Kenneth C. Maclure, 1914-1988

Abstract

On 24 March 1988 Canada lost one of its pioneer polar air navigators in the sudden death of Kenneth Maclure while vacationing with his wife Margaret (Blackmore) in Mexico. ... In 1941, ... Maclure proposed a grid system for measuring direction in high latitudes to overcome the problem created by the extreme convergency of the meridians. ... he was the first Canadian to reach the North Geographic Pole. Maclure's grid direction proposal was thoroughly tested and proved to be a simple technique for measuring direction on polar flights. ... Maclure's grid was altered to further simplify navigation on high latitude flights originating from North America. [He participated in a number of scientific flights across the Canadian Arctic to Alaska including:] ... the Ptarmigan weather flights by the USAF out of Alaska over the Arctic Ocean and Operation Cariberg, to study the migration of caribou from timberline to the barrens and to study the amount and state of ice in Hudson's Bay. ... His work included acoustic and electromagnetic research in ice-filled waters, which necessitated many visits to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. ... This quiet, modest Canadian, a major contributor to modern-day polar air navigation, will be greatly missed by his former associates and all who knew him. ...