Evening star., 1926-04-12
AMUNDSEN A|RSH|P
REACHES ENGLAND.
DirigibIe Norge Regarded
Amply Competent for Trip
to North Pole.
BY Radio to The Star.

By Radio to The Star.
PULHAM. England, April 1.-THE
dirigible Norge, in which the
Amundsen- Ellsworth Mobile expedi
ton hopes to reach the North Pole
was sighted over this little Norfolk
village shortly after . O'Clock yes
terday afternoon. She had covered
the distance from Rome in % hours.
But getting above Pulham was one
thing and landing quite another. Eor
three hours and a half the Norge
hovered over the airdrome here.
awaiting the right moment to drop
to the earth. 1t was 6 o'clock, nearly
four hours after she was first de-
scried by the eagerly waiting in
habitants of Pulham and the sur
rounding villages. when she finally
landed
she is an excellent ship and VIII
make :sa North Pole declared
Lieut.. Rtiser-I Larsen, the second i'll
command, as he stood by the great
aircraft just after she had been
towed into her hangar here last
night Lieut. Riser Larsen was full
Of confidence III the Norge's strength
and endurance after the severe test
she had Just had.
Trip Without Incident.
He described the trip from Rome
TO Pulhqm as without incident, eN-
cept for the difficulty in landing at
the Pulham airdrome. This diff
Guilty. he explained, was due to vari-
ations in temperature and to the
unfamiliarity of the commander
with the airdrome.
Asked if the journey had been diff
f1cult Lieut.. Riser Larsen shrugged
his shoulders with an emphatic no.
although he was surrounded by
others who were manifestly Wilted.
Col Umberto Mobile, the commander
and designer of the Norge, did not
wish to talk after his S0-hour vigil.
He is slim, intellectual Italian,
wearing rimless glasses. However.
he told the New York Times corres
pondent that the Norge had met all
his expectations. He said he he'd
not slept during the trip from Rome
and that his main interest then was
food and sleep. He expects to re-
main at Pulham for three or four
days. or longer according to the
weather.
He said he took so long to land
the Norge this afternoon because he
did not wish 10 take any risks.
The airShip was first sighted at 2:3O
o'clock yesterday afternoon as speck
iDSl dDON Z lllC III VI lAiC ">NH -
grew larger and larger. and then
gradually the outlines of the air-far-
ing chariot grew distinct against the
sky. Swift as the wind she flew
and for a time it seemed she would
he in the hangar exactly 80 hours
after she started from Rome.
Likened to Great Whale"
As she drew near the Norge seemed
Hike a great whale. lacking the grace
and beauty of many 2irships. She
circIed over the airdrOme and then
the assembled population of the sur
rounding territory. It was thought
she would land in q few minutes. but
she continued to circle about, oc-
casionallY disCharging gas and water.
Once she turned her nose straigh
down till within d few hundred feet
of the ground. but then she turned
up suddenly and went several miles
out again. During the maneuver1ng
it appeared the Norge was very
awkward. but it was evident she
was not likely to fall.
water and darted up again before the
At another time she came within
100 feet of the ground and threw out
her ropes, but then she poured out
ly interminable circles before she
finally landed.
The Norge is by no means beautiful
as she was built to meet special con-
ditions at the North Pole. She has