Photo of the Week

This old ship belching black smoke is the Jacob Ruppert which was Admiral Byrd's supply ship on his second expedition to Antarctica. The 8257-ton steel cargo vessel Pacific Fir, used in the west coast lumber trade and then laid up at Staten Island with other surplus ships of World War I, was totally reconditioned and re-christened the Jacob Ruppert. The Jacob Ruppert left Boston on October 11, 1933, stopped at Newport News, and left for the Panama Canal eleven days later. After passing through the Panama Canal, the Jacob Ruppert called at Easter Island on November 16 and reached Wellington, New Zealand on December 5. The ship's engines were overhauled there. From the look of all the smoke, this was probably well over due.

The photo below is a close up shot of crew members and Huskies on board the Jacob Ruppert.

For more info about Admiral Byrd's second expedition, click this link: http://www.south-pole.com/p0000108.htm

And once again, another historic moment in our Canal Zone history.