Ny Ålesund was the
starting point for Roald Amundsen's attempt to fly
to the North Pole by airship in 1926.
This bronze plaque is attached to the base of the
airship mooring point.
The writing on the plaque reads:
AMUNDSEN-ELLSWORTH-NOBILE
TRANSPOLAR FLIGHT 1926
HONOURING A GLORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT OF HUMAN ENDEAVOUR
TO
ROALD AMUNDSEN
LINCOLN ELLSWORTH
UMBERTO NOBILE
AND THE CREW OF THE AIRSHIP NORGE N1
WHO FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY
FLEW OVER THE NORTH POLE FROM EUROPE TO
NORTH AMERICA OPENING THE POLAR ROUTE
TAKE OFF: SPITSBERGEN 11 MAY LANDING ALASKA 13 MAY
1926
70 HOURS OF 5300KM CONTINUOUS FLIGHT
THIS PLAQUE WAS PLACED HERE BY THE ITALIAN AIR FORCE Nobile also left from here in 1928 to repeat his
trip to the North Pole, in another airship called
Italia. The airship crashed on the way back killing
half of the crew though Nobile survived. Amundsen
flew from Norway by seaplane to help in the rescue,
he was never seen again after taking off from
Trømso.
78° 55' N 11° 56' E
Picture
copyright Paul Ward |
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