Norge was 106 m long and 26 m tall. The ship's volume totalled 19 000 m³ and was filled with Hydrogen. It was equipped with 3 Maybach-engines with a total effect of 780 Hp. It could reach a maximum speed of 115 km/h.
The flight to cross the north pole started off from Rome on March 29, reaching its first destination Oslo, Norway on April 14. It then went via Leningrad to Vadsø in northern Norway, where the airship mast is still standing today. The expedition then crossed the Barents Sea to reach Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard which would be its last stop before crossing the pole. The airship left Ny-Ålesund for the final strech across the polar ice on May 11.
The 16 man expedition included (in addition to Amundsen) the airship's designer and pilot Umberto Nobile, expedition sponsor Lincoln Ellsworth as well as polar explorer Oscar Wisting.
On May 12 at 01.25 (GMT) they reached the North pole. The Norwegian, American and Italian flags were dropped from the airship onto the ice.
Airship, lighter-than-air craft equipped with a bag containing a gas to lift the ship, a means of propulsion, means for adjusting buoyancy, and one or more gondolas for the crew, passengers, and power units.
The war, however, disclosed the vulnerability of airships to aeroplane attack, and caused the abandonment of the dirigible for offensive military purposes.
non-rigid airships became useful for aerial observation, coastal patrol, convoying, and locating enemy submarines and mines, because of their ability to hover over a given location and to remain in the air for longer periods than the aeroplane.
The first zeppelin airship consisted of a row of 17 gas cells individually covered in rubberized cloth; the whole was confined in a cylindrical framework covered with smooth-surfaced cotton cloth.
Nonrigid airships became useful for aerial observation, coastal patrol, convoying, and locating enemy submarines and mines, because of their abilities to hover over a given location and to remain in the air for longer periods than the airplane.
The navy discontinued the use of airships in 1961; however, during the later-1980s there was a renewal of military interest in airships, and both the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy began to study the feasibility of using airships for airborne early warning and electronic warfare as well as antisubmarine warfare.
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