Who was the first man to fly over the North Pole?

You would have thought that there wouldn’t have been any dispute over who the first man was to fly over the North Pole, but there was!

They all claimed to be the first!

• Frederick Cook In 1908
• Robert Peary in 1909
• Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett in 1926

They all claimed to have done it and are all disputed as being either of dubious accuracy or outright fraudulent.

Frederick Cook and Robert Peary’s claims were never verified, but two Americans, Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett were different.  They flew a Fokker F-VII Tri-motor, called Josephine Ford, after their sponsor, Edsel Ford’s, daughter.

Why was there a problem?

Well, they set off from Spitsbergen, an island on the Svalbard archipelago, around 650 miles from the North Pole, and over 1,200 miles from mainland Norway.  16 hours later they returned to Spitsbergen telling everyone they had flown over the North Pole.

The problem was that they returned 15 hours 44minutes after they left. However, if you calculate the speed of the aircraft along with the distance to the North Pole, the trip should have taken 19 hours. They explained the time difference away by saying they had a strong following wind that bought them back so quickly, conversely, that wind should also have slowed them going out!

Two days later

A semi-rigid airship designed by Umberto Nobile also left Spitsbergen. It was led by Roald Amundsen, the man who beat Scott to the South Pole and took a ship through the Northwest Passage, he now wanted to cross the Arctic by air. He left with Umberto Nobile as the pilot, the expedition’s sponsor, Lincoln Ellsworth, and 13 others.

They reached the North Pole.

How do we know?

This time they dropped Norwegian, American and Italian flags onto the ice so there would be no argument.

Unfortunately, there was a problem when Amundsen realised that the Italian flag dropped was much larger than the other two. Anyway, as they continued,  pieces of ice started growing on the airship’s propellors, then flying off and hitting the outer cover, ripping and tearing the fabric. Due to this and the worsening weather, they landed in Alaska at the village of Teller.

We know they did cross the North Pole, from the flags, but did the others?  We will never know!

Isn’t History Fun?

10 questions to discuss:

1. 1. 1. Evidence Disputes: Why were the claims of Frederick Cook and Robert Peary never verified, and what specific doubts were raised about their expeditions?
      2. Technical Discrepancy: How did Byrd and Bennett explain the discrepancy between their flight time and the calculated travel time for reaching the North Pole?
      3. Favorable Wind Argument: Was the claim of a strong tailwind a plausible explanation for the shorter flight time, considering wind resistance on the outward journey?
      4. Airship Crew Composition: Apart from Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth, what were the specific roles and expertise of the other 13 members on the airship expedition?
      5. Flag Dispute Significance: Was the issue with the Italian flag simply a matter of size, or did it raise deeper concerns about potential bias or manipulation of evidence?
      6. Ice Buildup on Airship: What were the specific mechanisms by which ice buildup on the propellers damaged the airship’s fabric?
      7. Alternative Landing Site: Why did Amundsen choose to land in Teller, Alaska, instead of returning to Spitsbergen after reaching the North Pole?
      8. Legacy of Ambiguity: How has the lack of conclusive evidence regarding Byrd and Bennett’s claim impacted its historical recognition and public perception?
      9. Technological Considerations: Did the limitations of navigation technology in the early 20th century contribute to the difficulty of definitively verifying any of the claims?
      10. Motivation and Ethics: How might personal ambition and the pressures of competition have influenced the actions and claims of the explorers involved?

These aim of these questions is to encourage critical analysis of the historical accounts, delve into the technical aspects of the flights, and explore the broader ethical and social context of the dispute. They also show the ongoing debate and lack of real answers regarding who truly first flew over the North Pole.

To learn more about this dispute go to:

http://www.classichistory.net/archives/first-polar-flight