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Swedish, engineer.
He was convinced that the aircraft was able
to reach the North Pole, because flying was possible to cover more
distances in less time and easily surpass the obstacles of the channels
and to the hummock of the pack.
He christens his aircraft Ornen that in saw means Eagle;
the aircraft was build in Paris. He trys a first time to leave from
Spitzbergen in 1896 but he has to desist because of the unfavourable
winds. He trys again in July 1897 with two companions: the photographer
Strindberg and the engineer Frankel. They never came back.
Tthe financial contribution of Alfredo Nobel and of the King Oscar
of Sweden make possible the expedition: the aircraft was produced
in France and expected the utilization of a system of sails and
of three long moderator ropes, 850 kg heavy and long about one thousand
meters.
Sails allowed the change of direction exploiting winds while moderator
ropes had the function of restraining the motion and to hinder the
aircraft to lift beyond the 200 meters.
In July 11th 1897 the Ornen left from the Virgo Bay north of Svalbard,
but immediately after the departure some of the ropes ripped because
entangled between the rocks.
After 10 hours the explorers have done about 470 kilometers but
a strong disruption cools the hydrogen causing a strong increase
of the weight compelling the aircraft to lower and to fall on the
pack, to the longitude 82° 56' North. The three of them, because
of the long distance that separated them from the North Pole (still
3.600 kilometers!), decide to return and they begin a long gear
on the ices with slides: it’s july 23rd 1897 and they go to
Cape Flora Head in the lands of Francesco Giuseppe. But the gear
is hard and laborious, besides not having a suitable equipping they
realize that they are not able to pass the winter on the pack and
therefore, ithe 23rd of August they decide to direct towards the
islands North to Spitzbergen: the last field is the 5th october
on the White Island North East to Spitzbergen.
the 6th of August 1930, their restive, the diaries and
the quick photographies, were found during the shipping of the wale
ship Bratvaag. The finding of the diaries and of the photographies
allowed to rebuild the first tragedian air expedition towards the
North Pole.
Solemn funerals were carried out to Stockholm in the October of
1930 and the restive of the three explorers are now buried in the
cemetery of Stockholm.
Thanks to the findings of the diaries, it was possible to rebuild
their daring and tragic exploration: the book was published also
in Italy in 1930 from the Mondadori and a historical edition is
available at the polarcircle association.
Today in his birth town, in Granna, in the south of Sweden,
there is an interesting museum (Andrèemuseet ), dedicated
to his adventure and to the polar search of the past, of the present
and of the future, as connected with the Swedish Polar Research
Institutes.
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andree.grm.se/
The Samuel Andrèe Museum in
Granna.
In the museum are visible different
photos of the three explorers. Their slabs were found in the
Arctic quite preserved, 33 years after their disappearence,
together with a lot of personal objects and their diaries.
Besides, in the museum there are two video representations:
the funerals of the three explorers happened in Stockholm
to the presence of the King of Sweden, and a report carried
out by a group of researchers of the swedish university of
Umea during an archeological expedition carried out in 1998
and in 2000, to the end of rebuilding the site of the last
base-field of the three explorers in the White Island.
The team of the University of Umea,
departments of the Environment and of Archeology, was directed
by the Professor Noel D. Broadbend and by the Professor Johan
Olofsson. It began the first search on the place of the finding
of the last Field of Andrèe and his two companions
Strindberg and Fraenkel, in 1998, completing the work in 2000,
to the purpose of to commemorate the centennial from the death
of the three explorers, and to the achievement of thee three
following general objectives:
- To delimit and to study the site
as a whole, with possible findings of further material;
- To define an entire and precise map
of the site;
- To elaborate precise indications
to the end of further searches and protection of the site.
The study is available at the Museum
and the secretary office of the Polar Circle.
Besides, in the museum there is an interactive
section dedicated to the Arctic area and of the North Pole,
with detail on the geo-physics structure and on the explorations
carried out in the past, as connected with the Swedish Polar
Research Institutes.
Therefore, this museum is important
to visit, placed on the lake Vattern that allow a warm climate
in summer in an evocative country what is Granna, where every
year the 11 of July (day of departure of the Ornen towards
the North Pole) sees to gather a lot of crews and fire balloons
to celebrate the historical date.
The museum has produced a VHS video
that summarizes the two attempts of the Ornen, the finding
of the restive, the moving funerals in Stockholm in 1930,
a video with subtitles in English titled: Their Frozen Dream
, of 1997.
A copie of this video is available at
the secretary office of the Polar Circle and soon it will
be in sale.
We signal a French site that restores a lot of information
on the polar explorations and on Samuel Andrèe:
www.transpolair.com/explorateurs/andree/
Another interesting site that restores a lot of information
on Andrèe and particularly "the mystery of Andrèe
" is consultable to:
ku-prism.org/andreemystery/andreeindex.html
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Who wants to deepen the information
about the citizen of Granna and on the interesting area
of the lake of Vattern, in the Sweden of the south, can
consult "Tourist
Pages". |
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