Rare photographs of Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole. Norwegian traveler Roald Amundsen - what did he discover? Conquest of the South Pole

Brief chronology

B - studied at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Christiania.
He sailed as a sailor and navigator on different ships. Since then he has made a number of expeditions that have become widely known.
For the first time he passed (-) on a small fishing vessel “Gjoa” through the Northwest Passage from East to West from Greenland to Alaska.
The Fram sailed to Antarctica; landed in Whale Bay and on December 14 reached South Pole, a month ahead of the English expedition of R. Scott.
In the summer, the expedition left Norway on the ship Maud and reached the Bering Strait.
He led the 1st trans-Arctic flight on the airship “Norway” along the route: Spitsbergen - North Pole - Alaska.
In 1928, during an attempt to find the Italian expedition of Umberto Nobile, which crashed in the Arctic Ocean on the airship Italia, and to provide assistance to it, Amundsen, who flew on June 18 on the Latham seaplane, died in the Barents Sea.

Life

Youth and first expeditions

Roald was born in 1872 in southeastern Norway (Borge, near Sarpsborg) into a family of sailors and shipbuilders. When he was 14 years old, his father died and the family moved to Christiania (since 1924 - Oslo). Rual entered the medical faculty of the university, but when he was 21 years old, his mother died and Rual left the university. He subsequently wrote:

“It was with inexpressible relief that I left the university to devote myself wholeheartedly to the only dream of my life.”.

Northwestern Sea Route

Amundsen's Arctic Expeditions Map

In 1903, he bought a used 47-ton motor-sailing yacht “Gjøa”, “the same age” as Amundsen himself (built in 1872) and set off on an Arctic expedition. The schooner was equipped with a 13 hp diesel engine. The expedition personnel included:

Roald Amundsen- head of the expedition, glaciologist, specialist in terrestrial magnetism, ethnographer.
Godfried Hansen, Danish by nationality, is a navigator, astronomer, geologist and expedition photographer. Senior Lieutenant in the Danish Navy, participated in expeditions to Iceland and the Faroe Islands.
Anton Lund- skipper and harpooner.
Peder Ristvedt- senior driver and meteorologist.
Helmer Hansen- second navigator.
Gustav Yule Wik- second driver, assistant during magnetic observations. Died of an unexplained illness on March 30, 1906.
Adolf Henrik Lindström- cook and provisions master. Member of the Sverdrup expedition in 1898-1902.

Amundsen passed through the North Atlantic, Baffin Bay, Lancaster, Barrow, Peel, Franklin, James Ross Straits and in early September stopped for the winter off the southeastern coast of King William Island. In the summer of 1904, the bay was not free of ice, and the Gjoa remained for a second winter.

Last years and death

Amundsen spent his last years at his home in Bunnafjord, near Oslo. His life was called Spartan. He sold all the orders and openly quarreled with many former comrades. Fridtjof Nansen wrote to one of his friends this year:

“I have the impression that Amundsen has completely lost peace of mind and is not fully responsible for his actions.”

Relations with Umberto Nobile, whom Rual called “an arrogant, childish, selfish upstart,” “a ridiculous officer,” “a man of a wild, semi-tropical race,” also went poorly.

Nobile became a general under Mussolini. On May 23, 1928, he decided to repeat the flight to the North Pole. Starting from Spitsbergen, he reached the Pole, but on the way back, due to icing, the airship crashed, the members of the expedition were thrown onto drifting ice, and radio contact with them was interrupted.

At the request of the Norwegian Minister of War, Amundsen joined the many rescuers who went in search of Nobile. On June 18, 2010, he took off on a seaplane Latham 47 with a French crew from the city of Tromsø in northern Norway and headed towards Spitsbergen. When the plane was in the area of Bear Island in the Barents Sea, the radio operator reported that the flight was taking place in dense fog and requested a radio bearing, after which the connection was lost. On the night of August 31 to September 1, the Latama-47 float was found near Tromsø. The exact circumstances of Amundsen's death are unknown.

To an Italian journalist who asked what fascinated him so much in the polar regions, Amundsen replied:

“Oh, if you ever had a chance to see with your own eyes how wonderful it is there, I would like to die there.”

Umberto Nobile and his seven other surviving companions were discovered five days after the death of Roald Amundsen.

