Harold June facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harold Irving June
Harold June (far left) being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1930
Born	(1895-02-12)February 12, 1895 Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	1962 (aged 66–67) Windsor, Connecticut, U.S.
Known for	Test pilot Polar aviation

Harold Irving June (1895–1962) was an American explorer, pilot, and machinist. He is famous for his role in Admiral Richard E. Byrd's first expedition to Antarctica from 1928 to 1930. June was the co-pilot and radio operator on the historic flight over the South Pole on November 29, 1929. He flew with Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen, and photographer Ashley McKinley.

Harold June's Life Story

Early Years

Harold June was born in Stamford, Connecticut, on February 12, 1895. He went to school in a one-room schoolhouse. After one year at Stamford High School, he started learning to be a machinist in 1908. He worked as a repairman and salesman.

At age 16, in 1911, he became an engineer on a ferryboat. This job helped him get hired as a full machinist at the Herreshoff Boatyard in Bristol, Rhode Island. There, he made connections with the wealthy Vanderbilt family. In 1912, young June became an engineer for the steam yachts of railroad owner Harold S. Vanderbilt.

Serving in World War I

When the United States joined World War I in 1917, both Vanderbilt and June joined the U.S. Navy. June became a Chief Machinist's Mate. He took on more and more important jobs in the Navy.

In October 1917, June moved to the Block Island submarine chaser station. He was put in charge of repairs. June organized 100 men and built workshops, a pumping station, and docks. He also helped raise two ships that had sunk in Block Island harbor. In May 1918, June transferred to the Herreshoff yard. He became the main inspector for Navy ships being built or repaired there.

After the War

After the war ended, June left the Navy in 1919. He worked for Harold Vanderbilt again as his chief engineer. But he rejoined the Navy in 1920. This time, he taught aviation mechanics. In 1922, he went to Naval Air Station Pensacola. He took a 12-week course and became a qualified aircraft radio operator. In 1923, he volunteered for pilot training. He finished first in his class.

After becoming a pilot, June became a Chief Aviation Pilot in 1924. Before 1947, enlisted Navy members could train as pilots. June quickly learned to fly different planes. This included flying boats and scout planes launched from catapults.

June became a U.S. Navy test pilot in 1925. He worked out of Hampton Roads. In 1928, Commander Richard E. Byrd chose him for his expedition to the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica. June was one of the few enlisted pilots at that time.

Byrd's Antarctic Expedition (1928-1930)

Byrd's ship reached the ice shelf on December 25, 1928. Their base camp, called Little America, was ready in a few weeks. The first ski-plane flight took off on January 10, 1929. The expedition had many supplies. They wanted to explore the parts of Antarctica that were above sea level. These areas were next to the ice shelf. The Rockefeller Mountains were seen from the air on January 27.

On March 8, June, Balchen, and geologist Larry Gould flew from Little America. They were in the expedition's Fokker Universal plane. They landed near the Rockefeller mountains to collect rock samples.

A Dangerous Rescue

Balchen, Gould, and June were supposed to collect samples and return. But their plane did not come back. There was no radio contact from them. After ten days, expedition leader Byrd flew a rescue mission. On March 18, the three men were found. They were barely alive inside a torn tent at the foot of the mountains. They had landed in a place with extremely strong winds. These winds, called katabatic winds, blew down from the mountains.

After they landed, they had tied their plane to the ice. They set up a weather station and a tent. They also collected some rocks. Then, hurricane-force winds, blowing at 150 miles per hour, hit them. These were like Category 4 hurricane winds. The winds tore the Fokker plane from its ropes. The steel plane blew away. This left the men stranded.

A series of rescue flights with a smaller plane began on March 18. They ended on March 22. Slowly, all three men were brought back safely to Little America. The broken pieces of the missing Fokker plane were found about half a mile away.

Flying Over the South Pole

The Byrd Expedition stayed at Little America during the Antarctic winter of 1929. They had two planes left. Field work started again in October. After some practice flights, the Ford Trimotor, named the Floyd Bennett, took off on November 28. This plane was named after the pilot who flew over the North Pole in 1926. This flight was the first time an aircraft would fly over the Antarctic Plateau. The route was similar to the one Roald Amundsen used in 1911. Amundsen had reached the South Pole on the ground.

On board the Floyd Bennett for this historic flight were Commander Richard E. Byrd (commander and navigator), Bernt Balchen (primary pilot), Ashley Chadbourne McKinley (photographer), and June (co-pilot and radio operator). The Tri-Motor struggled but cleared the Queen Maud Mountains. It then reached the Pole.

A Morse code message was sent to the American press. It announced that the expedition's main goal was achieved.

After the Tri-Motor landed successfully on November 29, June flew with Byrd again. They explored another area of Antarctica. Byrd, as the leader, sketched the land from the air. He named it Marie Byrd Land after his wife. These flights mapped the Edsel Ford Range and Sulzberger Bay. These places were named after people who gave money to the expedition.

As the Antarctic winter came, the expedition closed their Little America base. Their ship sailed north from the Ross Ice Shelf on February 7, 1930. They arrived in New York City on June 18–19.

Soon after returning to the United States, June was honored in his hometown of Stamford. He received a reception, luncheon, and dinner on June 26, 1930. The town also gave him a gold medal and a silver service.

On November 29, 1930, exactly one year after his South Pole flight, June received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Secretary of the Navy Charles F. Adams gave him the award.

Second Byrd Expedition (1933-1935)

June was chosen to be the chief pilot for Admiral Byrd's second Antarctic expedition. This expedition lasted from 1933 to 1935. June's help was very important to the expedition.

June and Admiral Byrd left Bayonne, New Jersey, for Antarctica on October 13, 1933. They were on the ship Jacob Ruppert.

From September 27 to October 20, 1934, June led four men on an exploration trip. They used a snow tractor. They discovered a large plateau in the Edsel Ford Range. It was 2,160 feet high.

In early November, he flew missions to help another exploration group. Their snow tractor was surrounded by ice cracks. On November 22, he piloted the biplane William Horlick. He flew a long mission into an unexplored area southeast of Little America. He covered 1,150 miles. In early December, he flew an emergency mission. He landed fuel supplies for two snow tractors that were running low on fuel.

June stopped in New Zealand on his way back to the United States in April 1935. He reported that the second Byrd Expedition had mapped more of Antarctica than any expedition since the Scott expeditions.

Later Career and Retirement

After returning to the United States, June continued to serve as a test pilot for the U.S. Navy. He served through World War II. In 1941, he was at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. He was promoted to warrant officer in 1942 and became a lieutenant in 1943. After the war, he was the chief test pilot at Naval Air Station Alameda.

Lieutenant Harold I. June retired from the Navy in 1947. He had served for 30 years. He lived the rest of his life in Connecticut. He died in Windsor, Connecticut, in 1962.

Family Life

June married May Foster in June 1914. They had a daughter named Marguarite June, born in 1915. June and his wife divorced in March 1938.

Harold June's Legacy

The Ford Trimotor plane that June co-piloted over the South Pole was named the Floyd Bennett. It was returned to the Ford Motor Company, who had donated it. The plane is now kept at Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. June's papers about his polar expeditions are with the Byrd archive at Ohio State University.

The June Nunatak is a rocky outcrop in Antarctica. It is part of the Liv Glacier. It was named in honor of co-pilot June in 1961-62. This was three decades after the Floyd Bennett flew over the same glacier in 1929.

Awards

See also

In Spanish: Harold June para niños