Operation Blue Jay was the code name for the construction of Thule Air Base, which is now known as Pituffik Space Base in Greenland. It started as a secret project, but was made public in September 1952 through Life Magazine.Nielsen, Kristian H. "Transforming Greenland: Imperial formations in the cold war." New Global Studies 7, no. 2 (2013): 151. Blue Jay brought 7,000 construction workers to build the secret cold war base.Fillmore, James M. "When a Blue Jay Landed at Thule." Aerospace Historian 15, no. 4 (1968): 14. The project built a three-kilometer long runway to service large B-36 Peacemaker and B-47 Stratojet bombers.Doel, Ronald E., KRISTINE C. HARPER, and MATTHIAS HEYMANN. "Exploring Greenland." Cold War Science, 198.
Documentary
Operation Blue Jay is a 1953 American short documentary film about the project. Master Sergeant Lester A. Marks was the sole cinematographer for this film when he worked for the US Signal Corps. It aired on television on the series The Big Picture.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.
References
External links
Operation Blue Jay at the National Archives and Records Administration