Amundsen is one of Norway's most famous navigators. Since childhood, his hobby was reading books about travel to distant countries. As a child, he read almost every publication about travel to the Arctic Circle that he managed to get his hands on. Secretly from his mother, Amundsen was already in early years began to prepare for expeditions: he hardened himself, did physical exercise, and also played football, believing that this game helps strengthen the leg muscles.

The youth of the great polar explorer

When Amundsen entered the medical faculty in Oslo, most he devoted time to studying foreign languages, being confident that their knowledge is necessary for the journey. What Roald Amundsen discovered in geography was largely due to his long years of preparation throughout his youth.

In 1897-1899, young Amundsen took part in the Antarctic expedition of Belgian polar explorers. On the same team with him was Frederick Cook, who 10 years later would fight for the right to be the discoverer of the North Pole with Robert Peary.

Outstanding polar explorers: the fight for championship

North Pole and became the goal that Roald Amundsen set for himself. What did he discover in the future, if other travelers had already fought for the extreme point of the planet before him? Officially for a long time It was believed that Frederick Cook was the first to reach the North Pole on April 6, 1909; he claimed that he had already been here on April 21, 1908. Since the evidence presented by Cook raised doubts, they decided to give the palm to Piri. But his achievements were also questioned.

The fact is that the equipment of that time had not yet reached the level of development at which one could safely assert the truth of the perfect discovery. The next person to try to conquer the unforgiving North Pole was Fridtjof Nansen. But he was unable to achieve his goal, and Roald Amundsen took over the baton from him. What he discovered and when remained forever in the history of geographical research. But Amundsen's main discovery was preceded by many tests. After the death of his mother, Amundsen decided to become a long-distance navigator. However, in order to successfully pass the exams, it was necessary to work for at least three years as a sailor on a schooner.

Roald Amundsen: what he discovered before becoming a great navigator

The future polar explorer sets off for the shores of Spitsbergen on an industrial ship. He then transfers to another ship and sets off for the Canadian coast. Before that traveler, Amundsen served as a sailor on several ships and visited many countries: Spain, Mexico, England and America.

In 1896, Amundsen passed the exams and received a diploma, which made him a long-distance navigator. After receiving his diploma, Antarctica finally becomes the place where Roald Amundsen goes. What did he discover on his first journey? Just the fact that in Antarctica the main objective- stay alive. The expedition, which was intended to study terrestrial magnetism, almost became the last for the entire crew. Severe blizzards, scorching frost and a long hungry winter - all this almost destroyed the team. They were saved only thanks to the energy of a brave traveler, who constantly hunted seals to feed the starving crew.

Changing goals

Roald Amundsen: what did he discover and what is his role in modern geographical knowledge? In 1909, when Cook and Peary officially declared their rights to discover the North Pole, Amundsen decided to radically change his task. After all, in this race he could only be second, if not third. Therefore, the polar explorer decided to conquer another goal - the South Pole. However, there were already those here who wanted to achieve this goal faster.

English Scott Expedition

In 1901, Great Britain organized an expedition led by officer Robert Scott. He did not consider geographical discoveries to be his life's work, but he approached preparations for the harsh journey with all responsibility. Roald Amundsen, what did the polar explorers discover on their travels, did they do it together? Rather, it was a desperate competition to be the first to reach the South Pole. In June 1910, Scott began an expedition to Antarctica. He knew that he had a competitor, but did not give of great importance Amundsen's expedition, considering him inexperienced. But the main thing in 1910-1912 belonged to the Norwegian.

Roald Amundsen: what did he discover? Summary of the expedition to the South Pole

Scott made his main bet on the use of equipment - motor sleighs. Amundsen, using the experience of the Norwegians, took with him a large team of dogs for sledding. In addition, Amundsen's team consisted of excellent skiers, and Scott's crew members did not pay enough attention to ski training.

On February 4, Scott's team, having reached Whale Bay, suddenly saw their competitors. The British, although they had lost their fighting spirit, decided to continue the journey. In addition to the fact that the team was shocked by the appearance of Amundsen's expedition, insufficient preparation also played a role. Their horses began to die because they could not acclimatize for a long time. One of the snowmobiles crashed. Scott realized that Amundsen's bet on dogs was the most winning decision. Despite the fact that Amundsen also suffered losses, on December 14, 1911, his team reached the South Pole.

en.wikipedia.org

Ru?al A?mundsen (Norwegian Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen; 16 July 1872 - probably 18 June 1928) was a Norwegian polar explorer and explorer. First man to reach the South Pole (December 14, 1911). The first explorer to make a sea crossing through both the North-Eastern (along the coast of Siberia) and the North-Western sea route (along the straits of the Canadian archipelago). He died in 1928 during the search for the expedition of Umberto Nobile.

