MYSTERIES OF THE AIR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19856, 28 January 1928, Page 2 (Supplement)

MYSTERIES OF THE AIR.

FATE OF INTREPID MEN. ANDREE'S ADVENTURE. BALLOON FLIGHT TO POLE. NO TRACE AFTER 30 YEARS. The failure of the attempt made by Lieut. Moncxieff and Captain Hood to accomplish the transtasman flight and their disappearance •without leaving any traco recalls the mystery that has surrounded, the fate of other intrepid airmen who have vanished without any clue to their whereabouts. The most recent case is that of Captain Charles Nungesser and Major v Francois Coli, who attempted an Atlantic flight last year, but who were never again heard of. The same pioneer instinct that sent these French airmen, and just lately the two New Zealanders, to an unknown fate wan the motive that resulted just over thirty years ago in another mysterious disappearance. In the summer of 1897 the civilised world shared in the news that on July 11 Salomon Auguste Andree, a Swedish scientist, and two companions had hopped off for the North Pole in a balloon. Instantly imagination ran riot. Public fancy and interest turned to these hardy explorers who had dared to undertake the mission of conquering the vast Arctic ice fields. Would the expedition reach that point on the earth's surface 90 degrees north ®f the equator? Almost two months elapsed before Andree's first intercepted message, despatched by carrier pigeon, •was read to an expectant people. It revealed that more than, one-third the distance from. Spitzbergen, the starting point, to the North Pole had been covered. No Hint ol Brave Men's Fate. Interest flamed up anew. The Arctic regions, that had claimed scores of lives and caused untold suffering, were nowyielding th.eir secrets. Andree's polar flight, so ran the popular belief, was assuming the proportions of a brilliant success. But, alas for Swedish faith ard hope! Days passed without further word from Andree. Months grew into years, and the unresponsive Arctic gave" no hint ©f the fate of the three men. To obtain the proper setting for Andree's Viking venture, said an American •writer recently, one; needs to glance back three decades into the various scenes Df polar activity. Peary was making his first etrides toward world fame by bis explorations in northern Greenland. Sir Martin Conway completed a successful crossing of Spitzbergen, Walter Wellman had failed ©u Uio xu'siS of hi& several attacks on the North Pole. Jackson was making an intensive exploration of Franz Josef Land, where there occurred on June 17, 1895, his dramatic- meeting with Nansen. Dr. Cook, in company with Amundse:o, •was scheduled soon to participate in the Belgian Antarctic expedition. Nansen's greatest feat, the attempted drift of the Fram to the North Pole, and later his own attainment of 86 degrees 14 minutes north latitude—then a world's recordall combined to make the period one of jirorthy achievement in polar annals. Andrea's Daring Flans. Into thiSi panorama then in 1896 there fame Andree with his daring plan for an aerial advance on the North role itself. Nor was its scheme one conceived of hasty thought. Born in 1854, at Grenna, Andree's life had been one of rigorous tannine in the interests of science. Years of careful planning and preparation in Arcuc worn and balloon flights had convinced Andree that a balloon under the pressure of a steady south wind might travel from Spitzbergen across the Pole and on to the North American continent. Such air currents, Andree believed, existed high above th<J ordinary winds. Exhaustive experiments developed into a mature plan that he presented before the Swedish Academy Asf Sciences early :in 1895. With the aid of generous donors the finances of the proposed expedition .were easily guaranteed. Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, the King of Sweden, Baron Oscar Dickson anu R. Lamm were among the chief contributors. For his companions Andree chose Nils Etrindberg and Knut H. J. Fraenkel, both young scientists and eager for the hazardous undertaking. Construction ol the Balloon. Andree immediately turned to the construction of the balloon itself. Measuring 75ft. from top to bottom or 97ft. from the cap of the gas bag to the floor of the wicker car, wie balloon was the largest known. Extreme care was taken in the composition of the gas bag, the experts finally deciding to vary its strength from two to four thickneoses of pongee silk. Joints and seams were stitched and cemented with a