Umberto Nobile

Umberto Nobile (Lauro, January 21st 1885 - Rome, July 30th 1978) was a Engineer Aéronautique and an Italian explorer, professor de Aeronautical Constructions of the Université of Naples during more than thirty years, like director of the Stabilimento militare di Costruzioni Aeronautiche of Rome of 1919 with 1928 and Général of the Corps Engineers of the Military aviation Italian.

Biography

Nobile was one of the pioneers and the highest personalities of the history of aviation italienne ; it became famous to have controlled the first Avion which flew over the North pole and, especially, for its two crossings in Dirigeable on the Pole.

The May 11th 1926, with the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and its American sponsor Lincoln Ellsworth, it left Rome on board the Dirigeable Norge, projected by itself. While flying over the pole they arrive in Alaska two days after, by achieving a crossing of more than 5 300 km of uninterrupted flight. This voyage leads in a controversy between Nobile and Amundsen, in connection with the merit and of the credit for forwarding.

Nobile returned to the North pole as commander of the Dirigeable Italia. This new forwarding left the April 15th 1928, of Milan. After having crossed the the Alps, the Austria, the Czechoslovakia, the Germany and the Sweden Italia joined Kingsbay, a Norwegian base in the islands Svalbard. After a first voyage of exploration in the East of Svalbard, Italia left for the North pole the May 23rd 1928. After having joined it, it was in impossibility of landing as envisaged because of the bad climatic conditions. The airship started the return voyage, but it was crushed on the ice during a violent storm. Ten men, among whom Nobile, were thrown on the ice while the airship took again height carrying with him the other members of the crew, intended to disappear without trace. The survivors, fortunately, were surrounded by materials fallen with the impact from the nacelle, food, a radio and Red Tente celebrates it in which they adapted to living during seven weeks.

After the incident, the first international forwarding of polar help left, and, one month afterwards, Nobile was saved with a small Swedish plane. Nobile believed capacity to better direct the helps of the base, but when the pilot amounted taking the others, it fell itself, while remaining in its turn imprisoned in the ices. On the whole, seven people of the crew of Italia périrent ; Amundsen itself died, while disappearing while it flew on the icy islands on board a Latham to take part with research.

Nobile was shown to have given up its men and was forced to resign. He asked directly Benito Mussolini that historical truth be restored, but vainly. Nobile had in Italo Balbo, Minister for Aeronautics and burning fascistic, a large enemy who, one supposes, wanted to impose his vision of an aviation deprived of obsolete and dear airships. In fact, the fascistic government of the time gave up Nobile to its destiny, and only after the end of the Second world war the judgment of the board of inquiry was subverted, and Nobile was rehabilitated and promoted Général.

Disappointed, Nobile gave up Italy in 1931 to initially go in Soviet Union and then to the the United States where its invaluable capacities of designer were well used (especially by Soviet for the project of airship the USSR W6 OSSOAWIACHIM). It returned to Italy only in 1943.

Of 1946 with 1948 Nobile was appointed in the Constituent Assembly like independent, but near of the Italian Communist party.

Umberto Nobile dealt not only project with airships, but also many other aéronautiques questions;: he invented, in 1918, the first Italian Parachute, and in 1922 with the engineer Gianni Caproni, he promoted the construction of the first metal plane in Italy, the Ca 73 . He was author of many technical writings, and also many historical memories on the two polar crossings.

During the time when he was director of the Stabilimento militare di Costruzioni Aeronautiche of Rome, he projected the unhappy airship Roma , intended for the air service of the army of the United States.

The tragedy forwarding is reported in some books written by Nobile itself. The history also inspired a film: the tenda Rossa (the red Tent) in 1971, with Sean Connery in the role of Amundsen and Peter Finch in that of Nobile.

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