A sea, a mountain, the American Amundsen-Scott research station in Antarctica, as well as a bay and basin in the Arctic Ocean, and a lunar crater are named in honor of the traveler.

Brief chronology

In 1890-1892 he studied at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Christiania.

From 1894 to 1899 he sailed as a sailor and navigator on various ships. Beginning in 1903, he made a number of expeditions that became widely known.

First passed (1903-1906) on a small fishing vessel "Gjoa" along the Northwest Passage from East to West from Greenland to Alaska.

On the ship "Fram" went to Antarctica; landed in Whale Bay and on December 14, 1911 reached the South Pole on dogs, a month ahead of the English expedition of R. Scott.

In the summer of 1918, the expedition left Norway on the ship Maud and in 1920 reached the Bering Strait.

In 1926 he led the 1st trans-Arctic flight on the airship "Norway" along the route: Spitsbergen - North Pole - Alaska.

In 1928, during an attempt to find and assist the Italian expedition of Umberto Nobile, which crashed in the Arctic Ocean on the airship Italia, Amundsen, who flew on June 18 on the Latham seaplane, died in the Barents Sea.

Youth and first expeditions

In 1897-1899 took part in the Belgian Antarctic expedition on the ship "Belgica" under the command of the Belgian polar explorer Adrien de Gerlache.

Northwestern Sea Route

In 1903, he bought a used 47-ton motor-sailing yacht “Gjoa”, “the same age” as Amundsen himself (built in 1872), and set off on an Arctic expedition. The schooner was equipped with a 13 hp diesel engine. The expedition personnel included:

Roald Amundsen - head of the expedition, glaciologist, specialist in terrestrial magnetism, ethnographer.

Godfried Hansen, a Dane by nationality, is a navigator, astronomer, geologist and photographer of the expedition. Senior Lieutenant in the Danish Navy, participated in expeditions to Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

Anton Lund - skipper and harpooner.

Peder Ristvedt is a senior machinist and meteorologist.

Helmer Hansen is the second navigator.

Gustav Yul Wik - second driver, assistant during magnetic observations. Died of an unexplained illness on March 30, 1906.

Adolf Henrik Lindström - cook and provisions master. Member of the Sverdrup expedition in 1898-1902.

On August 13, 1905, the ship continued sailing and practically completed the North-West Route, but still froze into the ice. Amundsen travels by dog sled to Eagle City, Alaska. He later recalled:

“When I returned, everyone put my age at between 59 and 75, even though I was only 33.”

Conquest of the South Pole

Amundsen takes the ship Fram (“Fram”, Norwegian for “forward”) from Fridtjof Nansen and prepares to conquer the North Pole, but he is ahead of the expedition of Frederick Cook (April 1908). Then Rual decides to conquer the South Pole, for the conquest of which a race was also beginning to unfold.

The expedition personnel were divided into two detachments: ship and coastal.

Coastal detachment

Roald Amundsen - head of the expedition, head of the sleigh party on the trip to the South Pole.

Olaf Olafsen Bjoland - participant in the expedition to the Pole.

Oscar Wisting - participant in the expedition to the Pole.

Jorgen Styberryd - leader of the sleigh party to King Edward VII's Land.

Prestrud - participant in the campaign to the Land of King Edward VII.

Frederik Hjalmar Johansen, a member of Nansen's expedition in 1893-1896, did not join the polar detachment due to a conflict with Amundsen.

Helmer Hansen - participant in the trip to the Pole.

Sverre Hassel - participant in the expedition to the Pole.

Adolf Henrik Lindström - cook and provisions master.

Team "Frama" (ship party)

T. Nielsen - commander of the Fram

Steller is a sailor, German by nationality.

Ludwig Hansen - sailor.

Adolf Ohlsen - sailor.

Karenius Olsen - cook, cabin boy (the youngest member of the expedition, in 1910 he was 18 years old).

Rønne is a sailmaker.

Christensen is the navigator.

Halvorsen.

