Aeroarctic
The Aeroarctic , the "International Study Society for Exploring the Arctic by Airship", from 1928 "International Study Society for Exploring the Arctic with Aircraft", was a non-governmental scientific association that had set itself the goal of using airships in polar research . It was founded mainly on the initiative of the airship and later Secretary General of the company, Walther Bruns . The founding president was Fridtjof Nansen in 1924 . After several years of preparatory work, the company succeeded in 1931 in using an airship for a purely scientific polar expedition for the first time. The knowledge of the geography of the polar regions flown over was significantly expanded through the Arctic voyage of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin . In 1937 the Aeroarctic disbanded.
history
founding
In 1919 Hauptmann a. D. Walther Bruns, who had served as airship commander in World War I , gave public lectures to the Naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu Görlitz on "The development of guided airship travel", in which he developed initial ideas for the use of airships for transpolar traffic. He thus tied in with the ideas of the meteorologist Hugo Hergesell , who had already pointed out the potential of the airship for geographic exploration of the polar regions in 1907 and was supported in this by the Norwegian polar researcher Fridtjof Nansen . In 1910, Hergesell and Ferdinand von Zeppelin undertook a study trip to Spitzbergen to investigate the meteorological and geographical conditions for zeppelin trips in the Arctic . The geographer Erich von Drygalski and the photo technician Adolf Miethe also took part in the trip with the steamer Mainz . The results have been encouraging. The summer Arctic seemed to be well suited for such journeys, as only minor temperature fluctuations were observed during the polar day .
Bruns managed to win over important German scientists for his plans. Under the chairmanship of the aerologist Arthur Berson , a "Committee for the Exploration of the Arctic with the Airship" was established. Its first members were the head of the Meteorological-Magnetic Observatory Potsdam, Adolf Schmidt , the head of the meteorological department of this institute, Reinhard Süring , the polar researcher Leonid Breitfuß and the meteorologist Kurt Wegener belonged. Berson and Bruns wrote a memorandum published in 1924 in which the possibilities of arctic aviation and those of arctic research with the airship were discussed. At that time, the implementation of the plans was faced with two weighty problems: firstly, there was no support from the Zeppelin shipyard, and secondly, Germany was so politically isolated that only internationalization could help the project to succeed. The latter was a difficult task that was only successful thanks to personal worldwide contacts Berson and Bruns' direct approach to Fridtjof Nansen, the highly respected polar explorer and high commissioner for refugee issues in the League of Nations . On October 7, 1924, the Aeroarctic, the "International Study Society for Exploring the Arctic by Airship", was founded in Berlin. Nansen was elected President and Bruns General Secretary. Ernst Kohlschütter , the chairman of the Society for Geography in Berlin, took over the chairmanship of the German regional group .
Further development until 1930
In 1925 Bruns went on a lecture tour to the Soviet Union . He spoke to the Soviet Geographical Society and proposed to the Council of People's Commissars that a regular airship route to East Asia be established. The participation of the Soviet Union was imperative for the project, as a base on the mainland was required for the Arctic route into the Pacific region. The Soviet national group within the Aeroarctic soon had the second most members after the German.
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total |
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| 1925 | 1 | 5 | 67 | 6th | 6th | 4th | 1 | 5 | 4th | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7th | 1 | 113 | ||||||
| 01/01/1927 | 1 | 5 | 86 | 5 | 6th | 6th | 3 | 8th | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 1 | 40 | 2 | 193 | |
| 10/01/1927 | 1 | 5 | 94 | 9 | 6th | 9 | 4th | 8th | 7th | 3 | 2 | 6th | 6th | 8th | 7th | 5 | 7th | 1 | 40 | 3 | 231 |
| 04/01/1928 | 1 | 5 | 97 | 9 | 6th | 8th | 4th | 9 | 7th | 2 | 2 | 8th | 10 | 6th | 6th | 5 | 7th | 10 | 45 | 9 | 256 |
| 10/01/1928 | 1 | 7th | 108 | 9 | 6th | 8th | 7th | 9 | 7th | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 8th | 5 | 7th | 9 | 19th | 63 | 34 | 333 |
| 01/01/1929 | 1 | 7th | 123 | 9 | 6th | 8th | 6th | 10 | 7th | 3 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 8th | 5 | 8th | 9 | 21st | 80 | 35 | 371 |
| 07/01/1929 | 1 | 6th | 132 | 9 | 6th | 8th | 11 | 13 | 7th | 3 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 8th | 5 | 10 | 10 | 22nd | 82 | 51 | 410 |
The 1st general assembly of the Aeroarctic took place from November 9th to 13th, 1926 in Berlin. 300 members and guests attended the opening session in the Prussian state parliament , including Wilhelm Külz , the Reich Minister of the Interior . The society now belonged to 19 regional groups with 193 members. Nansen and Bruns were confirmed in their offices.
In 1928 the German government agreed to make the airship LZ 127, which was under construction, available for two research trips. At the 2nd General Assembly of the Aeroarctic in Leningrad , a 52-member research council was set up to prepare the planned aviation scientifically and technically. In November 1928, Hugo Eckener, as director of the Zeppelin Works , also confirmed that LZ 127 would be made available for two trips in 1930. The first trip was to lead from Leningrad to Nome in Alaska and back again. Bruns and Nansen traveled to America in 1929 to give lectures and to obtain approval for the construction of an anchor mast in Nome. They also negotiated with the Hearst Group , which was offered exclusive reporting rights.
In 1928 Hubert Wilkins and Carl Ben Eielson became the first honorary members of the Aeroarctic after their transarctic flight from Alaska to Spitsbergen .
