Camp Century Secret Base: Project Iceworm

The camp was operational from 1959 to 1967.

Camp Century was a secret military installation built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in the late 1950s, located beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet. The purpose of the base was to conduct research on various Arctic topics, including ice cores and climate studies, as well as to provide a strategic missile site in the event of a war with the Soviet Union.

The base was built using a system of tunnels and rooms that were excavated into the ice sheet, creating a vast underground network of living quarters, laboratories, and support facilities. The base was also equipped with its own power plant, water treatment system, and even a movie theater.

The Facilities
  • Kitchen and Mess Hall (Canteen)
  • Latrines and Showers
  • Recreation Hall
  • Theatre
  • Library
  • Hobby Shops
  • Science Laboratories
  • Standby Diesel-Electric Power Plant
  • Ten Bed Infirmary (Hospital) and Operating Room
  • Communications Centre
  • Chapel
  • Barbershop and more…

The purpose of Camp Century, as explained by the United States Department of Defense to Danish officials in 1960, was to test various construction techniques under Arctic conditions, explore practical problems with the PM-2A semi-mobile nuclear reactor[1], as well as supporting scientific experiments on the icecap. Construction on the camp and the sub-glacial nuclear reactor began without explicit permission from the government of Denmark, leading to a political dilemma for Prime Minister H. C. Hansen[2].

However, what was not widely known at the time was that Camp Century was also intended to be a prototype for a new type of military installation, one that could be deployed quickly and easily in any part of the world. The base was designed to be self-sustaining, with all necessary supplies and equipment stored on site, and was intended to be occupied for at least a decade.

Camp Century was designed as an arctic subsurface camp and constructed by use of the cut-and-cover trenching technique. The layout of the camp consisted of a series of parallel main trenches in which buildings and other structures were housed. The camp had a design life span of 10 years with appropriate maintenance. It was permanently manned for 5 years and abandoned after 8 years. The trenches constructed in 1959 had compressed both vertically and horizontally to the extent that many had reached their design margins within 4 years. After that, extensive snow trimming was required to maintain the trenches. The trenches were covered with a steel arch and the longest trench had a length of 1,100 feet, while its width and height were both 26 feet.

The subsurface camp provided good protection from the elements and had a modern bathroom, dining, and medical facilities. Prefabricated buildings were placed inside the trenches. The camp maintained a number of vehicles and had plenty of storage for fuel and food. The reactor provided plenty of power and proved it could be installed, operated, and removed in such a remote location. It powered the base for over 3 years but was shut down due to the unexpected accelerated compression of the reactor trenches, in part due to the residual heat in the reactor area that was required to maintain the feed water pools.

In 1966, the Danish government, which had jurisdiction over Greenland, became aware of the true nature of the base and demanded that it be dismantled. The U.S. military agreed to remove all traces of the base, including its waste and equipment but did not remove the tunnels and other structures themselves. Over time, the ice sheet has slowly covered and preserved the remains of the base, which are still visible today.

In Oct 1965 the US Army concluded that subsurface ice camps are feasible and practical, that nuclear power offers significant advantages, and that the wealth of data and experience obtained from Camp Century will be of inestimable value in future designs. However, on permanent snow fields, it is elevated structures that are in common use today. No large subsurface ice camps are known to have been constructed after Camp Century was abandoned.

The camp consisted of a total of 21 tunnels, the largest of which was referred to as ‘Main Street.’ It was over 1100 feet long, 26 feet wide, and 28 feet high. Project Iceworm was the code name for a US Army proposal to build a network of mobile nuclear missile launch sites under the Greenland ice sheet. The plan was to dig 2,500 miles of tunnels in which to store and maybe someday launch 600 nuclear missiles. the project would have required 11,000 soldiers to live full-time under the ice.

