A series of short articles with a North Polar Regions theme . . .
THE 1928 CRASH OF THE AIRSHIP ITALIA
The Rescue Operations and
The Search for Roald Amundsen
~ A Pictorial History ~
p. 4 of 4  <<BACK
 
Suggestions for further reading . . .
ITALIA CRASH AND SEARCH FOR AMUNDSEN
~ BIBLIOGRAPHY ~
 
Note: For an event that captured world-wide attention throughout the summer of 1928 and involved six nations of the world, surprisingly little has been published in book form.
 
Arnesen, Odd. The Polar Adventure: the Italia Tragedy Seen at  
    Close Quarters. London: Victor Gollancz, 1929. Arnesen was a
     Norwegian journalist who was in Kings Bay at the time the  
    Italia crash occured.
Behounek, Franz. Sieben Wochen auf der Eisscholle. Der
     Untergang der Nobile Expedition. Leipzig, Brockhaus, 1929.
     Behounek was the Czech physicist who was onboard the Italia
     and spent seven weeks on the ice floe.
Cross, Wilbur. Disaster at the Pole. The Tragedy of the Airship
      Italia and the 1928 Nobile Expedition to the North Pole. New
     York: Lyons Press, 2000. (Reprint of an earlier book titled
     Ghostship of the Pole). Too many factual inaccuracies and
     excessive adulation of Nobile mar this account.
Giudici, Davide. The Tragedy of the Italia: with the Rescuers to the
     Red Tent. New York: Appleton & Co., 1929. Giudici was an
     Italian journalist who was onboard the Krassin, the Russian
     icebreaker that rescued Italia survivors.
Lundborg, Einar. The Arctic Rescue. How Nobile Was Saved. New
     York: Viking Press, 1929. Lundborg was the Swedish pilot who
     removed Nobile from the ice floe.
Montague, Richard. Oceans, Poles and Airmen. New York Random
     House, 1971. This book contains a good short account of the
     Italia tragedy.
Nobile, Umberto. My Polar Flights. New York: Putnam, 1961.
     Nobile's reminiscences of the Italia tragedy as well as the 1926
     Norge flight, written many years later. This book makes some
     rather questionable assertions.
Olds, Elizabeth Fagg. Women of the Four Winds. The Adventures
     of Four of America's First Women Explorers. New York: Mariner
     Books, 1999. Book contains a short biography of Louise Boyd
     who led the search for Amundsen in the sealer Hobby.
Riiser-Larsen, Hjalmar. Femti År for Kongen. Oslo: Gyldendal
     Norsk Forl., 1958. Riiser-Larsen's autobiography.
Simmons, George H. Target: Arctic. Men in the Skies at the Top of
     the World. New York: Chilton Books, 1979. Extensive history of
     Arctic aviation including a detailed account of the Italia  
    tragedy. Highly recommended.
Trojani, Felice. La coda di Minosse. Milan: Mursia & Co., 1964.
     Trojani was a member of the Italia crew who survived the crash
     and was on the ice floe for seven weeks
Van Dongen, Sjef. Vilf Jaar in Iis en Sneeuw. Mijn leven in het
     noorpolgebied. Amsterdam: Scheltens & Giltay, nd. Van
     Dongen was living at Barentsburg, Spitsbergen at the time of
     the Italia crash and took part in the rescue operations.
 
 
For more information . . .
 
WEBSITES:
• UMBERTO NOBILE - THE NORTH POLE FLIGHTS
• LOUISE BOYD. Short biographical sketch.
• HJALMAR RIISER-LARSEN. Short biographical sketch.
• THE ITALIA SEARCH - THE HALL COLLECTION. An extensive
   site picturing philatelic items related to the Italia rescue
   operations. Highly recommended.
• DISASTER AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD. Online copy of an
   informative article on the Italia disaster, from Aviation History
   magazine.
 
 
VIDEO TAPE:
• THE RED TENT. A fictionalized, highly imaginative, "docu-drama"
   based on the Italia crash is available on video tape. Entertaining,
   but this fictional version should not, by any means, be  
   considered an accurate account of the Italia tragedy.
UMBERTO
NOBILE
EINER
LUNDBORG
HJALMAR
RIISER-LARSEN
Dr. FINN
MALMGREN
LOUISE
BOYD
SJEF
VAN DONGEN
I1I  I2I  I3I  I4I  <<BACK
© 2002 PolarFlight Research Forum
I  POLARFLIGHT ONLINE  I  90NORTH INDEX  I  BOYD BIO  I  WELLMAN BIO  I  RIISER-LARSEN BIO  I
I  WHO "OWNS" THE NORTH POLE?  I  WHO WAS FIRST AT THE NORTH POLE?  I
THE 1928 CRASH OF THE AIRSHIP ITALIA
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