(by Claudio Ernesto Manzati) Here we are at our fourth appointment. In previous articles, we revisited the history of Russians North Pole explorations, and in particular the first adventure of Papanin’s secret mission in 1937 and the subsequent and far more organized NP2.

The political and military history of these missions cross the history of postal communications in the proper sense and the stories of the two missions are with my interests and postal history collector, ennobled by the discovery of important documents from telegrams of Federov and Papanin from NP1, until the discovery of the diary of the base NP2.

The mission took official start on April 15th, 1954, jointly with NP4 that on the contrary was the first base with a post office operated by the head of radio transmissions, it was also got a Guller postmark with NP4 indication.

The launching of two joint missions, was due at political necessity to accelerate the strategic plan through the use of military science, the aim was to get supremacy on America about the North Pole, since the time of the cold war it was a strategic area.

Subsequently, for convenience and consistency, also the first two missions were known as NP1 and NP2; the designation continues with this numbering up today.

The third mission had an allocation of resources and infrastructures, even more than the NP2, were about twenty members at the base, but during the 378 days of activity at the base, were often enhanced and integrated for periods more or less longs, from other technicians and scientists.

The mission was equipped with a mechanical excavator with a shovel, a UAZ jeep with four-wheel drive and a small helicopter that took over valued at the evacuation of the base caused by the gradual melting of the ice floe due to mild temperatures that were experienced in the spring 1955.

The base was closed April 19th, 1955. As mentioned above, the NP3 did not have a post office, but his private correspondence was exchanged between family members and members of the base during flights supply and rotation of scientist and technicians.

Are known letters of encouragement and congratulations sent by schoolchildren to members of the bases; in those years during Stalinist Soviet Union, the polar men were regarded as real heroes, as happened later on with astronauts who performed the first space flights.

USSR. There was therefore need amazing and resonant missions worldwide. And bases at the Pole, in relation to the technologies then available, were considered pioneering explorations and therefore full of risks of various natures, in relation to extreme conditions in which they take place.

Exist but are very rare, Radiogram addresses or send from the base, signed by the commander Treshnikov as well as some manuscripts I have collected over the years a significant quantity of these documents, procured through the many contacts with friends philatelist and stamps dealer.

Contacts collector when I was not allowed to acquire the material, at least permit me to get from themselves many valuable information, as well as documents and materials.

And sometimes the luck guides our steps, over our hopes. One of the many dear friends, a philatelic trader who operates in Switzerland, knowing about my passion, he did in December 2007, organize a meeting in Lugano with friend of him who entertained business relations with Russia.

The visit was for me a new surprise, that went beyond any my personal desire, in fact, the eclectic and well-informed friend, had just bought out the entire archive commander’s Treshnikov, consisting of documents, photos, equipment, and part of clothes used during mission to North Pole: there was enough material to set up a museum’s section.

It seemed incredible thumbed through the papers, touched this stuff, I lived another exciting and passionate experience. And my mind travels enchanted hovering over this desolate ice endless moor, at extreme north of the planet where the life of people who had inhabited the base was always in balance. A continuing challenge with nature forces, where the man threw his soul over any obstacle and went to pick-up it moving forward the boundaries of his search for his eagerness to unravel the unknown.

We spent a whole afternoon looking at all the documents of this immense archive that allowed us to fully understand many aspects of life as experienced by members of NP3.

The appointment is now at the base NP4, not at North Pole, nor beyond the Pillars of Hercules to symbolize the challenge of Ulysses versus unknown, but among the columns of this online newspaper. (continued)