The Antarctic Snow Cruiser

Somewhere on the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, buried beneath hundreds of feet of snow (or perhaps at the bottom of the ocean), lies an enormous vehicle. Designed for an American research expedition in 1939, the Antarctic Snow Cruiser was among the most ambitious machines ever sent to the frozen south. Conceived as a self-contained mobile laboratory, it promised to transform Antarctic exploration. Instead, it was quickly humbled by the unforgiving realities of the polar environment.

The Antarctic Snow Cruiser rolls out of the Chicago construction yards on October 24, 1939. Credit: United States Antarctic Service

By the 1930s, Antarctica was no longer a blank spot on the map, but exploration remained slow, dangerous, and limited in range. Expeditions depended on dog teams, sledges, and small tracked vehicles that struggled over crevasses and soft snow. Admiral Richard E. Byrd, America’s most famous polar explorer, believed the next great advance would come not from endurance or improvisation, but from mechanization.

The idea behind the Antarctic Snow Cruiser was simple—build a vehicle large and capable enough to roam thousands of miles across the ice, carrying scientists, living quarters, and supplies for an entire year without outside support. It would serve as a mobile base of operations, allowing researchers to study geology, meteorology, magnetism, and glaciology far inland, something previous expeditions could barely attempt.

The need for such a vehicle was born out of crisis. During Byrd’s second Antarctic expedition in 1934, the admiral was operating a remote meteorological station several hours from base camp. When his radio transmissions began to falter, the men at base grew increasingly alarmed. Thomas Poulter, Byrd’s second-in-command, organized a rescue attempt with two companions. Twice they were forced to turn back by worsening weather and mechanical failures.

Admiral Richard E. Byrd

When they finally reached Byrd’s camp on August 13, 1934, they found him gravely ill and suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a faulty stove. Byrd was weak and in deteriorating condition, and it would be nearly two months before weather conditions allowed an aircraft to reach the station and evacuate him and Poulter.

The ordeal left a lasting impression. Drawing on his experience of how difficult it had been to reach Byrd in an emergency, Poulter began designing a vehicle capable of traveling long distances across Antarctica while carrying men, supplies, and equipment in safety. Built largely through private donations and completed in record time, the Antarctic Snow Cruiser was his answer to the dangers he had witnessed first-hand.

The Snow Cruiser was enormous. It measured approximately 55 feet (17 m) in length, 20 feet (6 m) in width, and weighed roughly 34 tons. It rode on four smooth rubber tires, each nearly 10 feet in diameter. The tires were deliberately left without tread, as designers believed that treads would trap snow, leading to ice build-up and loss of efficiency. Smooth tires, they reasoned, would allow the vehicle to float over the snow rather than cut into it.

Each wheel could be retracted independently. This allowed the Snow Cruiser to lower its body when necessary and to extend its nose over crevasses while the rear wheels remained on solid ground. The wheels could also be pulled up into the vehicle itself, where heat from the motors and pumps could keep it from freezing.

Inside, the Snow Cruiser functioned as a self-contained base. It included sleeping quarters for four men, a galley and dining area, a laboratory, and storage for fuel and supplies. Mounted on the roof was a small airplane, carried for aerial reconnaissance and extended exploration beyond the vehicle’s immediate range.

Power was supplied by six diesel engines producing a combined output of around 300 horsepower. The engines were paired with two generators and four electric motors which also combined for 300 horsepower. Under ideal conditions, the Snow Cruiser was expected to reach speeds of 20 to 30 miles per hour.

Onlookers watch as the Antarctic Snow Cruiser pass through. Credit: United States Antarctic Service

The Snow Cruiser was built in just eleven weeks at the Pullman Standard plant in Chicago. After a handful of test runs, it set out on a 1,670-kilometer journey from Chicago to Boston, where it was to be loaded onto a ship bound for Antarctica. As the massive vehicle lumbered through towns and cities, crowds gathered along the roadsides to watch the strange mechanical behemoth pass by.

The journey quickly revealed the Snow Cruiser’s limitations. Designed for polar ice, the forty-ton machine struggled on ordinary roads never meant to carry such weight. In Indiana, it sideswiped a truck, damaging a fuel pump. Later, in Ohio, the vehicle swerved out of control and plunged into a creek, where it lay awkwardly for three days before recovery crews managed to haul it out. In the Adirondacks, steep grades posed yet another challenge. Engineers discovered that the Snow Cruiser climbed hills more effectively when driven in reverse, as the rear wheels carried greater weight.

Despite these mishaps, the Snow Cruiser reached Boston on November 12, 1939. It arrived in Antarctica on January 15, 1940. Even then, disaster was narrowly avoided. During unloading, the wooden ramp gave way, nearly dropping the massive vehicle into the icy water.

Preparing to load the Snow Cruiser onto the deck of the North Star in November of 1939. Credit: United States Antarctic Service

Once unloaded onto the Antarctic ice in January 1940, its weaknesses became impossible to ignore. The smooth tires, intended to glide over snow, failed to grip the surface. On soft snow, the massive vehicle simply spun its wheels and sank. The crew brought out the two spare wheels from storage and attached them to the front wheels of the vehicle. They also installed chains on the rear wheels. None of these measures proved effective.

After struggling to move just a few miles, the Snow Cruiser was abandoned as a mobile vehicle and repurposed as a stationary research hut near the Little America base. When World War II broke out, the U.S. Antarctic program was suspended, and the continent was largely evacuated. The Snow Cruiser was left behind.

When American expeditions returned after the war in 1946–47, they found the Snow Cruiser partially buried but still standing. The crew determined that all it needed was air in the tires and some servicing to make it operational. The cruiser was spotted again in 1958—this time entirely covered in snow with only a few bamboos protruding from the top. Using a bulldozer, they dug through the snow and were able to step into the living quarters. They were surprised to find everything was perfectly preserved, from newspapers and magazines to left-behind cigarettes.

That was the last time the Snow Cruiser was seen. Nobody knows where the vehicle currently is. It is believed that the ice shelf it rested on broke off and drifted out to sea in the 1960s. Whether the vehicle was already crushed by accumulating snow or slid intact into the Southern Ocean is unknown. The Antarctic Snow Cruiser simply vanished—either entombed in ice or resting at the bottom of the ocean.

The North Star arrives in Antarctica. Credit: United States Antarctic Service