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Airship NorgeThe Airship ''Norge'' was a medium sized airship that on May 12, 1926 with a crew of 16 led by Roald Amundsen became the first to aviate the North Pole. Norge was 106 m long and 26 m tall. The ship's volume totalled 19 000 m³ and was filled with Hydrogen. It was equipped with 3 Maybach-engines with a total effect of 780 Hp. It could reach a maximum speed of 115 km/h. The flight to cross the north pole started off from Rome on March 29, reaching its first destination Oslo, Norway on April 14. It then went via Leningrad to Vads in northern Norway, where the airship mast is still standing today. The expedition then crossed the Barents Sea to reach Ny-lesund, Svalbard which would be its last stop before crossing the pole. The airship left Ny-lesund for the final strech across the polar ice on May 11. The 16 man expedition included (in addition to Amundsen) the airship's designer and pilot Umberto Nobile, expedition sponsor Lincoln Ellsworth as well as polar explorer Oscar Wisting. On May 12 at 01.25 (GMT) they reached the North pole. The Norwegian, American and Italian flags were dropped from the airship onto the ice. On May 14 the airship reached Teller, Alaska with only 7 hours of fuel left. Because the three previous claims to have arrived at the North Pole -- by Frederick Cook in 1908, Robert Peary in 1909, and Richard Byrd in 1926 (just a few days before the Norge) -- are all either dubious or fraudulent, the crew of the Norge are the first verified explorers to have reached the North Pole.
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