Knut Sundbeck is a Swede by nationality, a ship mechanic (the engineer who created the diesel engine for the Fram), an employee of the Rudolf Diesel company.

Jertsen - first assistant commander, lieutenant in the Norwegian Navy.

The twentieth member of the expedition was biologist Alexander Stepanovich Kuchin, but at the beginning of 1912 he returned to Russia from Buenos Aires.

On January 13, 1911, Amundsen sailed to the Ross Ice Barrier in Antarctica. At the same time, Robert Scott's English expedition set up camp in McMurdo Sound, 650 kilometers from Amundsen.

Before going to the South Pole, both expeditions prepared for the winter and placed warehouses along the route. The Norwegians built the Framheim base, 4 km from the coast, consisting of a wooden house with an area of 16 sq.m. and numerous auxiliary buildings and warehouses, built from snow and ice, and deepened into the Antarctic glacier. The first attempt to go to the Pole was made back in August 1911, but extremely low temperatures prevented this (at? 56 C. the skis and runners of the sled did not slide, and the dogs could not sleep).

Amundsen's plan was worked out in detail back in Norway, in particular, a movement schedule was drawn up, which modern researchers compare with a musical score. The pole crew returned to the Fram on the day prescribed by the schedule 2 years earlier.

On October 19, 1911, five people led by Amundsen set off to the South Pole on four dog sleds. On December 14, the expedition reached the South Pole, having traveled 1,500 km, and hoisted the flag of Norway. Expedition members: Oscar Wisting, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, Olav Bjaaland, Roald Amundsen. The entire trek over a distance of 3000 km under extreme conditions (ascent and descent to a plateau 3000 m high at a constant temperature of over 40 C and strong winds) took 99 days.

The basis of Amundsen's plan was the use of intermediate warehouses built at each degree of latitude (1200 kg of provisions, in particular seal meat, were delivered to 84 degrees S in March 1911), as well as the use of sled dogs as draft power and food for other dogs and for people. When starting from Framheim, Amundsen took 52 dogs, but 36 of them were killed before climbing to the Polar Plateau (named the Plain of King Haakon VII), the meat was buried in a glacier or fed to the remaining dogs. Only 12 dogs returned to base. This caused violent protests from animal welfare societies around the world.

Each member of the polar team had two suits: an Eskimo suit made from reindeer skins (which were left before the climb to the Polar Plateau) and a ski suit made from decommissioned army woolen blankets. Modern wind tunnel tests of mannequins showed that Amundsen's suits protected against cold and wind 25% better than those used by other expeditions.

Robert Scott's expedition set out in November 1911 and reached the South Pole on January 18, 1912, but died on the way back. The cause of death was gross miscalculations in the organization of the expedition, in particular, the selection of equipment and food.

In February 1913 Amundsen wrote:

I would sacrifice fame, absolutely everything, to bring him back to life... My triumph is overshadowed by the thought of his tragedy, it haunts me.

Northeast sea route

In July 1918, Amundsen set out on an expedition along the coast of Siberia (Northern Sea Route) on a specially built ship Maud.

In September, beyond Cape Chelyuskin, ice stopped the ship, and the expedition stopped for the winter. A year later, on September 12, 1919, the ship was able to continue its journey, but after 11 days it was again delayed by ice and stopped for a second wintering off the island of Aion, which took ten months. In the summer of 1920, Amundsen arrived in the village of Nome in Alaska.

Transarctic flights

With the money of American millionaire Lincoln Ellsworth, Amundsen buys two large seaplanes and on May 21, 1925, departs from Spitsbergen to Alaska via the North Pole. Because of technical problems the planes landed on the ice 150 kilometers from the Pole. After repairs, the expedition was able to return to Spitsbergen. By that time she was already considered dead.

Amundsen received a rapturous welcome upon his return to Oslo. According to the Norwegian traveler, it was the happiest moment in his life.

On May 11, 1926, the Amundsen-Ellsworth-Nobile expedition departed from Spitsbergen on an airship designed by Umberto Nobile, 106 m long, 19,000 m3 in volume, with three 250 hp engines. s., which received the name “Norway” (“Norge”). Having flown over the pole (piloted by the airship Nobile), the expedition landed in Alaska.

Last years and death

“I get the impression that Amundsen has completely lost his peace of mind and is not fully responsible for his actions.”

