Airships Italia and Norge: The Dramatic Polar Expeditions That Made History

The daring flights of the airships Norge and Italia rank among the most dramatic polar expeditions of the 20th century. The story of Amundsen, Nobile, and the tragic events in the Arctic continues to captivate historians and philatelists, as the theme appears on several postage stamps.

The first successful attempt to reach the North Pole by air is considered to be the 1926 flight of the airship Norge. Although the airship was designed and built in Italy, it flew under the Norwegian flag, as the project was financed by the Norwegian side. The initiator of this successful expedition was the famous Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen. The airship was piloted by Italian general Umberto Nobile, who also designed it. The entire expedition achieved worldwide recognition.

Fig. 1: General Umberto Nobile (source: raicultura.it).

After returning to Italy, Nobile was celebrated as a hero, and the regime of Benito Mussolini decided to repeat the expedition—this time as a purely Italian project. In 1928, a new expedition set off aboard the airship Italia, flying under the flag of the Kingdom of Italy and once again piloted by General Nobile. However, the second expedition ended in disaster when the Italia crashed during its return from the North Pole.

Part of the crew, including Nobile himself, survived the crash, and a large-scale rescue operation began immediately. Roald Amundsen volunteered as the first rescuer, despite his strained relationship with Nobile. Fate, however, took a tragic turn: Amundsen died during the rescue mission, while Nobile and the remaining survivors were eventually saved by the Soviet icebreaker Krasin.

Among the rescued crew members was Czech radiologist František Běhounek, who later described his dramatic experience in the book Trosečníci polárního moře (“Castaways of the Polar Sea”). The Italia expedition became one of the most well‑known polar tragedies of the 20th century.

Fig. 2: Airship Norge over Leningrad. Carte maxime with a USSR postage stamp from 1991.

Despite the fascinating history of both expeditions, this theme appears only minimally on postage stamps issued by the Kingdom of Italy. It gained more attention only after the fall of the fascist regime. For philatelists, the topic is particularly attractive, as it connects polar exploration, aviation, and significant historical events. Interesting stamps related to this theme can also be found in the category of Russian postage stamps.

Fig. 3: Icebreaker Krasin on a USSR postage stamp from 1976. The airship Italia is shown in the upper left corner.

If you collect philatelic material related to polar expeditions, proper storage is essential. A practical solution is the SPECIAL 30 stamp stockbook, which offers safe storage even for more valuable items.

Photographs 2 and 3 used in this article – private collection of the author.