42 AIR CLASSICS/August 2022
missing. Ellsworth senior, anxiously
awaiting news on his son, died on 2 June.
After nearly a month on the ice some
600 miles from the nearest settlement,
some seven takeoff attempts were needed
before N.25 managed to stagger into the
air and fly to safety, landing in the water
near King’s Bay where they had started.
Regrouping, and avoiding creditors,
the men began to come up with another
plan to reach the Pole. This led to a
discussion of airships versus aircraft. If
there were engine problems then the
crew of the airship could often repair
the troubled motor while in flight. Also,
airships of the time could carry a heavier
load for a longer distance than aircraft
while also being able to stay in the air
considerably longer.
Pilot Riiser-Larsen had previously
taken a flying course in England to obtain
his airship license and he had stayed
up-to-date with the latest developments.
In Italy, the airship N.1 was being
constructed by Umberto Nobile. The
Italian had become known for designing
and promoting semi-rigid airships and
he became convinced that medium-sized
semi-rigid airships were superior to non-
rigid and rigid designs. A company was
created to build his designs and the first
project was the T-34, which was designed
to cross the Atlantic. However, when the
British R.34 undertook that journey in
1919, Nobile and his partners sold the
T-34 to the Italian military. It was then
purchased by the US Army in 1921 and
commissioned as the Roma. However,
in February 1922 it hit high-power lines
near Norfolk, Virginia, and 34 died in the
following crash and explosion.
Risser-Larsen traveled to Italy and met
with Nobile and became convinced about
the value of the semi-rigid craft. The
Italian government agreed to sell the N.1
to the expedition for $75,000 and thenThey decided
N.24 was too
damaged to
proceed and then
spent nearly a
month cutting
and smoothing
a runway on
the ice. While
this was going
on, newspapers
around the world
announced that
the aircraft and
crews had goneAmundsen’s first aircraft was a modified Curtiss Oriole and it is seen being prepared for
flight in May 1923. It was intended to use the Curtiss as a scout aircraft.
The larger Junkers was intended for flights deeper into the polar area but it was soon
damaged.
Lincoln Ellsworth (on the left, with Amundsen) came from a
relatively well-off family and he used his resources to greatly
aid Amundsen’s aerial expedition.
Ellsworth’s father funded the purchase of two Dornier Wal (Whale)
flying boats coded N.24 and N.25. N.24 is seen preparing for takeoff
from Kings Bay (now called Ny-Alesund) on 21 May 1925.