Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
The collection consists of 23 hand-colored glass lantern slides of images taken during the 1925 Arctic expedition attempt by Roald Amundsen and Lincoln Ellsworth to fly to the North Pole using a pair of Dornier Do J Wal (Whale) (Do 16) flying boats.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of 23 3.25 x 3.25 inch (8 x 8 cm) hand-colored glass lantern slides made by the Worm-Petersen studio (Oslo, Norway) of images taken during the Amundsen and Ellsworth 1925 Arctic expedition.
Biographical / Historical:
Roald Amundsen was an accomplished Norwegian explorer. American Lincoln Ellsworth was the son of a multimillionaire, with degrees from Columbia and Yale, trained as an aviator during World War I. Together, with four other men, they attempted to fly to the North Pole using a pair of Dornier Do J Wal (Whale) (Do 16) flying boats, simply named N24 and N25. Each aircraft had twin Rolls-Royce 365-hp water-cooled Eagle engines mounted on top of the wing structure, one facing forward, the other facing aft. The Dorniers were constructed with duralumin flat-bottomed fuselages and projecting sponsons to stabilize the craft in the water. The expedition left from King's Bay Svalbard (Spitsbergen) Norway on 21 May 1925. The N24 was piloted by Norwegian naval Lieutenant Leif Dietrichson, with Ellsworth and mechanic Osker Omdal. Amundsen was aboard the N25 with Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen as pilot and German mechanic Ludwig (also known as Karl) Feucht. After several hours of flight, the N24 engine temperature began to rise uncontrollably, and by 5:00 am on the 22nd Amundsen decided to land both planes to refill the tanks. They were still over 120 miles from the Pole and had drifted off course, 22 degrees west. It would take 25 days of surviving the Arctic climate before they could free the planes from the ice by creating a hard ice runway using only makeshift tools. On June 15, the six men took flight aboard the N25, leaving the crippled N24 behind. Almost 24 hours later they were able to land on the choppy waters of the Hinlopen Strait, where they flagged down and were able to board the Sjoliv, a Norwegian seal-hunting ship, for their final journey back to King's Bay. By June 25th the N25 was safely recovered and on July 5th Amundsen and Ellsworth with the rest of the crew flew the N-25 to Olso for a heroes' reception and audience with King Haakon of Norway.
Provenance:
P.W.K. Dietrichson, Gift, NASM.XXXX.0494
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Ingrid Pedersen was a commercial pilot and flight instructor who became the first woman to pilot an aircraft over the North Pole in 1963. This collection consists of a scrapbook chronicling the aviation career of Ingrid Pedersen.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a scrapbook chronicling the aviation career of Ingrid Pedersen. The scrapbook contains the following types of material: photographs (black and white, color); correspondence; newspaper articles; programs; and maps. The collection also contains a small amount of loose material including photographs, news clippings, and other documents.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Ingrid Pedersen (1933--2012) was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and became a United States citizen in 1985. Pedersen obtained her Private Pilot license in 1957 and continued on to receive her Commercial, Instrument, and Airline Transport Ratings. In 1963, Pedersen become the first woman to pilot an aircraft over the North Pole, with her husband, Einar, as the navigator. Her aircraft on this historic flight was a Cessna 205, the Snow Goose. The flight originated in Fairbanks, Alaska, and was completed in Bodo, Norway. Between 1965 and 1987 Pedersen flew single engine Cessnas from Wichita, Kansas and Anchorage, Alaska, over arctic Canada, Greenland and Iceland, to Norway. As a commercial pilot in the Spitzbergen Islands from 1974-1975, she made successful landings on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean. During 1976-1977, Pedersen was on commission by the Norwegian Polar Institute and made seven landings on drift ice in the Arctic Ocean in order to place meteorological buoys between Spitzbergen, Greenland, and the North Pole. Beginning in 1979 she was a commercial pilot and flight instructor in Alaska and in 1992 she started work at the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum, where she served as Associate Director. In 1963 she received the Amelia Earhart Medal from the Alaska Chapter of the 99's and she was awarded the Gold Plaque by the Royal Swedish Aero Club in 1964. In 1995 she published a book about her Arctic flying experiences, entitled Perfume and Motoroil.
Provenance:
Ingrid Pederson, Gift, 2000, NASM.2000.0042.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of two large scrapbooks, 15 glass slides and a print and copy negative film of Blair on his historic polar flight.
Biographical / Historical:
Charles F. Blair, Jr. (1909-1978) graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Vermont in 1931. After flight training with the Navy and completing a tour of duty as a naval aviator, Blair went on to be a pilot for United Airlines, American Airlines, and for Pan American Airways. In 1951 he set a record for an Atlantic crossing (7 hours, 48 minutes) in his converted North American P-51 Excalibur III. The next year, Blair became the first individual to fly over the North Pole in a single engine aircraft, an achievement that earned him the Harmon International Trophy, Thurlow Award, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Because of his Arctic solo, the Strategic Air Command invited Blair to help develop techniques for delivering thermonuclear weapons from long-range fighter aircraft. Blair worked as a special consultant to the Air Force during the week, and on weekends he continued to fly for Pan American. In 1956 Blair commanded Operation Sharkbait, a flight of jet fighters nonstop across the North Atlantic, and in 1959 he led Operation Julius Caesar, the first flight of jet fighters to cross the Arctic and the North Pole. After his retirement from the Air Force Reserves (as a Brigadier General) and Pan American, Blair operated Antilles Air Boats, a charter air service in the Caribbean. While piloting a regularly scheduled flight between St. Croix and St. Thomas, the aircraft crashed claiming Blair's life and those of three of his passengers.
General:
Note: Mr. Blair's converted P-51, Excalibur III, is in the collections of the National Air and Space Museum, and will be on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles, Virginia, USA.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Collection Citation:
Howard Franklin Wehrle Scrapbook, Acc. 2000.0069, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
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