Norge (airship)
| Norge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Other name(s) | N-1, I-SAAN (Italian registration number) |
| Type | N-class semi-rigid airship |
| Manufactured | 1923 |
| First flight | March 1924 as N-1; April 1926 as Norge |
| Owners and operators | Umberto Nobile et al |
| Fate | Dismantled at Teller, Alaska for transport to Europe. |
The Norge was a semi-rigid Italian-built airship that carried out the first verified trip of any kind to the North Pole and likely the first verified overflight on 12 May 1926. It was also the first aircraft to fly over the polar ice cap between Europe and America. The expedition was the brainchild of polar explorer and expedition leader Roald Amundsen, the airship's designer and pilot Umberto Nobile and American explorer Lincoln Ellsworth, who along with the Aero Club of Norway, financed the trip which was known as the Amundsen-Ellsworth 1926 Transpolar Flight.
Norge was the first N class semi-rigid airship designed by Umberto Nobile and its construction started in 1923. As part of the selling contract [as the Norge] it was refitted for Arctic conditions. The pressurised envelope was reinforced by metal frames at the nose and tail, with a flexible tubular metal keel connecting the two. This was covered by fabric and used as storage and crew space. Three engine gondolas and the separate control cabin were attached to the bottom of the keel. Norge was the first Italian semi-rigid to be fitted with the cruciform tail fins first developed by the Schütte-Lanz company.
In 1925, Amundsen telegrammed Nobile asking to meet him at Oslo, where he proposed an airship trip across the Arctic. With a contract in place Nobile modified the N-1 for cold conditions. As the expedition was being financed by the Aero Club of Norway the modified N-1 was given the name Norge (English: Norway).
On 29 March 1926 at a ceremony at Ciampino aerodrome the Norge was handed over to the Aero Club of Norway. The flight north was due to leave Rome on 6 April but was delayed due to strong winds and departed at 09:25 on 10 April. The ship arrived at RNAS Pulham Airship Station in England at 15:20; because of the bad weather it was not hangared until 18:30. Delayed again by weather, the Norge left Pulham for Oslo at 11:45 on 12 April.
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