Relations with Umberto Nobile also went poorly, whom Rual called “an arrogant, childish, selfish upstart,” “a ridiculous officer,” “a man of a wild, semi-tropical race.”

At the request of the Norwegian Minister of War, Amundsen joined the many rescuers who went in search of Nobile. On June 18, 1928, he took off on a seaplane Latham 47 with a French crew from the city of Tromsø in northern Norway and headed for Spitsbergen. When the plane was in the area of Bear Island in the Barents Sea, the radio operator reported that the flight was taking place in dense fog and requested a radio bearing, after which the connection was lost. On the night of August 31 to September 1, the Latama-47 float was found near Tromsø. The exact circumstances of Amundsen's death are unknown.

To an Italian journalist who asked what fascinated him so much in the polar regions, Amundsen replied:

“Oh, if you ever had a chance to see with your own eyes how wonderful it is there, I would like to die there.”

Umberto Nobile and his seven other surviving companions were discovered five days after the death of Roald Amundsen.

National hero of Norway, polar explorer, conqueror of the Northwest Passage, discoverer of the South Pole Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen was born on July 16, 1872 in the city of Borge in the family of a captain and shipyard owner Verven Jens Amundsen.

Since childhood, Roald Amundsen dreamed of becoming a polar explorer; he read books about the expedition of the British polar explorer John Franklin, who in 1845 did not return from an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

In 1890-1892, Amundsen, at the insistence of his mother, studied at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Christiania (now Oslo).

In 1893, after the death of his mother, he left his studies and joined the Magdalena ship as a junior sailor, sailing across the Arctic Ocean. In 1895, Amundsen passed the navigator exam and in 1900 received a ship captain's license.

In 1897-1899, Amundsen, as first mate of the ship Belgica, made his first expedition to Antarctica. The expedition was led by a Belgian naval officer, Lieutenant Adrien de Gerlache.

The purpose of the event was to study the Antarctic coast, but the expedition almost ended in tragedy when the ship, due to the inexperience of the leader, became frozen near Peter I Island. 13 months passed before the ship was freed from captivity in the ice and went out to the open sea. On the initiative of Amundsen, who actually took command during the drift, in order to survive, the team began catching penguins and seals, making warm clothes from the skin of the animals and eating their meat for food.

On June 17, 1903, Amundsen set sail on the ship Gjoa to the Arctic with six crew members. The purpose of the expedition was to find the Northwest Passage from east to west from Greenland to Alaska, and also to determine the current coordinates of the north magnetic pole (they change over time).

Amundsen crossed the Atlantic Ocean, rounded the western part of Greenland, entered the Baffin Sea, and then into Lancaster Strait. Through the labyrinth of islands on the Canadian coast, the ship slowly moved towards its goal through floating ice floes, strong winds, fog and shallow water. By the end of the summer, the expedition had found a natural harbor on King William Island near the North Pole, which made it possible to make precise scientific observations. Amundsen and his team stayed in the harbor, called "Gjoa", for two years, building observation posts equipped with precision measuring instruments. The results of the studies gave great job many scientists 20 years ahead. At this time, Amundsen studied the life of the Eskimos and learned to drive dog sleds.

In August 1905 scientific work ended, and the ship Gjoa continued its journey between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. After three months of travel, the expedition discovered a ship on the horizon that had sailed from San Francisco - the Northwest Passage was passed for the first time.

Soon after opening sea route the ship froze in the ice and remained for the third winter.

To tell the world about the expedition's achievement, Amundsen, along with an American companion, set off in October 1905 on dog sleds on a 500-mile journey through the 3-kilometer mountains to Eagle City, Alaska, where the closest telegraph connection was located. outside world. On December 5, the world learned about the opening of the Northwest Sea Route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Amundsen's next goal was to be the first to reach the North Pole. When it was reported that Robert Peary had done this, he decided to be the first to reach the South Pole.

On August 9, 1910, Roald Amundsen set sail for Antarctica on the Fram - famous ship Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen. During the preparation of the expedition, it became known that the Englishman Robert Falcon Scott was also preparing for his second attempt to open the South Pole. Amundsen decided to get to the Pole first, carefully hiding his plan from the Norwegian government, as he feared that due to Norway's economic and political dependence on Great Britain, his expedition to the South Pole would be prohibited. The world learned about Amundsen's expedition to the South Pole when the Fram reached the island of Madeira (near the Canary Islands). A telegram about this reached Scott's expedition as he was leaving New Zealand.

