Project Iceworm was a covert Cold War initiative by the US Army to build a massive military base beneath Greenland’s ice cap. The plan was to accommodate numerous nuclear missiles and launch sites. However, the ice’s instability and unpredictability rendered the project impractical, ultimately leading to its abandonment.
Nonetheless, a smaller military installation was created before the project was discontinued.
Getting permission from Denmark
In 1951, the United States and Denmark signed the Defense of Greenland agreement. This agreement allowed NATO members to negotiate the establishment of military facilities in Greenland for the defense of the country and other North Atlantic Treaty territories. Essentially, it granted the U.S. permission to build a base in Greenland.
However, the agreement didn’t address the deployment of nuclear missiles. When the U.S. Army began planning the construction of a facility in Greenland, Danish Prime Minister H.C. Hansen expressed that measures like the introduction of nuclear missiles should be avoided to prevent conflicts between nations. Yet, when U.S. Ambassador Val Petersen inquired about the Army’s plans to build a base in Greenland, Hansen didn’t explicitly say “no,” so the Army moved forward.
The Department of Defense described the project as an experiment to test construction techniques in Arctic conditions, assess issues with portable nuclear reactors, and conduct scientific research focused on Greenland’s ice cap. But they omitted one critical detail: the real purpose of the military base was to install nuclear missiles in the region.
Camp Century
The Army referred to the project as “Camp Century,” using it as a high-profile cover for the actual operation.
Construction began in June 1959 and was completed just over a year later, in October ’60. The process was complex. A three-mile-long access road had to be built to transport equipment and supplies to the site. Trenches were then dug into the ice and reinforced with steel arches to form the roof, which was then covered with snow for added protection and camouflage.
Within these trenches, wooden buildings were built, with space left between the walls and the ice to minimize melting from the internal heat. The base was insulated, sourced fresh water from the ice, and was powered by the world’s first portable nuclear reactor (the PM-2A), which was installed in 1960.
Camp Century could accommodate over 200 soldiers and featured a range of facilities, including a kitchen, cafeteria, laundry, communications center, hospital, chapel and even a barbershop. It included 26 tunnels and played a role in determining the feasibility of operating under the ice.
Project Iceworm
Camp Century hid the Army’s true operation, Project Iceworm. It was based on the model established at Camp Century, but with the intention of building an additional 52,000 square miles of tunnels, equivalent to over three times the size of Denmark.
With such a vast military complex, the Army planned to deploy 600 “Iceman” ballistic missiles at four-mile intervals and build 60 Launch Control Centers. By hiding missiles underground in Greenland, the US could easily launch them toward enemy nations. As this was during the Cold War, the government’s main concern was the Soviet Union, and the missiles stationed in Greenland could be positioned to hit most targets in the USSR.
The Iceman ballistic missile was developed from the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), and had a range of 3,300 miles. For the base to be operational and the missiles readied and deployed, 11,000 soldiers were required to reside there.
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.
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.
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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.