Umberto Nobile Polar Flight 1928

Umberto Nobile and a Polar Disaster.

The set of 4 stamps is titled Polar Expedition 1928, the same design in four colors. At the top is Umberto Nobile and a portrait; the base printer inscription is Edition Enzo Cano, Naples. On the side of the airship is Italia.

Umberto Nobile was an Italian engineer and aviator who designed and promoted semi-rigid airships, much smaller than the latest Zeppelins of the 1920’s. Several of these were sold to other countries, including the US. He had already had one successful flight over the North Pole and on to Alaska on an airship named the Norge, flying with Roald Amundsen (1926). The flight of 1928 was intended to do somewhat the same, but be more distinctly Italian, with Nobile in charge and a majority of Italians in the crew.

The Italian government paid for the airship Italia construction, but more money was needed, most of which was contributed by the city of Milan. Were these stamps sold to raise money for the Expedition, or simply some printer’s idea of selling a few souvenirs to fellow Italians?  Nobile was originally from a town east of Naples, so there would have been a touch of hometown pride involved.

The stamps are cataloged by Eupremio Malorzo in his impressive Italian Cinderella catalog [1], pIctured in 4 colors. A second printing, more common and of much lower quality printing, is listed in the four colors, but has also been seen in a gray-silver color. Below are some panes of that second issue; they are rated much lower by Malorzo, apparently more common as well as being a cruder printing.

Malorzo does not mention fund-raising, so we can only guess that the stamps were likely sold as souvenirs. Another catalog, pre-1940, published by Yvert Co. in France, mentions these stamps–again, very little information. A semi-official stamp is also mentioned but is not pictured, and we assume very rare. If any collector has an example, please notify us.

[1] Catalogo degli Erinnofili Italiani- Bolli commemorative dal 1860 al 1945; Eupremio Malorzo; Edizioni Digitalis srl, 2006, Torino, Italy. Color pictures of examples. Note that Malorzo’s numbering is used in the captions.

The flight flew over the North Pole, but was a disaster on the return leg of the trip. On May 25^th the airship was caught in ice storms and crashed on the Artic pack ice, 6 crewmen were blown away with the remnant of the balloon, never found; 9 crewmen, most injured, were marooned for over a month with minimal supplies from the gondola and one tent.

A bit of chronological summary:

June 5   A Norwegian pilot makes the first flight in search of Italia. In the next month, pilots from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Italy make search and rescue flights.

June 6   A Russian radio operator hears the SOS signals from Italia survivors.

June 8   Radio messaging contact established with the Italian exploration ship Citta di Milano.

June 18   Roald Amundsen disappears on a flight to aid in search operations.

June 20   An Italian pilot spots the red tent & crushed gondola site and drops supplies, etc.

June 23   A small plane with skis lands at the site, returns with 1 passenger (Nobile). The plane returns the next day but crashes at the site, trapping the pilot with the survivors there.

The international rescue attempt by air and sea ended 12^th of July when the last of the crew were rescued by a Russian icebreaker ship, the Krassin. Meanwhile, famous explorer/friend Roald Amundsen was lost, attempts to find Amundsen lasted 2 more months, nothing was ever found.

Malorzo lists this overprinted version, rated rather low at €2, even though it is scarcer than the plain second issue. Although he shows only brown, it is probably printed in the four typical colors (and possibly silver or other colors). The stamp is the second, poorer quality printing. Malorozo notes with the overprint: This is a forgery or apocryphal issue, so it was not honestly made to raise money for the rescue. The reason for the date 10th of June is unknown.

The story of the crash and its aftermath is fascinating; one can read more in Wikipedia or other on-line sources. The scapegoated and out-of-favor Nobile spent many years living in several countries, including Russia and the US, before returning to Italy after WW2 and the end of the fascist government there. A movie was made about the tragedy in 1969, called The Red Tent, starring several big-name European actors (including Peter Finch & Sean Connery). It is highly fictionalized, but one can watch the movie on youtube for free and get a feel for the story.

As with most poster stamps, records are non-existent, so these will always have a bit of mystery involved.

–T. Minor, S. Greiczek

PS!

Thanks to Robert Brew’s research, the 10th of June date is understood. On the 10th a search plane took off from the city of Sesto Calende, a small town northwest of Milan, to travel north and join in search efforts for those explorers stranded on the ice. It was 10 days later that this plane was the first to spot them, although it was a flying boat that could not land on the ice floe.

On the 10th of June 2018, the 90th anniversary, a celebration was held in Sesto Calende involving drones and model aircraft of the original, a Marchetti S.55 made by the Siai Marchetti company in Sesto Calende.  Here is a news article about that event. And here is a stamp probably made to publicize the 2018 anniversary, showing a Marchetti plane. Thanks,Bob!