Construction of the ALASKA highway-1944.

[Fernando Mendes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaSlVOZ9Dpg:eek:

[cwcars88]

Thanks

Interesting old clips, I might spend the rest of my evening in front of this computer watching them.

Wayne

[Fernando Mendes]

Nice find Fernando. A very interesting movie in color

I wonder what is in the Studebaker with the Chimney at 33:06. Does the ambulance following it have something to do with the cargo?

Bill Wolf

Did you see all the clip Wayne?

[cwcars88]

Yes I saw all of the first main clip, working my way threw the rest of the secondary clips.

[Fernando Mendes]

....and what did you think?Why were these north american men in 1944 working in Alaska highway while other men were in the war(Pacific,Europe,etc)?Did you noticed that USA flag still were with 48 stars?Regards.

[rustyzman]

My understanding is that the Alaska Highway was very important due to oil transport, much needed during the war. I could be wrong though.

[Fernando Mendes]

Lets see what it represented to the USA.Why it was constructed.Its maintenance?

[Fernando Mendes]

http://www.outwestnewspaper.com/akhwy.html:D

[Fernando Mendes]

Alaska Highway

Motorcyclist cruising the Alaska Highway Constructed during World War II, the Alaska Highway is world renown and is a smooth, scenic route into the North which stretches from Watson Lake near the British Columbia border to Beaver Creek at the Alaska border.

Start your Yukon scenic drive along the Alaska Highway in Watson Lake and visit the town’s world-famous Sign Post Forest. Next stop is Teslin, home of the Inland Tlingit people. A popular destination for fishing and boating, this scenic lakeside community has a proud artistic and cultural heritage. From Teslin, visit Yukon’s capital, Whitehorse known as the Wilderness City for good reason. Surrounded by forests and mountains, the Yukon River flows through downtown Whitehorse and trails criss-cross the city. Visit the S.S. Klondike on the waterfront, MacBride Museum , Beringia Centre and galleries showcasing the work of Yukon’s talented artists.

Beyond Whitehorse, the Alaska Highway parallels the majestic outer rim of Kluane National Park from the mountain village of Haines Junction toDestruction Bay, Burwash Landing, ending its Canadian journey at Beaver Creek. Offering spectacular glacier flightseeing, hiking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing, canoeing and river rafting, Kluane Country is a popular Yukon adventure vacation destination.

Learn more about this scenic drive in our online Vacation Planner

Français Alaska Highway

Campbell / Canol Route

Dempster Highway

Golden Circle Route

Klondike / Kluane Loop

Silver Trail

Southern Lakes Circuit

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[PatS....]

My cousin rented a new 1980 Dodge Magnum to do the Alaska Highway...trip of a lifetime kind of thing.

They took 2 months that summer and literally totaled that car. He went through 3 windshields on the trip and #4 was smashed when they got back home to Edmonton.

Tires shredded, underneath sandblasted through in places, gas tank destroyed...had a jerry can in the trunk. Those glass headlight covers and the headlights and grille didn't last long either.

Avis wasn't too happy but he had bought the total insurance package and he wrote on the contract where he was going. Never heard back from them.

He was told the trip would destroy a car and he didn't want to destroy his own.

Not sure if there have been improvements and asphalt since then.

[Fernando Mendes]

Thanks PatS....

[TodFitch]

My understanding is that the Alaska Highway was very important due to oil transport, much needed during the war. I could be wrong though.

The film gave the reason: Japan and invaded the Aleutian Islands and could potentially have directly threatened the continental US from there. Since sea routes were iffy early in the war, a land route to Alaska was needed.

Oil transport along the road was mostly for supporting highway traffic and the ferrying of aircraft destined to Alaska or across the Bering Sea to Russia. That was also mentioned in the film. Export of oil from Alaska to the continental US was not part of the picture as much easier to access oil existed in places like California, Oklahoma, Texas, etc. The depletion of oil fields in the continental US, requiring import from more difficult areas, did not happen until after the war.

[DollyDodge]

Over the years Alaska has been a potential start off point for invasions, including more recent times. When my dad was in the army in the early 1960 as a helicopter pilot he was sent to Alaska, I could never figure out why until recently when he talked about the reasons. The US government was concerned that Russia might some day use Alaska as a place to land troops during the cold war. When I did more research on the topic I found a lot of information that supported what dad told me. Don't know if it was a legitamate concern or not, but in any event that is what the powers at be thought during the 1960s. Also in regard to Fernando's comments about US men working on the Highway while the rest were at war, doens't relay what the US war effort involved, many men went to war, but many stayed behind and along with women worked in factories, farms, and other enterprises to support the war effort, even many troops never saw actual combat but made up the vast majority of troops who supported the logistical side of the war. I attached a couple of pictures of the H-21 my dad was flying in Alaska, and fueling an H-21 in Alaska. Sorry, I don't have an PH pics of alaska:D

[Fernando Mendes]

Ok DollyDodge,thanks for your rich comments and pics.I didn't know nothing about Alaska highway,but about men and women in other war front efforts I knew.For example,women building B-24 Liberator bomber in the factory(I have a pic).

[DollyDodge]

Fernando. attached is a picture of my grandmother during the war. She is the first woman in line. This is a copy of an add her company ran showing the companies support for the war effort. She also worked on airplanes during the war. You can see in the add that most of the workers are younger men

I suspect you know a lot more about the Alaska Highway, the War, and such, than I do about Brazil

[TodFitch]

Fernando. attached is a picture of my grandmother during the war. She is the first woman in line. This is a copy of an add her company ran showing the companies support for the war effort. She also worked on airplanes during the war. You can see in the add that most of the workers are younger men

I suspect you know a lot more about the Alaska Highway, the War, and such, than I do about Brazil

Even, possibly, the role that Brazil played in making available air transport available to the US between the Americas and Africa/Europe especially early in the war when land planes had limited range.

[Fernando Mendes]

Yes,you noticed that my facility.I didn't never research about Alaska highway.I can't translate youtube video.

[Fernando Mendes]

[Fernando Mendes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtAaczT-pLk:eek:

[Fernando Mendes]