| Summary: | In 1935, David Nutt (David), while attending the Hotchkiss Prep School in Connecticut, attended a lecture by Capt Bob Bartlett on the Arctic. Bob was a legendary figure who explored with Robert Peary, Vilhjalmur Stefansson and others. As a result he went to Greenland with Bartlett aboard the RV Effie M. Morrisey for five trips in the summers of 1935 thru 1940. Nutt lists Bartlett as a mentor as well as Waldo Schmidt of the Smithsonian Institution. In June of 1941, David graduated from Dartmouth. He was already in the Naval Reserve and was called to active duty the month before graduation. The Navy detailed David as Executive Officer to the USS Bowdoin, formerly the RV Bowdoin that was sailed by McMillan to the Arctic on numerous occasions. The Bowdoin was fitted out to do hydrographic surveys and in 1942 and 43 conducted hydrographic work in Greenland waters – most notably the hydrographic soundings of Sondestrom Fjord where the American base Bluie West Eight was located and other fjords where U.S. bases were established. In 1944, David was detailed as Executive Officer aboard the USS Sumner, a fleet hydrographic vessel. In early 1945 he became the Commanding Officer of the Sumner. It was the first U.S. ship to enter North China since 1927 and later was the first U.S. ship to enter Bikini Atoll since 1940. He and his crew completed the hydrography of the atoll. He was released from active duty in 1946. Captain Nutt, purchased the Blue Dolphin from Amory Coolidge after returning to New England. It was fitted out as a hydrographic ship by the Navy. He used the vessel on Office of Naval Research Contracts for a variety of scientific research projects in the Arctic. Among his Principal Investigators were Larry Coachman, Per Scholander, Dick Backus and others. He describes the work that was performed on the Blue Dolphin in detail in the interview. He was recommended for Operation Windmill by Waldo Schmidt of the Smithsonian Institution. Windmill was a follow-on expedition to Antarctica to establish survey control ...
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