Ice under fire. The secret cold war city planned beneath greenland
In the 1960s, Americans initiated a covert operation to construct mobile nuclear missile launch sites beneath Greenland's ice cap. This venture, known as Operation "Project Iceworm" and part of the clandestine "Camp Century" research project, aimed to facilitate rapid strikes on the USSR. The operation's true nature remained hidden for years, initially masqueraded as a benign research endeavor.
8:51 AM EDT, May 3, 2024
In 1959, American engineers were dispatched to Greenland to erect an underground city, operating under the guise of "Project Iceworm" with "Camp Century" as its cover. Officially, they aimed to establish a polar research station to explore climate change, a partial truth. Live Science reports that the base's real purpose was concealed from the Danish government for seven years.
An underground city devised by Americans
The envisioned city beneath the ice was to be three times the size of Denmark, spanning 50,193 square miles with underground corridors stretching approximately 2,485 miles. The plans included an array of facilities: an atomic power plant, a hospital, a movie theater, a chapel, residential quarters, a kitchen, laboratories, and storerooms. Although the ambitions were high, they weren't entirely realized.
The envisioned military research base could house up to 60 Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and potentially 200 soldiers. The strategy involved transporting missiles to Greenland via railway, through tunnels under the surface, for potential launch from silos concealed within the ice city. The site's proximity to the Soviet Union, "merely" about 4,971 miles from Moscow, was a strategic advantage.
The project's cessation
However, "Project Iceworm" was discontinued in 1966, largely due to Greenland's challenging conditions. The ice cap's constant movement threatened the underground city's integrity. Upon departure, the Americans left behind numerous hazardous remnants. According to Outrider, the site was abandoned with more than 9 tons of materials, over 52,834 gallons of fuel, radioactive waste, and toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
The ongoing melting of glaciers risks releasing these perilous substances into the environment. Outrider notes the potential for environmental contamination from Camp Century's remains, highlighting it wouldn't be the first instance of such pollution in Greenland by the USA. In 1968, a US B-52 bomber crashed near the Thule Air Base, carrying four hydrogen bombs. Although the bombs didn't explode, radioactive leakage from the warheads caused environmental damage.
This incident greatly strained the US-Denmark relationship, revealing the Americans' disregard for a 1957 treaty that designated Denmark as a nuclear-free zone, forbidding nuclear weapons on its territory. Despite this, the US routinely conducted flights over Greenland carrying nuclear arms.
