The deaths of Roald Amundsen and the crew of the Latham 47

ABSTRACT On 18 June 1928, Roald Amundsen and a team of five men (René Guilbaud, Leif Dietrichson, Albert Cavelier de Cuverville, Gilbert Brazy and Emile Valette) flew in a French Latham 47 prototype aeroplane from Tromsø, Norway, to aid in the rescue of survivors of the crashed airship Italia . The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Record
Main Authors: May, Karen, Lewis, George
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2013
Subjects:
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Ecology
Geography, Planning and Development
Arctic
Barents Sea
Norway
Tromsø
Cuverville
Valette
Cavelier de Cuverville
Polar Record
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247413000375
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247413000375
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Summary:ABSTRACT On 18 June 1928, Roald Amundsen and a team of five men (René Guilbaud, Leif Dietrichson, Albert Cavelier de Cuverville, Gilbert Brazy and Emile Valette) flew in a French Latham 47 prototype aeroplane from Tromsø, Norway, to aid in the rescue of survivors of the crashed airship Italia . The party disappeared nearly without trace into the Barents Sea. We shall examine Amundsen's last years, the decision to employ for an Arctic relief mission a prototype aeroplane which had not completed its flight tests, and the evidence that, in deciding to disregard warnings and fly this aeroplane unaccompanied over the Barents Sea, Amundsen took a significant risk that led to his death and those of his crew.

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