98 AIR CLASSICS/August 2022
six in the gondola rose back into the air
within the buoyant wreckage and were
never seen again. Nobile was critically
injured but would aid in building a
tent on the floating pack ice. With the
failure of Italia to return to base, a
massive international search effort was
launched. Concerned over the fate of
his fellow explorers, Amundsen pushed
all differences aside and went forth in a
French seaplane with a crew of five on
18 June 1928 to search for the missing
explorers. They were never seen again.
Nobile and his fellow survivors were
eventually rescued but hounded by
Mussolini and the fascists. Following the
end of WWII, Nobile was cleared of all
wrong-doing in the loss of Italia, restored
to his rank of general, and treated with
honor. He died in 1978.
Today, it is difficult for the average
person to imagine the sheer misery and
difficulty of these Polar explorations.
Perhaps Riiser-Larsen expressed the
future pioneered by the Norge the best
when he wrote, “And when that time
comes that I can no longer be written
to, people will not set off on voyages of
discovery in the Arctic regions anymore.
Then, air routes will follow the great
circles, unaffected by the Arctic.” ACsuccessful landing took place after the
Norge had been in the air for 72 hours.
Amundsen planned that Nome would
have a grand celebration for the explorers.
This was not to be. It was planned that
the Norge would be disassembled and
shipped back to Italy, but this did not take
place. It seems that the historic airship
was left to the elements and souvenier
hunters and even today pieces of the
Norge turn up in the oddest locations.
At Nome, the reception was modest
and somewhat chilly. Amundsen’s
reputation had taken a turn for the
worse and many creditors were chasing
after him for money owed. Also, the
Italian government and Mussolini had
put a clever publicity plan to work that
would see Nobile receive much favorable
comment from the press. Mussolini also
ordered Nobile to make a speaking tour
of the USA promoting Italian technology
and fascism and this caused further
problems with the Norwegians.
There was a distinct falling out
between Amundsen, Nobile, Mussolini,
and the Italians. Nobile went on to build
an improved version of the Norge that
was named the Italia. However, Nobile
had lost favor with Mussolini and his
friends worried that the secret police
would kill the
designer. Against
all odds, the Italia
set out on its
journey on 23 May
1928, reaching the
Pole, and turning
back. It ran into
bad weather and
crashed onto pack
ice. Ten of the crew
of 16 were thrown
onto the ice butCOMPLETE YOUR
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Amundsen put aside his differences with Nobile and joined the search with this French
flying boat. The Norwegian explorer and crew were never seen again.Mooring mast for the Norge still stands at Kings Bay.