Amundsen prepared carefully: he chose the route well, organized a system of warehouses with supplies, and successfully used sled teams with dogs.

On December 14, 1911, Roald Amundsen was the first to reach the South Pole. Scott reached the Pole only on January 18, 1912.

On July 15, 1918, Amundsen set off to the North Pole from Alaska on the ship Maud via the Northeast route, but ice conditions prevented the fulfillment of his plan. Then he decided to explore the Arctic from the air.

On May 11, 1926, Amundsen, American researcher-industrialist Lincoln Ellsworth, Italian designer, airship captain Umberto Nobile and navigator Hjalmar Riiser-Larson with a team of 12 people launched from Spitsbergen on the semi-rigid airship "Norie" ("Norway").

On May 12, the airship reached the North Pole, and on May 14, Alaska, where it descended and was dismantled. The flight, 5.3 thousand kilometers long, lasted 71 hours. During the flight to the North Pole, the Norwegian, American and Italian flags were dropped. The route of "Norway" was laid over previously unknown territories - the last blank spots on the world map were filled.

On June 18, 1928, Amundsen, along with five crew members of the French seaplane Latham, took off from the Norwegian city of Tromsø in search of the Italian designer Nobile, who crashed in the Arctic on the airship Italia. Three hours later, the Latham crashed in the Barents Sea, Roald Amundsen died along with the crew of the plane.

Umberto Nobile and his companions were discovered just five days after Amundsen's death.

Roald Amundsen never married.

The sea, the mountain and the American Amundsen-Scott scientific station in Antarctica, as well as a bay and basin in the Arctic Ocean, are named in honor of Roald Amundsen.

2011 in Norway for Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen.

December 14, 2011, on the 100th anniversary of the conquest of Antarctica by Roald Amundsen, at the South Pole by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to a Norwegian traveler.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (born July 16, 1872 – died June 18, 1928) was a polar explorer from Norway.

What Roald Amudsen discovered

The first person in the world to reach the South Pole (December 14, 1911). The first person (together with Oscar Wisting) to visit both geographic poles of the planet. He was the first in the world to travel through the North-West Passage from Greenland to Alaska, and later completed the passage along the North-East route (along the coast of Siberia), completing the round-the-world distance beyond the Arctic Circle for the first time.

One of the pioneers in the use of aviation - seaplanes and airships - in Arctic travel. He died in 1928 while going in search of the missing expedition of Umberto Nobile. He received awards from many countries around the world, including America’s highest award - Gold medal Congress, numerous geographical and other objects bear his name.

Childhood. Youth

Roald Amundsen was born into a family of hereditary seafarers and youth dreamed of a sequel family tradition. But he knew well what was needed for this good health– something he didn’t have. However, being sick and physically weak, Roald set himself the task of strengthening his body as much as possible, for which he trained and hardened himself every day. He even wanted to become a doctor, but after two courses at the medical faculty of the University in Christiania (now Oslo), he left his studies and hired a sailor on a sailing schooner going seal fishing in the Greenland Sea.

First travels. Education

After two years of sea travel, Amundsen, salted by the sea winds, stronger and even more self-confident, passed the exams to become a long-distance navigator. In 1897–1899 As a navigator, he took part in the Belgian Antarctic expedition on the ship "Belgica", after which he passed the exam to become a sea captain.

Discovery of the Northwest Passage

In 1903–1906, Roald, for the first time in the history of navigation, sailed on his own sailing schooner “Gjoa” with a crew of 7 people from Greenland to Alaska through the waters of the Canadian Arctic archipelago. From Barrow Strait he headed south through the Peel and Franklin Straits to the northern tip of King William Island. Having rounded the island on the eastern side, he spent two winters in the harbor off the south-eastern coast of King William Island. 1904, autumn - he carried out a survey by boat of the narrowest part of Simpson Strait, and at the end of the summer of 1905 he moved directly west along the coast of the mainland, leaving the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to the north. 1906, summer - after the third winter, the traveler passed through the Bering Strait into the Pacific Ocean and ended his voyage in San Francisco. With this, he was able to open the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean from east to west. During the expedition, he conducted valuable geomagnetic observations and mapped more than 100 islands.

