During the Cold War, the US Army embarked on a covert operation called Project Iceworm. The goal was to build an underground military base beneath Greenland’s ice sheet, equipped with numerous nuclear missiles and launch sites. However, the project faced major challenges due to the ice’s unstable and unpredictable characteristics, leading to its eventual abandonment.
Nonetheless, a smaller military facility was established prior to the official end of the project.
Getting permission from Denmark
In 1951, the United States and Denmark entered into the Defense of Greenland agreement, which allowed NATO members to discuss setting up military facilities in Greenland for the protection of the nation and other treaty areas. In effect, it granted the US the authority to establish a base in Greenland.
The agreement did not cover the deployment of nuclear missiles. When the US Army started planning a facility in Greenland, Danish Prime Minister H.C. Hansen cautioned against actions such as introducing nuclear missiles to prevent international tensions. Nevertheless, when US Ambassador Val Petersen asked about building a base, Hansen did not explicitly reject the idea, so the project went ahead.
The Pentagon characterized the project as a test to evaluate construction methods in Arctic conditions, investigate potential issues with portable nuclear reactors, and conduct scientific research on Greenland’s ice cap. However, officials left out a key detail: the actual goal of the military base was to deploy nuclear missiles in Greenland.
Camp Century
The Army called the project “Camp Century,” which served as a highly-publicized coverup for the true operation. Construction began in June 1959 and was completed just over a year later, in October 1960.
This was no easy feat. First, a three-mile-long road had to be built, to bring equipment and supplies to where construction would begin on the facility. Trenches were then dug into the ice and surrounded by steel arches to form the roof, and covered with snow for extra protection and camouflage. The longest trench, known as “Main Street,” was over 1,000 feet long.
Inside the trenches, wooden buildings were set up, with space left between their walls and the ice in an attempt to reduce melting from the warmth being generated within. The base was insulated, sourced gallons of fresh water from the ice and was outfitted to receive electricity generated by the world’s first portable nuclear reactor, the PM-2A, which was installed in 1960.
All in all, Camp Century could house over 200 soldiers, and had a kitchen, cafeteria, laundry facility, communications center, hospital, chapel and even a barbershop. It featured 26 different tunnels, and its construction truly determined whether working under the ice was feasible.
Project Iceworm
Camp Century hid the Army’s actual goal, Project Iceworm, which sought to expand the tunneling model of Camp Century by creating an additional 52,000 square miles of tunnels—an area over three times larger than Denmark.
This vast military complex was intended to house 600 “Iceman” ballistic missiles that the US Military planned to deploy at intervals of four miles, along with the creation of 60 Launch Control Centers. By placing these missiles underground in Greenland, the US could quickly deploy them against enemy nations. During the Cold War, the US government’s primary focus was the Soviet Union, and locating these missiles in Greenland allowed for strategic targeting across much of the USSR.
The Iceman missile, based on the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), had a range of 3,300 miles. Ensuring the operational readiness and deployment of these missiles required a stationed force of 11,000 soldiers at the base.
Problems with Project Iceworm
On the surface, Project Iceworm seemed like the perfect plan; nuclear missiles deployed within range of Soviet targets was ideal for the US. However, problems soon came to light.
After just three years, ice core samples showed that Greenland’s ice cap was moving faster than originally anticipated. Already, in 1962, the reactor room’s ceiling had begun to drop, requiring it be lifted five feet. At the rate the ice was moving, the base and its tunnels would be destroyed in as little as two years.
With this information, the Army realized it simply couldn’t risk storing hundreds of nuclear missiles there. Additionally, the modifications required to create the Iceman missiles would be costly, and issues with communicating with the weapons while operating under several feet of Arctic snow proved to be detractors from further pursuing Project Iceworm.
The operation was officially canceled in 1963, and no missiles were ever deployed to Greenland. In the summer of that year, Camp Century was converted into a summertime military base, and its PM-2A nuclear reactor was shut down, with the facility running on diesel power. The reactor was removed the following summer, and Camp Century was ultimately abandoned in 1966.
Campy Century could have a long-lasting ecological impact
Project Iceworm remained a secret until the Danish Institute of International Affairs began investigating the former military base. Documents about the Army’s true intentions were declassified in 1996, and the secret about Camp Century was finally revealed to the public.
Years after the base was shuttered, its tunnels collapsed, and now a thick layer of ice covers the once-operational facility, making it virtually unreachable. However, the operation wasn’t for nothing, as Camp Century actually provided valuable information via the collection of some of the world’s first ice core samples.
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The environmental effects of Project Iceworm may be awaiting society in the future. While Camp Century was in operation, its nuclear reactor produced over 47,000 gallons of radioactive waste that’s still buried under Greenland’s ice cap.
Scientists believe that, if climate change continues at the rate it currently is, the ice cap could melt enough to expose the nuclear waste by 2100, which could negatively impact the ecosystems within the surrounding area.
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