Norwegian Army Air Service
What was the military branch of Tryggve Gran from 1915 to 1916?
Tryggve Gran Jens Tryggve Herman Gran ( 20 January 1888 – 8 January 1980 ) was a Norwegian aviator , explorer and author . He was the skiing expert on the 1910–13 Scott Antarctic Expedition and was the first person to fly across the North Sea in a heavier-than-air aircraft . Background . Tryggve Gran was born in Bergen , Norway , growing up in an affluent family dominant in the shipbuilding industry . His great-grandfather Jens Gran Berle ( 1758–1828 ) , had founded a shipyard in the Laksevåg borough of the city of Bergen . His father , the shipyard owner , died when Tryggve was only five years old . In 1900 , after school in Bergen and Lillehammer , Gran was sent to a school in Lausanne , Switzerland for a year , where he learned some German and French . Three years later , he met the German emperor , Wilhelm II , a common guest with the families of Tryggves friends . Meeting the emperor made an impact on the then 14-year-old boy , who from that moment on wanted to become a naval officer . At this time , he had several years behind him as a member of the Nygaards Battalion , one of Bergens buekorps . He entered naval college in 1907 and graduated in the spring of 1910 . Career . Gran took an interest in science and exploration which in 1910 led to Fridtjof Nansen recommending his services to Robert Falcon Scott , who was in Norway at the time preparing for an expedition to the Antarctic and testing the motor tractor he intended to take with him . Scott was impressed with Gran , who was an expert skier , and Nansen convinced Scott to take Gran as ski instructor to Scotts men for the Terra Nova Expedition . Arriving in Antarctica in early January 1911 , Gran was one of the 13 expedition members involved in the laying of the supply depots needed for the attempt to reach the South Pole later that year . From November 1911 to February 1912 , while Scott and the rest of the Southern party were on their journey to the Pole , Gran accompanied the geological expedition to the western mountains led by Griffith Taylor . In November 1912 , Gran was part of the 11-man search party that found the tent containing the dead bodies of the past South Pole party . After collecting the partys personal belongings the tent was lowered over the bodies of Scott and his two companions and a 12-foot snow cairn was built over it . A pair of skis were used to form a cross over their grave . Gran travelled back to the base at Cape Evans wearing Scotts skis , reasoning that at least Scotts skis would complete the journey . Before leaving Antarctica he made an ascent of Mount Erebus with Raymond Priestley and Frederick Hooper in December 1912 , an occasion which nearly ended in disaster when an unexpected eruption caused a shower of huge pumice blocks to fall around him . On 24 July 1913 Gran was awarded the Polar Medal by King George V . On his return voyage , Gran met aviator Robert Loraine , the first pilot to cross the Irish sea , and immediately took an interest in aviation . Gran became a skilled pilot at Louis Blériots aviation school in Paris , and on 30 July 1914 , Gran became the first pilot to cross the North Sea . Taking off in his Blériot XI-2 monoplane , Ca Flotte , from Cruden Bay , Scotland , Gran landed 4 hours 10 minutes later at Jæren , near Stavanger , Norway , after a flight of .The restored , but complete and original plane is on display at the Norwegian Technical Museum in Oslo , Norway . Only five days later , the United Kingdom entered the First World War . Gran , now a first lieutenant in the Norwegian Army Air Service , volunteered for service with the Royal Flying Corps . He was rejected because of Norways neutrality . However , the rejection did not stop Gran . Under the identity of Captain Teddy Grant of Canada , he was admitted to the RFC , serving in 1916 with No . 39 Squadron on Home Defence . Gran was commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps under his own name as a probationary temporary second lieutenant on 1 January 1917 , confirmed in the rank and appointed a flying officer on 1 March 1917 , and was posted to No . 70 Squadron , flying the Sopwith Camel on the Western Front . He was appointed a flight commander on 1 January 1918 with the rank of acting-captain , and in March his seniority as second lieutenant was backdated to 1 January 1917 . Soon after he was awarded the Military Cross . His citation reading : He was promoted to acting-major on 10 September 1918 . and commanded various Royal Air Force units in Arkhangelsk and North Russia during the Allied intervention in 1919 . Gran was temporarily transferred to unemployed list on 26 April 1919 , but on 1 August was granted a permanent commission in the RAF with the rank of captain , however , this was then cancelled on 2 December 1919 . Gran finally relinquished his commission on 6 August 1921 . Gran himself claimed to have shot down German ace Hermann Göring in a dogfight on 8 or 9 September 1917 . He discovered this when he became acquainted with Göring after the war , and compared his flight logs with Görings . It could however not be verified that it was Gran who shot down Görings plane . After the war , Gran started holding lectures on aviation and his journeys to the polar areas , as well as writing books . In 1919 he was the first man to fly from London to Stockholm . In 1928 , he led a search party to find polar explorer Roald Amundsen , lost flying while trying to discover the fate of Umberto Nobiles North Pole expedition on board the Airship Italia . During the Second World War , Gran was reportedly a member of Nasjonal Samling ( NS ) , Vidkun Quislings collaborationist party . The NS used Grans hero-like status in their war propaganda , and in 1944 , a commemorative stamp was issued to mark the 30th anniversary of Grans flight across the North Sea . It has been speculated Gran feared reprisals from the pro-German fascist party because of his commitment to the Royal Air Force in the First World War . Others have speculated that his friendship with Göring and bitterness over not being offered a full-time job in the Norwegian Army Air Service may have been reasons for Gran to support the NS during the Nazi occupation of Norway . After a trial in 1948 , Gran was found guilty of treason and sentenced to a prison term of 18 months . The remainder of his life was devoted principally to writing books . Personal life . Gran was married three times . Firstly , on 29 April 1918 , in London , to actress Lily St . John ( Lilian Clara Johnson ) , marriage dissolved 1921 ; secondly in 1923 to Ingeborg Meinich ( 1902–1997 ) with whom he had two daughters , the marriage dissolved ; lastly in 1941 to Margaret Schønheyder , a renowned portrait painter . With his last wife , he had a son , Hermann who was born in 1944 . Gran was also a gifted football player , earning one cap for Norway in 1908 . This was Norways first ever international match , and was played against Sweden in Gothenburg . Sweden beat Norway 11–3 . Tryggve Gran died in his home in Grimstad , Norway on 8 January 1980 aged 91 . A memorial was unveiled in Cruden Bay during 1971 . Honours . - Order of St . Olav ( Norwegian , 1915 – returned in 1925 ) - Distinguished Service Cross ( British , First World War ) - Military Cross ( British , First World War ) Polar medal after taking part in Robert F . Scotts Antarctic expedition 1910–1911 . Légion dhonneur , France Italian Crown Publications . - Hvor sydlyset flammer – ( 1915 ) - Under britisk flagg : krigen 1914–18 – ( 1919 ) - Triumviratet – ( 1921 ) - En helt : Kaptein Scotts siste færd – ( 1924 ) - Mellom himmel og jord – ( 1927 ) - Heia – La Villa – ( 1932 ) - Stormen på Mont Blanc – ( 1933 ) - La Villa i kamp – ( 1934 ) - Slik var det : Fra kryp til flyger – ( 1945 ) - Slik var det : Gjennom livets passat – ( 1952 ) - Kampen om Sydpolen – ( 1961 ) - Første fly over Nordsjøen : Et femtiårsminne – ( 1964 ) - Fra tjuagutt til sydpolfarer – ( 1974 ) - Mitt liv mellom himmel og jord – ( 1979 )