Trials & Errors #81 (07/06/26) - Egos and Eagles: 100th Anniversary of Norge Flight

This is the forum discussion for the column "Egos and Eagles: The 100th Anniversary of the Flight of the Norge". See the article at this link.

If you have comments on the piece, please place them here. There is a question directed to readers about how the goniometer might have worked on the Norge. If you have some suggestions, please clarify the detail in the article! Thanks, Dave W7DGJ

 

I can see the issue with the Italian flag.

In 1928, there was a failed attempt led by Nobel.
The Red Tent (film) - Wikipedia

Radio saves the day -
" The survivors' distress signal is picked up by a Russian radio operator, and the Soviet Union sends the icebreaker Krassin to their rescue. The ship sustains damage en route. Nobile's group is first found by Lundborg, a Swedish pilot who lands on the ice."

Made for TV version - Watch The Red Tent | Prime Video

There is an earlier movie, Russian and in Russian, should you wish to look for it.

Early Arctic exploration was a deadly affair....
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2,000-MILE RANGE FOR NORGE'S RADIO; Special Marconi Receiving and Sending Machine Is Carefully Insulated. DIRECTION FINDER ADDED Airship Will Be Able to Check Its Position by Station Signals and Speak to Vessels at Sea. - The New York Times
"The direction finder consists of two double-turned loops placed at right angles to each other around the envelope of the airship, each loop being at an angle of forty-five degrees to the keel of the ship, making a ninety-degree angle between them. They are connected to a Marconi direction finder and connected to a radio goniometer and search coil, which are in turn connected to a tuning circuit which works on wave lengths from 1,000 to 20,000 meters.
In searching for signals for direction the minimum signals will be used, as they are very sharp and can be easily placed within one or two degrees. The maximum signals can be heard, more or less, over the entire tuning range, and for that reason are less accurate, Captain Gottwaldt believes. When a signal is heard and the direction is to be found, the search coil is turned until the point at which the minimum signal is heard most clearly is reached.
Then by means of a compass dial on top of the goniometer, the zero of which marks the bow of the ship, the direction from which the signal is coming may be ascertained with reference to the keel of the ship, and a few simple calculations give those aboard exact information as to the direction in which they are steering on any set course. "

The Alaska Landing with multiple images
Alaska Magazine | Amundsen and an Airship Land in Alaska
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A goniometer acts like an electronic compass for radio waves. [1, 2]

1. The Antennas: You set up two antennas in an X shape (one pointing North-South, one pointing East-West).
2. The Signal: When a radio wave hits the antennas, it induces a small electrical current.
3. The Coils: These currents travel to small coils of wire inside the goniometer.
4. The Rotor: A center coil (rotor) inside the goniometer is connected to the radio.
5. The Reading: The operator turns this rotor until the signal gets the quietest. The angle on the dial shows the direction of the signal

Radio Direction Finding
shows how this works with a diagram as well

First used in 1906.

Finally, if you have ever seen a "Elephant Cage" facility (AN/FLR-9) - the hut in the middle held the rather large Goniometer
.

 

Thanks Don, much appreciated. The hero of the whole story ended up being Titina, the terrier. She was on the first Norge mission and on the later Italia disaster. In fact, she stayed on the ice for more than 40 days and got scurvy with the rest of them! Dave, w7DGJ

 

There is also a "open source" version of the full English language film here,



Love the scenes using what sounds like authentic Morse Code, and especially when the radio receiver recovered in the crash, inoperable apparently because of a damaged component, a resistor, is repaired using ... graphite pencil on paper.

Also reference to the "Russian radio amateur" that intercepted the distress signal.

More info via AI here,

A young Russian radio amateur named Nikolaj Schmidt played a pivotal role in the rescue of the Italia airship survivors. [1, 2]

The Breakthrough Interception

Following the catastrophic crash of Umberto Nobile's polar airship Italia on May 25, 1928, nine survivors were left stranded on the Arctic ice pack. The expedition's sole radio operator, Giuseppe Biagi, managed to salvage a small, 5-watt emergency high-frequency transmitter nicknamed the "Ondina 33". [1, 2, 3, 4]

For nine agonizing days, Biagi repeatedly broadcast Morse code SOS distress signals at prearranged times. However, the Italian Navy support ship Città di Milano, anchored relatively close by at Svalbard, failed to hear the calls due to atmospheric conditions, polar ionospheric interference, and heavy radio traffic from journalists. [1, 3, 5]

The breakthrough occurred on June 3, 1928: [1, 2, 3]

• The Amateur: Nikolaj Schmidt, a 21-year-old amateur radio enthusiast and self-taught technician.
• The Location: The remote rural village of Voznesenye-Vokhma, near Arkhangelsk, Russia—roughly 1,900 kilometers (1,180 miles) away from the crash site.
• The Equipment: Schmidt intercepted the weak 9.4 MHz SOS signal using a homemade radio receiver. [, 2, 3]

Sparking the International Rescue

Once Schmidt successfully copied the SOS, he immediately alerted local Soviet authorities. The Soviet government quickly passed the exact coordinates and details to the Italian government, finally providing proof to the world that Nobile and his crew were alive. [, 2, 3]

This single amateur radio interception transformed a blind search into a massive, targeted international rescue operation. It mobilized 18 ships, 21 aircraft, and over 1,500 rescuers from multiple nations—ultimately leading to the survival of eight men from the ice. [1, 2]

 

I the resistor part has really stuck with me. And yes, a very good movie.

 

There is another amateur radio connection to the Nobile polar expedition.

The Swedish Air Force captain Einar Lundborg, who piloted the Fokker aircraft that
flew Umberto Nobile to safety, was the grandfather of his namesake Einar Lundborg, SM5CBC(SK).






In the mid-1990s I met SM5CBC at an amateur radio rally, and he told about his famous relative.

 

Umberto Nobile was, for the rest of his life, guilty in the eyes of many for having left the crew on the ice. He had to live with it and it was a heavy burden. Dave, W7DGJ

 

The QRP rig that saved the day
Trasmettitore OC Ondina 33 - Ondina S Mil Tr MILITARY Italy |Radiomuseum.org has links to schematic's, etc.

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The Shipwreck of the Airship “Dirigibile Italia” in the 1928 Polar Venture: A Retrospective Analysis of the Ionospheric and Geomagnetic Conditions
The Shipwreck of the Airship “Dirigibile Italia” in the 1928 Polar Venture: A Retrospective Analysis of the Ionospheric and Geomagnetic Conditions - Zolesi - 2020 - Space Weather - Wiley Online Library from 2020

The AGU is a generally responsible publisher, but the linked article does not show as a peer-revied product.

Posted for your review.

 

Thanks Don. I'll remind readers that this information has nothing at all to do with the story of the Norge as reported in my 100th anniversary column. This is a follow up trip to the Pole undertaken by Nobile and some of the same people, and even Titina, the fox terrier. Dave, W7DGJ

 

Everyone remembers the disasters, and not the success.

Ask yourself this - Who was the second person to successfully fly non-stop across the Atlantic?