Douglas R4D-5 12418 Que Sera Sera ‘XD-8’ of VX-6, US Navy, 1956. Inset: scrapview of 12418, main undercarriage in retracted position.

Senior crew of the famed R4D-5 Que Sera Sera which became the first aircraft to land at the South Pole on October 31, 1956. Rear Admiral George Dufek is in the centre

During the long winter nights the snow could bury the aircraft of VX-6. Many man-hours were needed to ‘recover’ them

Military Air Transport Service Continental Command C-124A 51-5175 at Williams Field with a VX-6 R5D in the background

Lockheed P2V-2N Neptune 122465 ‘XD-9’ Boopsie of VX-6, US Navy, October 1956.

P2V-7 Neptune 140436 of VX-6 blasts away from Williams Field, McMurdo, in December 1961. Following the P2V-2Ns that ventured to Antarctica in the mid-1950s, the JATO and jet-assisted -7LPs proved more practical.

First fatal flight of Deep Freeze 1 was P2V-2N 122465 on landing after the transit from Christchurch, October 18, 1956. Four of the eight on board were killed

A UC-1 Otter delivering scientific instruments to the Ross Ice Shelf.

Second crash of Deep Freeze 1 was UC-1 142424, which had arrived at McMurdo aboard the USS Glacier (AGB-4) on December 22, 1955.

Crew of the ill-fated PBM Mariner Marine George One of Operation high jump. The aircraft crashed into the Walker Mountains on December 30, 1946, killing three of the nine-man crew

Crash site of the Mariner. Note the sad message applied to the wing.

One of two C-124 Globemaster flights into McMurdo in October 1956 that ended in the nosewheel giving way.

Douglas R4D-8 17188 Lou Byrd II ‘JD-7’ of VX-6, US Navy, 1958. Trans-Pacific ferry flight guise prior to installation of skis.

A pair of New Zealand dog teams arrive at Williams Field, ready to board R4D-8 17219 ‘JD-9’ with fellow 17188 to the left

Wreckage of R4D-8 17188 Lou Byrd II after it crashed on the Sentinel Ranges on November 22, 1962, following a ski malfunction