The southern air bridge
Argentina's sustained aerial connection to Antarctica began in the early 1950s, a period of intense geopolitical interest in the continent. While the first flight over the continent occurred in 1928, establishing a reliable air bridge for logistics was a different challenge. The Argentine Air Force, through its state airline LADE (Líneas Aéreas del Estado), helped. An early milestone occurred in 1951 when pilot Gustavo Argentino Marambio flew an Avro Lincoln aircraft named 'Cruz del Sur' from Río Gallegos to San Martín Base for an emergency supply drop. This flight showed the feasibility of air support. By February 1952, the Argentine Navy was using Catalina seaplanes to establish air mail communications with its base on Deception Island.
These early operations led to a permanent presence. The true breakthrough in year-round access came later. On October 29, 1969, the Air Force established Marambio Base on Seymour Island, named in honor of the pioneering pilot. A team called the 'Patrulla Soberanía' (Sovereignty Patrol) had manually constructed the continent's first land-based runway from compacted earth, a 1,260-meter strip suitable for wheeled aircraft. This achievement ended the region's total reliance on ships during the summer and ski-equipped planes, allowing for landings by aircraft like the C-130 Hercules, which became a workhorse for Antarctic logistics.