TOP OF THE WORLD

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 17 May 1928, Page 5

TOP OF THE WORLD

ITALIAN EXPEDITION.

'' BATTLE WITH ELEMENTS. THE' COMMANDER'S NARRATIVE. (UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION—BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH—COPYRIGHT.) (AUSTRALIAN PRESS ASSOCIATION.) LONDON, May 15. Colonel Nobile’s own story has been received 1 bv radio from King’i« Bay. It states: “A week in May elapsed before we could make our premeditated attempt- to land at the North Bole-. I believs? ti e wo-r-sit part is over, since' the Milan-Spitsbergen joumey. The airship’s potential Waterloo in landing should net be insurmountably difficult, in view of the ispecia;' 1 devices enabling us to regain the airship even if it is drifting. We shall entrust the landing pan-tv. with ropes and a, cross, all kneeling and thanking God when it is saf-ely planted in the eternal- ice on the top- of the world. “We. -are wending out letters in a small motor boat (the Hobby) hitherto imprisoned in the ice. The supply ship Citta. di Milano- is endeavouring to find moorings, fighting ’the ice with bombs and poles and its own weight. It hopes to m-cor on May 19. . “The,ltalia left Kmg’w Bay on May 10 for Nicholas 11. Land, only half bf which is mapped, intending to followthe coastline and settle the existence of G-illis Land and:, attempt a landing and .dyidvtftfoa geology. ; bTf -it was impuacticabl:? to anchor, special cables would have been attached and- belts' and the landing party would have returned to King’s Bar over the vast unexplored zone which; is most important, geographically and astronomically. But we were driven back after eight hours’ adventurous flying, trying all the air routes and battling against the elements. ‘‘We then- followed the noiith-west (oast of Spitsbergen, reached Amsterdam" Island and turned towards the North Cape. Cyclones and bad visibility precluded altering our course to • ea/<], the North Pole or to return via Greenland. The etc-rm hammered our sides and pelted our gondola, with- lumps of ice. Fog and head winci -semi-para-lysed us. whereupon we returned to the hangar on the night of May 13. “It was-terrible; it seemed impossible to free the Italia from -ice. Through the fa.l.ing of the hangars there was no . -t - ting roof. All /the available men furiously swept- the .snow off, ten tons of which was aboard. At midnight we avoded. wreck by discharging cargo and releasing 50 gas containers into the airship’s bodv to increase- the. buoyancy. We placed tarpaulins on top of the envelope, the attendants lifting them by main force .at interval and shaking off the snow. “On Ma-v 15 the snow ceased and the sky iva-s azure. We re-fuelled and resupplied. necessitating; strenuous footwork from the supply ship, half a. mile away. We took our stations aboard, intending, a. three days’ flight to Nicholas IT. Land. _ The temperature was 10 degrees Centigrade below zero, which, permitted more fuel. The airship was most buoyant. A radio transmitter. -skis. sledges and fishing tackle are on board in case of a forced landing.”

ITALIANS FOR FRANZ JOSEPH LAND. LONDON, May 15. A message from King’s Bay states that as soon as the Italia was released from the hangars it soared in the air and started northwards amidst “vivas” from the Italians. It is understood that General Noble’s objective is Franz Joseph Land, five hundred miles from Spitzbergen. He is only taking a crew of fourteen, just sufficient to man the airship. The removal of the ice from the envelope and the motors delayed departure until the afternoon.

(An earlier message published yesterdav stated that the Italia had lelt for Franz Joseph Land.) a

FIRST PROGRESS REPORT. ROME, £\lay 15. General Nobile has sent the following wireless message from the ltuiia: “ vv’e flew for some hours over pack' ice and were befogged for an hour and a half. \\ e emerged five hundred jeet above the frozen sea. Visibility was xrom one to ten miles and the view was magnincent. ” “i t was go nous before we encountered the fog.” iie said, ‘‘speeding aloft in the wonderful azure of this northern-mo.-it SK.V, especially after the alarms of th:-“ last two days, when the Italia was nearly over-whelmed and crushed in one <,i the worst snowstorms of my experience. Our anxious experience proved the axiom that an .airship is always safer aloft than on land.”

The airship intends to penetrate more deeply the unexplored zone between ispitztvergen and Franz Joseph Land. Visibility was clear for 10 mile®. A ■head wind, curtailed the .speed to 30 miles hourly, and the fog deposited .abundant ice cm the, Italia’s envelope; otherwise all was well. No trace of Jand had been. seen at 9 o’clock on Tuesday yet the ice-pack seemed more compact a.nd more favourable for landing than Cape North. A later message from the airship said that land was sighted at half-past two. Visibility had improved to 20 mine's.

CAPTAIN WILKINS IN NORWAY

HIS ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION. SURVEY FOR. METEOROLOGICAL . BASES. LONDON, May 15. A message from Tromso (Norway) states that Captain Wilkins, interviewed, .said that he carried the Australian flag and a Union Jack as well the the flag of the Exporters’ Club, New York, on his Polar His machine was being sent to the United States, where the airmen woidd make a short tour. In the meantime they would visit Oslo, Berlin, Antwerp, Paris, and T.ondon. During their stayin America. Captain Wilkins intends to appeal for funds to finance the Arctic exploration expedition by Storkerson, who accompanied Captain Wilkins on his previous Arctic expedition, whom Captain Wilkins its of opinion known more of Arctic travel than any other person. Captain Wilkins said that lie will carry out meteorological investigations on a big scale in the Antarctic, and will take photographs over eighteen hundred miles between Ross Sea and Grab ami and for the purpose of finding suitable bases for meteorological stations, thus enabling important forecasts of weather for Australia. South America, and other areas.