East Base, WAP USA-4Ø, at 68° 11’ 02” South, 66° 59’ 53” West on Stonington Island is the oldest American research Station in Antarctica, having been commissioned by Franklin D. Rosevelt in 1939.
Once the wintering site of two US expeditions from 1939 to 1948, the abandoned US East Base became an Antarctic Historic Site or Monument No. 55 in 2004. East Base is located near the British Station “E” (WAP GBR-Ø5)
East Base was established in 1939 by the U.S. Antarctic Service Expedition, constructed in 1940 and occupied by them from 1940 to 1941. Later it was reoccupied in 1947-48 by the private Finn Ronne Antarctic Expedition. This marked a period of cooperation between the American and British stations, according to the history told by the British.
The base covers 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) from North to South and 500 metres (1,600 feet) from East to West. The buildings and artifacts here are now protected as a monument as the base was accorded the status of one of the Historic Sites and Monuments in Antarctica on 7 May 2004.
The Antarctic Service Expedition was the first government-funded expedition of Admiral Richard E. Byrd (his first two expeditions in 1928–1930 and 1933–1935 were privately funded). East Base was built using Army knockdown buildings and a crew of 23 led by Richard Black, after Admiral Byrd had to return to Washington on the USS Bear.
The war time pressures and pack-ice in the bay which prevented ship movement led to the evacuation of the base in 1941 by air. Admiral Richard Byrd’s USAS Expedition built America’s earliest remaining Antarctic camp in March 1940; 4 prefabricated structures were built on: Main Building, Science Building, Machine Shop, and Outpost Hut , from which they explored and mapped Alexander Island, George VI Sound, and hundreds of miles of coastline.
A private expedition led by Finn Ronne (second in command in the 1941 expedition) in 1947 ended with the participants’ evacuation in 1948; the expedition crew included Jackie Ronne and Jennie Darlington, who became the first women to spend a winter in Antarctica.
The base and all its equipment have since not been utilized, even though the British Antarctic Survey developed Base “E” in the vicinity of US East Base. The British also occupied and modified the East Base during the construction of their Base “E”. As of 2017, the base is frequented by tourists arriving on the continent.”
US East Base did operate on Stonington island before the U.S. entry into World War II, from 1940 to 1941.
The British Research Station, so called, “Base E”, was established by the UK in 1946 100 mts from the US East Base. Closed in 1950 as sea ice conditions prevented access, it reopened in 1960 as the centre for field work in the south Antarctic Peninsula, and a new steel-framed, two story plywood hut was erected in 1961. British Base “E” was intermittently occupied until the early 1970s. The original UK Base ‘E’ was burnt down by accident in 1972 and only fragmentary remains mark the site. The station closed down in February 1975.
Stonington is a small island in Neny Fjord at the southern end of Marguerite Bay. It is approximately 750 metres long and 250 metres wide.
The island has areas of relatively flat boulder or gravel between rocky outcrops. It was until recently connected to the Antarctic mainland by North East Glacier.
.
The only callsign on WAP-WACA database for USA-4Ø is KC4/FT5YK operating by Mehdi (F5PFP-FT5YK-FT5YJ) for a brief activity on March 5, 2011.