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Aviation History
1925
1925 - 0643.PDF
OCTOBER 1, 1925 FARTHEST NORTH BY AIR Captain Roald Amundsen's Story of the Flight AT the Central Hall, Westminster, Capt. Roald Amundsen, the famous Norwegian explorer, told on Monday, September 28, to a very large audience, his own story of the flight to the North Polar regions in two Dornier flying-boats with Rolls- Royce engines. Capt. E. R. G. R. Evans, C.B., D.S.O., R.X., who was second in command to Scott in the expedition to the South Pole, was in the chair. In introducing the lecturer, Capt. Evans pointed out that Roald Amundsen came of old Viking stock and that his ancestors of many hundred years ago had travelled far and wide in their small" boats. If", Capt. Evans said, one asked any British school-boy, " Who discovered America ? " the answer would usually be " Christopher Columbus." As a matter of fact, this was incorrect, since the first man who reached the American continent was Amundsen's compatriot, Leif Ericsson, who actually reached the North American continent nearly 500 years before it was discovered by Columbus. Capt. "Evans briefly recalled Amundsen's distinguished career in Arctic and Antarctic exploration, and then called upon him to give his lecture. Before commencing his lecture Capt. Amundsen thanked Capt. Evans for his very kind words of introduction, and said that he particularly appreciated Capt. Evans's remarks about the real discovery of America. To get a British naval officer to admit that America was discovered by a Scandinavian was praise indeed. (Laughter.) As the brief facts of the now famous flight by Amundsen and his companions are already known to readers of FLIGHT, it is not proposed to follow step by step Capt. Amundsen's story here. It will be recalled that the original intention of the expedition wras to fly, if possible, from Spitzbergen across the Pole to Alaska. Capt. Amundsen, however, stated in his lecture that, not only did they have small hope of doing this, but they were not even very optimistic of reaching the Pole itself, owing to the limited cruising range of the seaplanes. The attainment of the Pole itself was in his view a secondary consideration, as he personally had always regarded Peary as being the first man on the spot. Rather was he anxious definitely to settle whether or not land was to be found bstween Spitzbergen and the Pole. There were those who maintained that no land would be found, notably Sverdrup who based his views on observations of the ocean currents, but they could not be quite sure until they had definitely settled the question by personal observation. One remarkable fact was brought out by Capt. Amundsen's lecture, namely, that both at the start from Spitzbergen and when starting from the Polar regions in the return flight, the take-off had to be effected from the ice and not from the sea. Since, so far as we are aware, the Dornier flying-boats were not fitted with special runners, but simply relied on their fairly flat bottoms, this feat is rather remarkable, the more so as the machines were heavily over-loaded. Capt. Amundsen stated that the maximum permissible load given them by Herr Dornier was 2\ tons, but actually when leaving Spitz- bergen the N. 25 was carrying a good deal over three tons. That the Dorniers managed to get off was a tribute not only to the machines, but also to their Rolls-Royce engines. It will be recollected that after nearly reaching 88° N. lat., it was discovered that nearly half the petrol had been con- sumed, While looking, not for a suitable place to alight, but engine of the N. 25 began ti> ...^.i..~, was inevitable. In graphic language, Capt. Amundsen related how Riiser-Larsen " planted " the N. 25 in a-small strip of sea and how the machine did not come to rest until its nose all but touched the far end, the wings having missed the high ice banks on each side by a matter of inches. Intensely dramatic was the lecturer's account of the three weeks or so spent in attempting to prepare starting tracks tor the JV. -a, to the N. 25, without either being aware of the other's presence, although, after a time, communication between the two was established, and the crew of the N. 24, whose machine had been seriously damaged at. the start from Spitzbergen, and which was in constant danger of sinking, joined forces with that of the N. 25. Although there were now six men hard at work, it is little short of astonishing how those six, weakened by terrific toil