Get Adobe Flash player


Poles. The plane was piloted by David Cecil McKinley of the Royal Air Force. It carried an 11-man crew, with Kenneth C. Maclure of the Royal Canadian Air Force in charge of all scientific observations. In 2006, Maclure was honoured with a spot in the Canadian Aviation Hall Of Fame.

Discounting Peary’s disputed claim, the first men to set foot at the North Pole were, according to some sources, a Soviet Union party. These are variously described as including Pavel Gordiyenko (or Geordiyenko) and three or five others, or Aleksandr Kuznetsov and 23 others, who landed a plane (or planes) there on April 23, 1948. According to Antarctica.org, three Li-2 planes landed, carrying a total of seven men.

On May 3, 1952, U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher and Lieutenant William P. Benedict, along with scientist Albert P. Crary, landed a modified C-47 Skytrain at the North Pole. Some sources consider this (rather than the Soviet mission) to be the first ever landing at the Pole.

USS Skate at the North Pole, 1959

The United States Navy submarine USS Nautilus (SSN-571) crossed the North Pole on August 3, 1958, and on March 17, 1959, the USS Skate (SSN-578) surfaced at the Pole, becoming the first naval vessel to do so.

Setting aside Peary’s claim, the first confirmed surface conquest of the North Pole was that of Ralph Plaisted, Walt Pederson, Gerry Pitzl and Jean Luc Bombardier, who traveled over the ice by snowmobile and arrived on April 19, 1968. The United States Air Force independently confirmed their position.

On April 6, 1969, Wally Herbert and companions Allan Gill, Roy Koerner and Kenneth Hedges of the British Trans-Arctic Expedition became the first men to reach the North Pole on foot (albeit with the

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Search Thorn & Oak


• Have your Advertisment   Featured here

Contact us now <<click here>> have your advertisment featured on our site.

• Welcome to Thorn & Oak
• Join the Mailing List

Keep up to date with the latest changes on this site join our mailing list sign up below.



FREE TAROT READINGS
Lotus Tarot card readings can show you a fresh perspective on your life.
Lotus Tarot
December 2024
S M T W T F S
« Feb    
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
Powered by WebRing.