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

• 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

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.