AIRSHIP RESCUE

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 121, 26 May 1925, Page 8

AIRSHIP RESCUE

a rival's proposal:

ALGARSSON SUSPECTS

TROUBLE

AMUNDSEN PROBABLY WRECKED.

(UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPIRIGHT.) (■IUSTRALIA!)-KETV ZEALAND CAELB ASSOCIATION.)

(Received 26th May, 2 p.m.)

LONDON, 25th May

Lieut. Algarsson, who proposed to race Amundsen to the Pole, using an airship, is now hurrying on his preparations in order to help Amundsen.

Writing to the "Daily Express," he says : "It is 4j days since Amundsen's aeroplanes went. They may have landed at the Pole safely, but it is unlikely. I am afraid one of the machines has got into difficulties, and the other made the mistake of rendering assistance, and so that both machines were wrecked, whereas the sound one should have flown back to King's Bay and returned with food for tho marooned party. lam biassed apainst aeroplanes, as the landing speed of the Amundsen aeroplane is sixty miles an hour, making a landing extremely difficult on rough ice. "Amundsen has food for thirty days, but, judging _by Nansen's march from the Fram, this is not enough to enable Amundsen to reach Cape Columbia, as the ice is now in bad condition for sledging, and becoming softer each week. My departure has been delayed because the first gasbag was not big enough. The new one .has a capacity of 103,000 cubic feet._ If it becomes certain that Amundsen is in trouble, he may attempt to fly the airship to the Arctic by the various coasts, though the original plan was to carry the airship by sea to Spitzbergen. A direct flight would save ten days, which might be vital for Amundsen." "I would then fly towards the Pole over Amundsen's route, and then towards Cape Columbia. Probably we would not be able to pick up the party, as "the airship would have lost much of its gas, but we could give them food and stores."