Italia was a semi-rigid airship belonging to the Italian Air Force and designed by Italian engineer Umberto Nobile who commanded the dirigible in his second series of flights around the North Pole. Returning from the pole in May 1928, Italia crashed with one confirmed death, another death from exposure while awaiting rescue, and six missing crew members who were trapped in the envelope, which was blown away. At the end of the rescue operations there were seventeen dead (crew and rescuers) and eight survivors, including Nobile.
Design and specifications Italia was an N-class semi-rigid airship, designation N-4. It was almost identical in design to the N-1 but was slightly larger in gas capacity.
First flight: 1928 Length: Diameter: Gas capacity: Performance: Payload: Power plant: 3 Maybach diesel engines, total
Polar expedition
At the end of 1927, after much insistence, Nobile gained permission to use this airship for a new scientific expedition to the North Pole under the aegis of the Italian Geographical Society. He obtained strong assistance from the Italian Royal Navy and secured the necessary funds from a private financing Committee of the City of Milan.
Personnel
Umberto Nobile, expedition leader – survived Titina, Fox Terrier, the expedition's mascot – survived Finn Malmgren, Swedish meteorologist, physicist – died trekking for help František Běhounek, Czechoslovak physicist – survived Aldo Pontremoli, physicist – disappeared with envelope Ugo Lago, journalist – disappeared with envelope Francesco Tomaselli, journalist – not on final flight Adalberto Mariano (RM), navigator – survived Filippo Zappi (RM), navigator – survived Alfredo Viglieri (RM), navigator, hydrographer – survived Natale Cecioni, elevator operator, chief technician – survived Giuseppe Biagi, radio operator – survived Ettore Pedretti, radio operator – not on final flight Felice Trojani, elevator operator, aeronautical project engineer – survived Ettore Arduino, chief engine mechanic – disappeared with envelope Calisto Ciocca, starboard engine mechanic – disappeared with envelope Attilio Caratti, port engine mechanic – disappeared with envelope Vincenzo Pomella, rear engine mechanic – killed in the crash Renato Alessandrini, foreman, rigger, helmsman – disappeared with envelope
Milan–Ny-Ålesund
At 01:15 on 15 April 1928, Italia took off from the base at Milan and headed for the Arctic. With 20 personnel on board, and a payload of of fuel and supplies, the initial journey to Stolp in Germany took 30 hours through a variety of bad weather conditions. Near Trieste, a wind gust damaged one of the tail fins. Later, in the Sudetes, the airship faced severe hailstorms and narrowly escaped lightning strikes.
On arrival at Stolp in Pomerania, at 07:15 on 16 April, inspection revealed hail damage to the propellers and envelope, and severe tail fin damage. All of the ballast and most of the fuel had been used fighting the wind. Repairs took ten days, and the required parts and technicians had to be sent from Italy.
Takeoff from Stolp was further delayed by bad weather, but Italia set off for Norway at 03:28 on 3 May 1928; eight hours later, escorted by Swedish naval planes, she passed over Stockholm. The expedition's meteorologist, Finn Malmgren, spotted his house from the air and the airship descended to drop a letter to his mother. Bad weather forced Italia east over Finland; she passed over Rovaniemi at 01:49 on 4 May, reaching the mooring mast at Vadsø later that day. While the airship was moored without difficulty, blizzard conditions and heavy rain kept the crew in a state of constant anxiety but caused only minor structural damage.
As soon as the weather permitted, Italia took off for Ny-Ålesund (Kings Bay) at 20:34 on 5 May, and by 05:30 the following day, had passed the meteorological station on Bear Island, but ran into high winds shortly afterwards, also suffering an engine failure. By 12:00 on 6 May, Italia had reached Kings Bay where the support ship Città di Milano was anchored under the command of Captain Giuseppe Romagna Manoja.
Polar flights Nobile planned three polar flights, each exploring a different area of the Arctic, with a return to Kings Bay between flights. Once the necessary engine and structural repairs had been completed, the first flight departed from Kings Bay on 11 May 1928. Italia was forced to turn back eight hours into the flight because of thick ice forming on the envelope, as well as fraying of the control cables due to the extreme conditions.
The second flight left at 13:20 on 15 May and lasted for sixty hours. In contrast to the first flight, the weather conditions were excellent this time and visibility was perfect. Valuable meteorological, magnetic, and geographic data were gathered in a flight to the hitherto uncharted Nicholas II Land and back. Malmgren carried out weather and ice observations, while Pontremoli and Běhounek took measurements of magnetic phenomena and radioactivity. The airship returned safely to base at Kings Bay in the early hours of 18 May.
The third flight started on the morning of 23 May; following a route along the Greenland coast, with the assistance of strong tailwinds, Italia reached the North Pole nineteen hours later, at 00:24, on 24 May. Nobile had prepared a winch, an inflatable raft, and survival packs (which turned out to be providential) with the intention of lowering some of the scientists onto the ice, but the wind made this task impossible. Instead, they circled the pole, making observations, and at 01:20, they dropped onto the ice the Italian and Milanese colours, as well as a wooden cross presented by Pope Pius XI and a religious medal from the citizens of Forlì, during a short ceremony. Italia started back to base at 02:20, on 24 May.
