Date of event: Saturday, 23 June 1928 / By
hidden europe
Swedish aviator rescues Umberto Nobile!
Today a Swedish aviator, Einar Lundborg, successfully landed on the pack ice near the Nobile camp. This is a tremendous achievement, very much against the odds. Lundborg was flying a small Fokker 31 fitted with skis. Nobile was the most severely injured of the surviving crew at the camp, but was reluctant to leave with Lundborg. But Lundborg insisted, and with a lot of help Nobile was moved to the plane for the flight to safety.
Having transported Nobile to King’s Bay, Lundborg returned to rescue another member of the Italia crew, but this time had less luck. His small plane crashed upon landing, and was beyond repair. Lundborg found himself stuck on the ice with the surviving members of the Italia crew.