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The deaths of Roald Amundsen and the crew of the Latham 47

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2013

Karen May  and
George Lewis
Karen May
Affiliation:
c/o Scott Polar Research Institute, Lensfield Rd., Cambridge CB2 1ER ([email protected])
George Lewis
Affiliation:
c/o Scott Polar Research Institute, Lensfield Rd., Cambridge CB2 1ER ([email protected])
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Abstract

On 18 June 1928, Roald Amundsen and a team of five men (René Guilbaud, Leif Dietrichson, Albert Cavelier de Cuverville, Gilbert Brazy and Emile Valette) flew in a French Latham 47 prototype aeroplane from Tromsø, Norway, to aid in the rescue of survivors of the crashed airship Italia. The party disappeared nearly without trace into the Barents Sea. We shall examine Amundsen's last years, the decision to employ for an Arctic relief mission a prototype aeroplane which had not completed its flight tests, and the evidence that, in deciding to disregard warnings and fly this aeroplane unaccompanied over the Barents Sea, Amundsen took a significant risk that led to his death and those of his crew.

Type
Research Article
Information
Polar Record , Volume 51 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 1 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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