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Westarctica (talk | contribs) (Source content drawn from Wikipedia article on Richard E. Byrd.) |
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===First Antarctic expedition (1928–1930)=== | ===First Antarctic expedition (1928–1930)=== | ||
[[File:Adm-RichardByrd-penguins.jpg|thumb|Admiral Byrd onboard the USS Bear with emperor penguins]] | [[File:Adm-RichardByrd-penguins.jpg|thumb|Admiral Byrd onboard the USS Bear with emperor penguins]] | ||
In 1928, Byrd began his first expedition to the [[ | In 1928, Byrd began his first expedition to the [[Antarctica|Antarctic]] involving two ships and three airplanes: Byrd's Flagship was the ''City of New York'' (a Norwegian sealing ship previously named ''Samson'' that had come into fame as a ship some claimed was in the vicinity of the RMS Titanic when the latter was sinking); a Ford Trimotor called the ''Floyd Bennett'' (named after the recently deceased pilot of Byrd's previous expeditions) flown by Dean Smith; a FairchildFC-2W2, NX8006, built 1928, named "Stars And Stripes" (now displayed at the Virginia Aviation Museum, on loan from the National Air and Space Museum); and a Fokker Universal monoplane called the ''Virginia'' (Byrd's birth state). A base camp named "Little America" was constructed on the [[Ross Ice Shelf]] and scientific expeditions by snowshoe, dog-sled, snowmobile, and airplane began. | ||
Photographic expeditions and geological surveys were undertaken for the duration of that summer, and constant radio communications were maintained with the outside world. After their first winter, their expeditions were resumed, and on November 28, 1929, the first flight to the [[South Pole]] and back was launched. Byrd, along with pilot Bernt Balchen, co-pilot/radioman Harold June, and photographer Ashley McKinley, flew the Ford Trimotor to the [[South Pole]] and back in 18 hours, 41 minutes. They had difficulty gaining enough altitude, and they had to dump empty gas tanks, as well as their emergency supplies, in order to achieve the altitude of the Polar Plateau, but they were ultimately successful. | Photographic expeditions and geological surveys were undertaken for the duration of that summer, and constant radio communications were maintained with the outside world. After their first winter, their expeditions were resumed, and on November 28, 1929, the first flight to the [[South Pole]] and back was launched. Byrd, along with pilot Bernt Balchen, co-pilot/radioman Harold June, and photographer Ashley McKinley, flew the Ford Trimotor to the [[South Pole]] and back in 18 hours, 41 minutes. They had difficulty gaining enough altitude, and they had to dump empty gas tanks, as well as their emergency supplies, in order to achieve the altitude of the Polar Plateau, but they were ultimately successful. | ||