Evening star., 1937-05-22
SILENCE ENCULFS
RUSSIANS T0|L|NG
ON POLE AIR BASE
Eleven Who Landed Plane
on FIoe Out of Com
muniCation.
HEADWINDS HANDICAP
IN DIFFICULT FLYING
Party Includes Scientists Who
Will Make Long Stay Study.
ing Conditions.
By the Associated Press.

BY lne RSSoCldleG FleSS.
MOSCOW, May 22.-Eleven Soviet
pioneers of the Arctic air routes
worked in bitter polar cold in silence
today to set up the first permanent
Russia -to-America ay base at the
North Pole.
Silence closed around them after
the first radio reports that the expedi-
ton, accomplishing the goal of two
years of secret preparation. had landed
by airplane on an ice foe l3 miles
from the pole as preliminary to the
proposed Moscow-San Francisco air.
line over the roof of the world.
1t was not known whether the alb
sence of further word indicated at
mospheric disturbances which pre-
vented communication or whether the
explorers were moving their camp up
to the pole itself No concern was felt,
however, for the carefully prepared
party of experienced Arctic explorers.
Hours of anxiety passed before Sow
iet officials. huddled by radio here,
received the flash that the expedition
had arrived safely.
Vision Obscured.
The plane was completely lost from
contact with the world for much Of
the flight. Clouds obscured the flyers
vision over most of the distance. The
plane lost contact with its base when
the Rudolf Island wireless station
failed for several hours. Not once did
the flyers report sighting land
Battling heavy headWinds all the
way until almost at the Pole, the plane
emerged from foggy mists into better
visibility at 88 degrees south, and the
flyers found themselves over vast ice
fields cut through by mile-wide fls-
kures as far as the horizon.
Reaching 80 degrees south, one de-
gree south of the Pole itself, shortly
before noon yesterday, the planes
thermometer recorded % degrees be-
low zero centrigrade % below Fahren-
heit at an altitude of 1000 feet.
The explorers we're prepared to drop
. landing party and supplies by para
chute if they could not find a safe
landing place for their heavy ship.
A few minutes of search, however, dis
closed level area few miles away
from the Pole, and the plane landed.
Picturesque, black bearded Dr. Otto
J. Schmidt. director of the Soviet
Northern sea route" headed the party
which took off from Rudolf Island
at dawn. Six hours and 10 minutes
later Pilot M V. Vodopyanof set his
heavily loaded, four -motored craft
down on the ice.
Messages which came trickling down
by radio just before dawn yesterday
indicated the thrilling landing was
achieved with prosaic lack of Incl
dent, except for temporary damage
to the expeditions radio sending ap-
paratus.
In his first message, DR.. Schmidt,
famed Russian Arctic adventurer, mat
ter-of -factly reported the completion
of the mission with the comment that
1T is possible to bring other planes
here to establish a polar station"
I'VE send you,' the message cracked
out, through the Dickson Island Ra-
dio Station, greetings from the North
Pole"
Soviet Flag Unfurled.
The blood-red flag of the Soviet
Union, with its gold-crested hammer
and sickle, was unfurled Immediately,
and the expedition set to work prepar-
ing for plane loads of equipment and
(See POLE, Page A-3)