Nansen's unexpected death in May 1930 threatened the expedition, as it was initially difficult to find a suitable successor. Problems with taking out insurance for the airship also meant that the Arctic voyage had to be postponed again and again. Only after Eckener had proven the suitability of the airship for use at higher latitudes through trips to Spitsbergen and Iceland was it possible to conclude a contract that allowed trips up to the 82nd parallel. Another test drive took the zeppelin to Moscow on September 10 and 11, 1930. The Aeroarctic Research Council and Board of Directors met from November 5th to 8th. As the successor to Nansen, Eckener was elected President of the Society and Rudolf Samoilowitsch Chairman of the Research Council.
The Arctic voyage of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin in 1931
The financing of the Arctic voyage was not secured in the spring of 1931 either. A press-effective meeting of the Zeppelin with Wilkins' submarine Nautilus at the geographic North Pole was therefore considered. When Wilkins failed with his North Pole trip, Hearst withdrew from the contract. Eckener then assigned the worldwide image and press rights to Ullstein Verlag . The plans for a transarctic flight were abandoned for cost and insurance reasons. A route variant into the Soviet Arctic, to Franz Joseph Land and Severnaya Zemlya was chosen.
The long-planned trip finally took place from July 24 to 31, 1931. In addition to the crew, 15 expedition members were on board, including Rudolf Samoilowitsch as leader, the geophysicist Ludwig Weickmann , the meteorologist Pawel Moltschanow and the polar explorer Lincoln Ellsworth . The zeppelin first flew from Friedrichshafen via Berlin and Leningrad to Franz-Josef-Land. In the Buchta Tichaja of the Hooker Island there was a meeting with the Soviet icebreaker Malygin , at which mail was exchanged to finance the enterprise. After brief circling over Franz-Josef-Land, Eckener steered the airship east to the not yet fully mapped Komsomolez Island and followed the west coast of Severnaya Zemlya to Cape Chelyuskin . Via the Byrranga Mountains of the Taimyr Peninsula , we went back to the Kara Sea and the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya at Dikson . Following the southeast coast of the double island, the zeppelin returned to Friedrichshafen after flying over Arkhangelsk and Leningrad and making another stop in Berlin. LZ 127 had covered a total of around 10,600 kilometers.
The trip demonstrated the excellent suitability of airships as a means of transport and research platform in the Arctic. She produced a wealth of scientific results. In terms of geography, for example, it has been shown that Albert Eduard Island and Harmsworth Island in the northwest of Franz Josef Land do not even exist. Parts of Severnaya Zemlya, the coast of which were only roughly known, could be measured photogrammetrically . The geomagnetic measurements from the air and the use of radiosondes were also trend-setting.
Last years
The 3rd general assembly of the Aeroarctic took place from November 7th to 9th, 1931 in Berlin. In spite of the global economic crisis , it was assumed that the LZ 127 would run again during the 2nd International Polar Year 1932/33. However, this did not materialize due to a lack of financial resources. There was also not enough money to publish the extensive results of the Arctic voyage. Arktis magazine has been discontinued. In 1933, however, a 113-page anthology with scientific results appeared as a supplement to Petermann's communications . After the National Socialists came to power , foreign national associations withdrew from the Aeroarctic. An extraordinary general meeting on January 27, 1937 decided to dissolve it, as there was no longer any prospect of resuming the research work of the society.
literature
- Cornelia Lüdecke : German polar research since the turn of the century and the influence of Erich von Drygalski. Dissertation, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich , 1993 (= reports on polar research . Volume 158, 1995). doi : 10.2312 / BzP_0158_1995
- Diedrich Fritzsche: Walther Bruns and the Aeroarctic . In: Polar Research . tape 88 , no. 1 , 2018, p. 7-22 , doi : 10.2312 / polarforschung.88.1.7 .
- Barbara Schennerlein: The aeroarctic and arctic voyage of the airship “Graf Zeppelin” LZ 127 in July 1931 and the voyage of the submarine “Nautilus” . In: Polar Research . tape 88 , no. 1 , 2018, p. 31-48 , doi : 10.2312 / polarforschung.88.1.31 .
- Reinhard A. Krause: Data instead of sensations. The path to international polar research from a German perspective . In: Reports on Polar and Marine Research (= Reports on Polar and Marine Research ). Volume 609, 2010. doi: 10.2312 / BzPM_0609_2010
Web links
- Documents and newspaper articles on the Aeroarctic in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Excerpt from a letter from Nansen to Hergesell dated October 16, 1909 in: Adolf Miethe, Hugo Hergesell (ed.): With Zeppelin to Spitzbergen . Bong, Berlin 1911, pp. 279-281.
- ↑ Ferdinand von Zeppelin: Did our expedition show the expediency of using my airships to explore the Arctic? In: Adolf Miethe, Hugo Hergesell (ed.): With Zeppelin to Spitzbergen . Bong, Berlin 1911, pp. 284-291.
- ↑ Cornelia Lüdecke: German polar research since the turn of the century and the influence of Erich von Drygalski. , P. 163.
- ^ Diedrich Fritzsche: Walther Bruns and the Aeroarctic , p. 10.
- ↑ Wilkins reports. The first two honorary members of the Aero-Arctic ( Memento from April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) . In: Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung , June 2, 1928 (accessed April 1, 2014)
- ↑ Cornelia Lüdecke: German polar research since the turn of the century and the influence of Erich von Drygalski. , P. 228.
- ↑ Barbara Schennerlein: The Aeroarctic and the Arctic voyage of the airship “Graf Zeppelin” LZ 127 in July 1931 and the voyage of the submarine “Nautilus” , p. 42.
- ^ Lincoln Ellsworth, Edward H. Smith: Report of the Preliminary Results of the Aeroarctic Expedition with "Graf Zeppelin", 1931 (PDF; 2.2 MB). In: Geographical Review . Volume 22, No. 1, 1932, pp. 61-82.
