The Norge’s flight over the Arctic.

This article will inform readers on the incredible voyage of the Norge, a semi-rigid airship built by the famous aeronaut, Umberto Nobile.

In 1925, the world renowned explorer Roald Amundsen approached the aeronaut and inventor Umberto Nobile about a trip in an airship across the Arctic to the Alaskan capitol, Anchorage. Amundsen had attempted this journey twice in an aeroplane, but failed. Eventually, it was decided that Nobile’s NR-1 airship would be used. So in March 1926, the dirigible was formally handed over to Amundsen and christened Norge(Norwegian for Norway). The Norge was comparatively small so only 16 men and Nobile’s small dog Titana could experience the beauty of the Arctic from an airship. These 16 are as follows:

Roald Amundsen, expedition leader

Lincoln Ellsworth, navigator

Umberto Nobile, pilot

Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen‚ pilot

Birger Gottwaldt, head of the radio telegraph

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Emil Andreas Horgen, pilot, side rudder operator

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Finn Malmgren, meteorologist

Oskar Omdal, mechanic

Fridtjof Storm-Johnsen, telegraph operator

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Oscar Wisting, rudder operator

Renato Alessandrini, rigger

Ettore Arduino

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Atillio Caratti 

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Natale Cecioni 

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Vincenco Pomella

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Fredrik Ramm, journalist

The planned route for the crossing of the artic in the Norge was from Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard, to Anchorage in Alaska, a distance of 2,724 miles. But first the airship had to get from sunny Rome to bitter cold Svalbard, a voyage that took many hours and several strategically positioned pit stops. These are marked on the map bellow.

After setting off from Svalbard, it took the crew of the Norge nearly 5 days to reach the North Pole, at which point they dropped the flags of the USA, Norway and Italy – the countries who contributed the most for the expedition. Interestingly, the Italian flag(given to Umberto Nobile by Mussolini) was the largest of the three, perhaps a symbol of the rising fascist powers in the occident at the time…

Hours later, the mission was accomplished: the Norge had made the first ever flight over the Arctic ocean and the North Pole. But the dirigible now had a coat of ice around it, which had a serious impact on its manoeuvrability. Add that to an exhausted crew and the chances of reaching Anchorage were slim. So Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen, the pilot, touched down in Teller, an Inuit settlement with a population of 5000 in the early 20th century. When the news of the incredible journey reached the public, they were baffled to hear that such a feat could be accomplished. After the journey, Mussolini made Nobile a General.

The Norge was dismantled in the end, but relics of the trip still exist like the mooring mast at Ny-Ålesund.

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PHOTO CREDIT 1: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

PHOTO CREDIT 2-9: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page