Project Iceworm: The Secret Cold War City Under the Ice

In 1959, at the height of the Cold War, the United States Army initiated a top-secret mission that seemed more suited to a James Bond movie than governmental strategy. Codenamed Project Iceworm, this ambitious plan aimed to construct an extensive network of underground tunnels beneath Greenland’s ice cap to station up to 600 ballistic missiles targeting strategic locations in mainland USSR.

The Ambitious Plan

The proposal was exceedingly ambitious, envisioning approximately 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) of tunnels covering an area around three times the size of Denmark. This hidden city was designed to include railway transport systems and living quarters for staff. Unbeknownst to Denmark—which managed foreign affairs and defense issues concerning Greenland—this secret city under the ice began taking shape by using nuclear power to melt into glaciers.

Camp Century: The Hidden City

Camp Century was the operational name for this underground complex, which included everything from science labs and hospital facilities to entertainment amenities like theaters and chapels. The camp was powered by a portable nuclear reactor, which provided the necessary energy for melting ice and maintaining operations in an extreme environment.

Challenges Faced

Keeping the operation going wasn’t easy; there were endless ice drilling challenges due to unpredictable glacial movements causing structural instabilities, including cave-ins. Additionally, deep isolation led workers to suffer psychologically from what became known as “polar syndrome,” characterized by symptoms such as fatigue, depression, and stress due to prolonged periods in extreme environments.

Decommissioning and Legacy

By 1966, mounting difficulties—including psychological impacts on workers, increasing technical challenges, and shifting geopolitical dynamics—rendered Project Iceworm untenable. The US decommissioned Camp Century by entombing its contents under several layers of man-made snow. However, climate change-driven melting has recently begun revealing remnants of this audacious project.

Due to its sheer scale, audacity, and geostrategic implications regarding covert operations on foreign soil, Project Iceworm remains one of history’s lesser-known secrets. Its ecological impact could become another legacy of the Cold War era; potentially hazardous materials buried along with Camp Century could pose environmental risks when exposed to melting ice caps.

Conclusion

The legacy of Project Iceworm has multiple facets: it highlights the extremes of Cold War-era geopolitical tactics while also serving as a cautionary tale for environmental stewardship in polar regions undergoing rapid change due to global warming. As climate change reveals remnants of this once-hidden city beneath Greenland’s ice cap, it is a stark reminder of human ingenuity and folly during one of history’s most tense periods.