrumental in the Navy's [[Operation Highjump]] after [[World War II]] from 1946 to 1947, which charted most of the Antarctic coastline. In 1948, Commander [[Finn Ronne]] led an expedition that photographed over 450,000 square miles (1.1 million km<sup>2</sup>) by air. Then in 1954–55, the [[icebreaker]] [[USS Atka (AGB-3)|USS ''Atka'']] made a scouting expedition for future landing sites and bays.