Crash The same tail wind that had helped Italia to the pole now impeded her progress. Nobile calculated that the return journey would take 40 hours, and had discussed their options with Malmgren in the hours before their arrival at the pole. Nobile considered a trans-polar route to Mackenzie Bay in Canada but, according to Nobile, Malmgren advised a return to Kings Bay, predicting lessening winds on their return trip. On the other hand, Malmgren anticipated a head wind all the way if the Canadian route was attempted. No doubt the prospect of a forced landing in the Canadian wilderness was unpalatable to both men, as it would mean the end of the expedition.
Travelling directly south on a heading for Kings Bay, after 24 hours of increasing head winds and thick mist, Italia was only halfway back to base. The airship struggled to gain ground and break through to the zone of calmer winds which Malmgren predicted was just ahead. Ice forming on the propellers was breaking off and tearing holes in the envelope which necessitated constant repairs. Engine speed was increased but with little effect, except for a doubling of fuel consumption. Dr Běhounek, who was in charge of the compass, started to report variations in course of up to 30 degrees, and the elevator man Cecioni had similar problems maintaining control. By 07:30 on 25 May, Nobile had been awake for well over 48 hours and knew that the situation was critical. Giuseppe Biagi, the wireless operator, sent a message stating if he did not answer a call, there would be a good reason.
By dead reckoning, Nobile estimated the airship's position to be northeast of Moffen Island; instead they were east of the island.
The first critical incident occurred at 09:25, on 25 May, when the elevator control jammed in the downward position while the ship was travelling at less than altitude. All engines were stopped, and Italia began to rise again after it had dropped to within of the jagged ice pack. The airship was allowed to continue rising to and above the cloud layer into bright sunlight for 30 minutes. After two engines were restarted, the ship descended to with no apparent ill effect, with the headwind appearing to decrease slightly allowing an airspeed of 30 mph. Malmgren took the helm with Zappi supervising him, and Cecioni continued to operate the elevators.
At 10:25, the ship was noticed to be tail-heavy and falling at a rate of . Nobile ordered full elevators and emergency power, but although the nose rose to an upward angle of 21 degrees, the descent continued. Nobile ordered foreman rigger Renato Alessandrini to the tail of the envelope to check the automatic gas valves. Shortly afterwards, realising that a crash was unavoidable, Nobile ordered the engines at full stop and the cutting of electrical power to prevent a fire on impact; however, the port engine engineer failed to notice the order, and the ship began to bank. At the same time, Nobile ordered Cecioni to dump the ballast chain, but he was unable to carry out the order in time, owing to the steep angle of the floor and the secure way in which the chain was lashed. Seconds later, the airship's control car hit the jagged ice, smashed open and was torn from the keel. Suddenly relieved of the weight of the gondola, the envelope of the ship began to rise, with a gaping tear in the keel and part of one cabin wall still attached.
Nine survivors and one dead crewman were stranded on the ice. Six more crew were trapped in the still-drifting airship envelope which, along with the crew members on board, has never been found. The position of the crash was close to , approximately northeast of Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. The drifting sea ice later took the survivors towards Foyn and Broch islands.
Immediate aftermath Cecioni was hurled out of the ruptured cabin into a mound of ice, injuring both of his legs. He would later recall that he saw the envelope drifting above him, and Ciocca halfway out of the starboard engine car staring down in horror. Lago, Dr Pontremoli, and Alessandrini could also be seen in the torn opening where the companionway had been. Chief engine mechanic Ettore Arduino, with remarkable presence of mind, started throwing anything he could lay his hands on down to the men on the ice as he drifted slowly away with the envelope. These supplies, and the packs intended for the descent to the ice, helped to keep the survivors alive for their long ordeal. Arduino, and the five others, are assumed to have perished with the drifting airship envelope.
Trojani, at the engine control signals, fared better, as he was hurled into soft snow and rolled before immediately jumping to his feet and cleaning the snow off his glasses, which had survived the crash unscathed. Viglieri and Mariano, standing next to the chart table, briefly saw the rear engine car about to strike the ice hard and then found themselves prostrate, but unharmed, in a mass of debris. Biagi, with no time to send out an SOS, grabbed the portable emergency radio and wrapped his arms around it, trying to save it from damage. The impact on the ice had winded him, but he was still inside the wreck of the cabin when it came to rest. Nobile lay unconscious with a head wound, with Malmgren and Zappi nearby. Mariano, Běhounek, Trojani, and Viglieri were the first to rise to their feet, and they began to examine the others for injuries. Nobile gradually regained consciousness; he had a broken leg, right arm, and cracked rib, in addition to the head wound. Cecioni had two badly broken legs. Malmgren had an injured (broken or dislocated) shoulder and was suspected, much later on, to have internal injuries. Zappi had severe chest pains from suspected broken ribs.