and short rations, were able repeatedly to turn the heavy machine around and to move it about from place to place each time a starting track had been prepared. It is not difficult to understand the feelings of the explorers when, time after time, all their efforts were wasted by the pack ice spoiling the painfully prepared track, and jeopardising the safety of the machine. During those days of hard toil and suspense, a large ice hummock with a striking likeness to the Sphinx, came to be looked upon by the crew as their particular enemy, and more than once they shook their fists at the " Sphinx," and assured her that they would defy her yet, which ultimately, fortunately, they wrere able to do. No less than six starting-tracks were prepared, the first five of which were spoiled by the movements of the pack ice, but, ultimately, they managed to get away and to reach Spitzbergen safely. Some idea of the difficulties encountered was provided by Capt. Amundsen's list of tools which consisted of two small ice anchors, three knives, a boy scout's hatchet and the camera tripod ! With these crude tools the party, he estimated, shifted something like 500 tons of ice, snow, and slush. Actually, towards the end, however, it was neither of these crude tools which saved the seaplane, but a pair of rubber boots. The ice was closing in on the machine and in their extremity, the only method they could think of for evading their enemy was for Lieut. Omdahl, who was the only member of the party to possess a pair of rubber boots, to run round the machine, jumping on the ice at any point where it threatened to pierce the sides of the hull. This strenuous exercise was kept up by Omdahl for hours on end, until at last in this manner several feet of ice must have been pushed'" under the machine and the danger ultimately averted. The sixth track prepared was, like the other five, some 1,500 ft. long, and wide enough for the ice hummocks on each side just to clear the wing tips. This track was prepared by the men trampling down the soft snow, which, fortunately, froze reasonably hard during the night, and enabled a start to be made the next day, the N. 25 having had a considerable amount of petrol transferred to her from the N. 24, and carry- ing the crews of the two machines. The return journey to Spitzbergen was rather uneventful, but, as on the way out, a fog belt was encountered so that it was necessary for a couple of hours to fly without sighting the sun. Some anxiety was felt concerning the accuracy of the magnetic compasses, but after getting through the fog belt and being able once more to use the sun compasses, it was discovered that, in spite of the proximity of the North Pole, the magnetic compasses had, on the whole, been very accurate. Ultimately, the party reached Spitzbergen, but even so their troubles were not over, for an aileron jammed and made a forced descent necessary. In spite of the heavy sea that was running at the time, the pilot managed to alight safely and to taxy the machine up to the land, where a sealing boat was found which took them to King's Bay. Capt. Amundsen, in conclusion, said that the result of the expedition mrght be summed up in the short sentence : Some 200,000 sq. kms. surveyed. He stated that in its present stage of development, he did not consider the aeroplane a suitable craft for Arctic exploration, owing to the necessity of having to alight on the ice, but he did not doubt that in a few years' time aeroplanes would be perfectly capable of doing the "work. In the meantime, he had purchased the Italian semi-rigid airship, the " N. 1," and with this he hoped next year to be able to carry out his project of flying from Spitz- Air Ministry Golfing Society THE autumn meeting of the Air Ministry Golfing Society was held at West Bvfleet when several competitions were decided. Squadron-Leader C. H. Hayward had the best scratch score, with a round of 80. The prizewinners were :— " Sutherland " Challenge Cup.—Gr. Captain R. P. Mills, 92 — 14 = 78 ; J. S. Robinson, 94 — 16 = 78. Scratch.—Squadron-Leader C. H. Hayward. 80. 643 Bat Nine Holes Out.—Colonel F. C. Shelmerdine, 43 — 5J = 37|. Best Nine Holes Home.—Air Vice-Marshal Sir Vyell Vyvyan, 42 — 6 = 36. "36 Holes Scratch Aggregate (Summer and Autumn meetings). —J. C. Reid, 82 + 92 = 174. 36 Holes Handicap Aggregate (Summer and Autumn meetings).—Gr. Captain R. P. Mills, 79 + 78 = 157 Eclectic. Sir V. Vyvyan and Colonel Shelmerdine tied.
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