Norway renews search for South Pole conqueror

OSLO (AP) — Norway plans to resume the search for South Pole conqueror Roald Amundsen’s plane 81 years after it vanished during an Arctic rescue mission, the Royal Norwegian Navy announced Monday (Feb. 23).

The Latham flying boat in which Amundsen lost his life.

Amundsen disappeared aboard the French Latham 47 flying boat in the Barents Sea on June 18, 1928.

The plane was searching for the gas-filled airship “Italia,” which crashed when returning from the North Pole during an expedition led by Italian aeronautical engineer Umberto Nobile.

“We want to find the plane and help solve the mystery,” said Navy Cmdr. Frode Loeseth said by telephone.

 “This will be conducted as a military operation.”

Loeseth said new clues and new technology, including a remote-controlled submarine, auguer well for a project that includes the Navy, the Norwegian Air Force Museum and specialist companies. “If the plane is there, we will find it,” said Loeseth.

Even though the Latham 47 was built of wood on a steel frame, experts say major components such as the engines might still be visible on the ocean floor. 

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