Evening star., 1926-06-04
WEATHER PERFECT
FOR NORGE START
Mad Been ChangeabIe Until
Morning When Airship
Took to Air.
BV CAPTAIN ROALD AMUNDSEN
aud LINCOLN ELLSWORTH.

~ SAT -AtH hU-ALlb AMONNbSETN
aud LINCOLN ELLSWORTH.
~ Wireless and Cable TO The Sta.
NOME, Alaska. June 4--Upon Ar
rival at 2pitzbersen aboard the stea m
er knut Skaaluren on April 81 at !
pm. we were very glad to see thai
the work done at Kings Bav durinc
the Winter was frat class. The shed
built Of wooden framework, covered
with green canvas. was as good as il
could be. and that it and the moorins
mast were erected or the best places
for landing and starting.
But We could not Vet order the
Norge, that had already arrived al
Gstehina on April Is. to start for
Kings Bay. the last Preparations tc
receive her being not nnished. Dur
HE work was done by the Norwegian
and Italian officers. technicians and
workmen sent up by the two govern.
. ments TO assist the expedition.
In spite Of interest shown by every
one, the work only progressed slowly.
People must remember that outdoor
work in the Arctic regions is a very
hard job, and the leaders often had
to suspend 1t because snowstormS and
the temperature sinking far below the
freezing point made 1t impossible to
70 on.
Storms Delay Preparations.
Thus. on April IS, we had a real
snowstorm blowing. with 3S.Toile-a n
hour wind, and at the same SMne the
temperature went down TO 1G degrees
centigrade below zero. Snow WIS fall
ing all day and ma sses ot ice foes
csme into the fjord from the ocean.
The wind. indeed. WAS. SO strong
that the ice driven by T. against the
Norwegian sunboat iieimdal that had
arrived on April "a with several mem
hers Of the land party. broke the
moorings- of the gunboat. which had
10 so a long wa into the ford to
avoid the ice.
Under the conditions IT was natu-
rally impossible to continue the work
and our prepare tions to receive the
Norge were much beiated.
When TIE weather again changed
for the better We made a very un-
pleasant discovery. During one Of
the storms the little railway which we
used TO transport our materials from
the ships OF the expedition up 10 the
shed was completely covered with
drift snow four or five feet deep, and
il took several days 10 uncover Ii.
On April % the Byrd expedition ar
rived from the United States on board
the steamer Ch2ntier with a crew OF
about so men, and its members COM
menced Immediately their prepara.
tioaR for the flight they had planned
TO Ae North Pole and back TO Spit
bergen.
Norge Ordered 10 Proceed.
At last all work was finished for the
reception Of the Norge in the first
days of May, and we were able to
send teleSram TO Col. Mobile and
Lieut.. Riser Larsen, in Gatchina, Or
dering them TO start as soona as posi-
hle when the weather for flying was
favorable. -
The Norge arrived ct Kings Bay on
May Z. Then very important things
had to be done. AZ already pointed
out, one Of the most important teChni-
cel details for a successful realization
of the flight was that the ship should
carry with her sufficient quantity Of
fuel ~ .-.....
The changes already r,ads ut Rome
had increased her lifting capacity.
At Spitzbergen her four water ballast
tanks were replaced by four fuel
tanks, the ship getting in this way
81 fuel tanks. in which she could
carry with her between So and z
tons Of gasoline. sufficient TO cover
between 1000 and 400 miles.
The distance in an airline from
Kings Bay being only between 2,1o0
and 1900 miles. the ship brought with
her fuel enough TO cover double the
distance. But this flying range had
to be considered only as a theoretical
ons, a good deal of the fuel being in
reality ballast and In the case Of non
favorable winds Or strong headwinds
the fuel consumption would be in
cree sed.
Only One Motor Needed Repairs.
Another important thing to be done
on the ship at Kings Bay was to
change one Of the lateral mot ors on
which the axis was broken during
the fi:Ght from Leninsrad to Kings
Bay. This was the only serious
trouble the expedition had with the
motors on the whole flight and 1t
was not Of importance.
Even IL we had broken the axis OF
one motor on the polar flight itself,
where 1t would not have been possible
10 change or repair 1t, the flight could
have continued az it nothing had hap.
pened, because the ship always had
only two OF her motors running.
the third one being considered as y
reserve engine. The cooling water
for the engines was mixed with
gtycerin at Kings Bay to prevent 1t
from freezing.
Little by little all Of the personal
outfit oe the crew was brought on
board, including flying suits. tents,
sleeping bags, skis. snowshoes, rifles.
shotguns, ammunition and a, big can
vas boat. An of these things were
placed in the keel of the ship, which,
Mt the start from Kings Bay, looked
like a flying storekouse.
Provisions consist ed OF pemmican.
chocolate. cat biscuits and dry milk
sufficient for two months, with a.
daily ration OF 500 grams for each
man.
On the walls OF the cabin were hung
the pictures OF NorwaYs King and
Queen, given to the Fram expedi.
ton to the South Pole in 1910: a
picture Of the Madonna, which the
Italians had brought with them; a
four.leaf clover given to the ship by
Maj. Scott. the pilot Of the British
airshlp R-S4 on its Night over the
Atlantic Ocean. who had gene with
the Norge from Rome to Pulham Az
assistant pilot for maneuverihg over
England. -.
In the keel hung also the hags Of
Norway. the United States OF Amer1ca
and Italy that were to be dropped
On the North Pole. .'. =
Strict Rules for Grow Posted.
In the cabin you could also find the
instructions for the crew. The most
important point was not to throw
ANYTHING overheard which might get
into the prcpellers and smash them:
TTHEDCINGER