Parka History
Prior to the US Air National Guard taking over logistics for the US Antarctic Program with Operation Deep Freeze in 1999, all polar logistics were handled by the Naval Antarctic Support Unit (NASU). Navy pilots, airmen, and support crews were issued these olive-drab N3B Extreme Cold Weather parkas for their rotations at McMurdo Base and South Pole.
All of these parkas were found in various storage locations in Antarctica over two decades after the last Navy plane took off from the continent, and are some of the last parkas of this vintage around!
Admiral Richard Byrd, an early Antarctic pioneer, wears an earlier parka variation in 1955