The “Iceman” missile[3], a modified version of the Minuteman ICBM[4], was designed as a two-stage rocket with a range of 3,300 miles, giving it the capability to hit most targets in the Soviet Union. Iceman missiles stationed at secret locations throughout Greenland would be very difficult to target, ensuring the United States’ second-strike capabilities. The Planning Studies Division of the U.S. Army Engineer Studies Center produced its first study of Iceworm in 1960, Strategic Value of the Greenland Ice Cap, in which it concluded, The missile force is hidden and elusive. It is deployed into an extensive cut‐and‐cover tunnel network in which men and missiles are protected from weather and, to a degree, from enemy attack.

The deployment is invulnerable to all but massive attacks and even then most of the force can be launched. Concealment and variability of the deployment pattern are exploited to prevent the enemy from targeting the critical elements of the force. During the early 1960s, American officials also considered Iceworm as a way to share nuclear weapons under the auspices of NATO[5].

At the time, some NATO members, particularly France, wanted to be included in the American-British nuclear sharing program, a controversial request for the United States given its longtime policy of withholding nuclear secrets. Buried deep under the Greenland ice it has drifted hundreds of meters toward the edge of the ice cap.

Camp Century is still 62 miles from the edge, so it will take many, many years before it reaches a critical point.

Nanna Karlsson – Danish scientist
Footnotes
  1. The PM-2A was a semi-mobile nuclear reactor developed by the United States Army in the 1950s. It was designed to be transported by truck or aircraft and used to provide electricity and heat for military bases in remote locations. The reactor operated for several years at Camp Century, a military base located beneath the Greenland Ice Sheet, and was later decommissioned and removed. The PM-2A was part of the U.S. government’s efforts to develop small, portable nuclear reactors for a variety of applications, including military and civilian use. The project raised concerns about the safety and environmental impact of nuclear power, as well as the potential for nuclear proliferation. [Back]
  2. H. C. Hansen was a Danish politician who served as the Prime Minister of Denmark from 1960 to 1962 and again from 1966 to 1968. He was a member of the Social Democratic Party and played a key role in the development of the Danish welfare state during the 1960s. Hansen also oversaw Denmark’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973. During his tenure, Hansen faced a number of challenges, including tensions with the Soviet Union, labor strikes, and political scandals. Despite these challenges, he is remembered as a popular and effective leader who helped to shape modern Denmark. [Back]
  3. The “Iceman” missile was a proposed nuclear missile project of the United States Air Force during the 1950s. The missile was designed to be launched from a modified B-52 bomber and detonated at high altitudes over the Soviet Union, causing widespread electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) that would disable the Soviet’s electronic infrastructure. The missile was never deployed due to technical and strategic issues, and concerns about the potential environmental and humanitarian consequences of an EMP attack. However, the concept of EMP warfare remains a topic of interest among military strategists and policymakers. [Back]
  4. The Minuteman ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile) was a nuclear missile system developed by the United States Air Force in the 1960s. It was the first solid-fueled ICBM and had a range of over 13,000 km (8,000 miles). The Minuteman ICBM was deployed in underground silos across the United States, forming the backbone of the country’s strategic nuclear deterrent during the Cold War. The missile underwent several upgrades and modernizations over the years, and the Minuteman III, the latest version of the system, remains in service today. [Back]
  5. NATO, or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a military alliance of North American and European countries founded in 1949. Its purpose is to provide collective defense against potential military threats, particularly from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Today, NATO has 30 member countries, and its mission has expanded to include a wide range of security challenges, such as terrorism, cyber-attacks, and instability in the Middle East and North Africa. The organization has a complex decision-making structure, with a variety of committees and bodies responsible for different aspects of its operations. [Back]
Further Reading
Sources

Author: Doyle

I was born in Atlanta, moved to Alpharetta at 4, lived there for 53 years and moved to Decatur in 2016. I've worked at such places as Richway, North Fulton Medical Center, Management Science America (Computer Tech/Project Manager) and Stacy's Compounding Pharmacy (Pharmacy Tech).

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