airship Italia heading east from Kings Bay

Although the North Pole was Nobile’s main goal, he and his team were also keen to make a foray eastward from Spitsbergen across what was, at the time, still largely uncharted territory. On 11 May, the Italia took off from Kings Bay, heading east towards Nordaustlandet and Franz-Josef Land. But just three hours out from Kings Bay, the airship ran into bad weather, and Nobile decided to play safe and return to Kings Bay.