newly-discovered varnish. The total capacity of the gas bag exceeded 175,000 cubic feet. An additional protecting cover of silk and a final network of hemp cord completed the structure of the envelope. The wicker car presented new problems ef construction. The use of iron or steel •was avoided to prevent interference with the magnetic navigating instruments. Comfort &ad compactness were the keynotes in the building of the cylindrical living room. About 7ft. wide and 6ft. from ceiling to floor, the walls were covered with forty-eight ropes, suspended from the outside, and to these were lashed th expedition's paraphernalia. The outer side of the car's ceiling served as an added floor, on which two men were continually stationed for purposes of observation. In the matter of cooking, Andree had devised an ingenious plan to avert a possible explosion. An 'alcohol stove, lowered through a trapdoor in the floor of the wicker car, was lighted and extinguished by a simple arrangement of cord and rubber tubing. A mirror attached at an angle of 45 degrees ensured lull sight into the proper functioning of Jhe stove. Food lor Four Months. Provisions for four months were con•idered sufficient by Andree, who, in the event of a forced stay on the ice, depended on his weapons fcr fresh food. Once, in response to & he pointed to his cartridges and said, "There i 3 some concentrated food." By test it was estimated that Andrea's balloon was able to remain in the air from thirty-five to sixty days. To report the progress of his journey Andree took with him thirty-two carrier pigeons, all numbered consecutively. Each pigeon bore several labels with the inscription "Andree" and addressed to the newspaper Aftonbladet, in Stockholm, jThirteen despatch buoys were to be drop--Bed at various points along the air route, ne, larger than the others, was to be thrown overboard from the most northern point of latitude reached. With preparations concluded, Andree and his company departed from Sweden in June, 1896, and made camp at Danes island, in the Spitzbergen group. A shed Was erected to house the Omen (tbo Eagle), Andree's balloon. Immediately tests were made of the air currents. But the south wind necessary to send the balloon on its journey was lacking. The summer passed without favourable breezes, and Andree began the disappointing return home. The following year the party returned to camp a month earlier, in order to enSure the success of the expedition. On r Sunday, July 11, a brisk south wind developed. Small trial balloons sent up indicated the presence of a continuous air current. Immediately all was placed in readiness. The northern wall of the shed thafc held the inflated balloon was torn down. Andree's Long Farewell. Andree bade farewell to his fellow Icientists, stepped into the wicker car and Called out firmly, ''Stnndberg! Fraenkel! Let us go 1" His two assistants took their assigned places beside him. Three Sailors armed with knives stood ready to cut the cables that held the balloon to sarth. Andree surveyed the scene calmly. Ho smiled confidently at his friends and & - •rJ'ffl j j. n _ w *°d« he eriod in g,; : Proxlish, ."Qnel Twel CntP fc

Simultaneously the three cables were severed a t nd the balloon rose into the air. It sailed majectieally for a hundred feet, when an unruly gust swept it down to lihe sea. The car just dipped into the water as another sudden blast sent it into the air. The balloon then settled into a steady northerly course and disappeared into the distance, travelling at a rate of twenty miles an hour. The greatest excitement reigned when the report of Andree's departure reached the Swedish capital. News of his progress was lacking until about September, when the public learned that one of Andree's pigeons had been killed on July 22 off Spitsbergen. The pigeon carried'the following message:— "July 13, 12.30 p.m., 82.2 degrees north latitude, 15.5 degrees east longitude. Good progresi toward the north. All goes wall on board. This message is the third bv carrier pigeon.—Andree." The contents indicated clearly that Andree had travelled north about 200 miles with only a slight deviation from his scheduled course. But the fact that two previously despatched pigeons had not been intercepted weighed heavily on the public mind. Constant watch was maintained on northern points of all continents within the Arctic Circle. But the third despatch of Andree remains to this day the last known trace of the Swedish explorer and his companions.