Norwegian Antarctic Expedition (1910-1912)

In 1910–1912, Amundsen led an expedition to Antarctica on the ship Fram, owned by F. Nansen, with the goal of discovering the South Pole. The Fram crew included Russian sailor and oceanographer Alexander Stepanovich Kuchin. In January, Amundsen's expedition landed on the Ross Glacier in Whale Bay. A base camp was established there to prepare for the trip to the South Pole.

1911, October 19 - a group led by Roald Amundsen (Oscar Wisting, Helmer Hansen, Sverre Hassel, Olaf Bjaland) set off on 4 sleighs drawn by 52 dogs and on December 17, 1911 were able to reach the South Pole. During the expedition's work in Antarctica, the traveler discovered the Queen Maud Mountains. But only on March 7, 1912, while in the city of Hobart (Tasmania), Amundsen notified the world of his victory and the safe return of the expedition.

Northeast sea route

In 1918–1921 Roual built the Maud ship with his own money and sailed on it from west to east along the northern shores of Eurasia, repeating Nansen's drift on the Fram. With two winterings he traveled from Norway to the Bering Strait.

Air expedition 1925

In 1923–1925 Amundsen made several attempts to reach the North Pole. Biographers of the great Norwegian have preserved the details of the 1925 expedition. On May 21, 1925, two seaplanes set course for the North Pole. On one were Ellsworth, Dietrichson and Omdahl, on the other were Amundsen, Riiser-Larsen and Voigt. At a distance of 1000 km from Spitsbergen, the engine of the plane Amundsen was on began to malfunction. We had to make an emergency landing, fortunately there was a large ice hole nearby. The second seaplane failed during landing.

We had to wait in the ice for weather suitable for takeoff for more than 3 weeks. It was clear that everyone would have to return on the same plane. Everything was thrown out of it except the most necessary things. Riiser-Larsen took the pilot's seat. The remaining 5 people could barely fit in the cabin.

Rual described what was happening like this: “The engine was started, and the plane took off. The next seconds were the most exciting of my entire life. Rieser-Larsen immediately gave full throttle. As the speed increased, the unevenness of the ice became more and more noticeable, and the entire hydroplane tilted so terribly from side to side that I was more than once afraid that it might somersault and break its wing. We were quickly approaching the end of the starting track, but the bumps and jolts showed that we were still not off the ice. With increasing speed, but still not separating from the ice, we approached a small slope leading into the wormwood. We were transported across the ice hole, fell onto a flat ice floe on the other side and suddenly rose into the air ... "

After 8 hours 35 minutes of flight, the rudder drives jammed. But open water was already glistening under the plane’s wing. The pilot confidently landed the seaplane on the water and steered it like a motorboat. This happened near the northern shores of Spitsbergen. Soon a small fishing boat approached the travelers, and the captain agreed to tow the plane to Kingsbay. From Spitsbergen, its participants traveled by boat along with the plane. 1925, July 5 - Amundsen's plane, greeted by thousands of jubilant people, landed in Oslo harbor. Norway honored its national heroes.

Airship "Norway"

1926, May - Roald led the first successful flight over the North Pole in an airship. The lighter-than-air aircraft was named home country hero - "Norway".

Death

2 years later, when another airship - with the proud name "Italy" - crashed after reaching the pole, Amundsen went in search of the expedition of General Umberto Nobile. He took off from Tromso on a French twin-engine seaplane Latham 47. During a flight from Norway to Spitsbergen, the plane crashed into the waters of the Barents Sea for unknown reasons. And no one heard anything more about the famous polar explorer.

General Nobile was rescued five days after the traveler disappeared.

Memory

A mountain in the eastern part of Antarctica, a bay in the Arctic Ocean, a sea off the coast of the Southern Continent, and the American polar station Amundsen-Scott are named after Roald Amundsen. His works “Flight across the Arctic Ocean”, “On the ship “Maud””, “Expedition along the northern coast of Asia”, “The South Pole” and a five-volume collection of works were translated into Russian.

Fridtjof Nansen dedicated to the memory of his colleague and compatriot sincere words: “He will forever take special place in the history of geographical research... Some kind of explosive force lived in him. On the foggy horizon of the Norwegian people he rose as a shining star. How many times did it light up with bright flashes! And suddenly it immediately went out, and we cannot take our eyes off the empty place in the sky.”