Operation Highjump

An invasion-sized fleet sent to Antarctica for "training." It came back early, and quiet.

Operation Highjump (1946-47) is documented naval history: 4,700 men, 13 ships, a carrier — the largest Antarctic expedition ever — officially for training and territorial reconnaissance. The lore leans on the real anomalies: planned for six-to-eight months, it withdrew after roughly eight weeks; it lost aircraft and men (George 1 crash, confirmed); and Byrd's interview with El Mercurio (March 1947, verifiable) warned of the possibility of attack 'by objects flying from pole to pole at incredible speeds.' The official explanation — weather, ice, Soviet-era muscle-flexing — covers the facts. The Base 211 reading covers them differently.