The Fokker Airplane "Josephine Ford" in the Water during the Byrd Arctic Expedition, 1926

THF701949 / The Fokker Airplane "Josephine Ford" in the Water during the Byrd Arctic Expedition, 1926
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Artifact Overview

Richard Byrd led an expedition to the Arctic in 1926, highlighted by a North Pole flight on May 9. When Byrd's ship Chantier arrived at Spitzbergen, Norway -- his base of operations -- a disabled vessel blocked the harbor's single pier. Undiscouraged, Byrd's crew built a raft from several small boats. They moved Byrd's airplane Josephine Ford ashore on their makeshift ferry.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

1926

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

88.15.7

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Dr. Gertrude Nobile.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 2.25 in
Width: 3.125 in

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    1925 Fokker F.VII Tri-Motor Airplane, "Josephine Ford," Flown Over the North Pole by Richard Byrd

    Explorer Richard Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett flew this Fokker F.VII Tri-Motor airplane toward the North Pole on May 9, 1926. Though Byrd is generally credited with reaching the pole, controversy remains. Edsel Ford financed the expedition, and Byrd acknowledged his patron by naming the plane Josephine Ford, after Ford's daughter.