The Fokker Airplane "Josephine Ford" during the Byrd Arctic Expedition, 1926
THF701953 / The Fokker Airplane "Josephine Ford" 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
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
88.15.9
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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Related Artifacts
Artifact1925 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.
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Related Content
- Set
Richard Byrd’s North Pole Flight
- 25 Artifacts
On May 9, 1926, explorer Richard Byrd and pilot Floyd Bennett took off from Norway on a round-trip flight to the North Pole in their Fokker Tri-Motor airplane Josephine Ford. Though Byrd is generally credited with reaching the pole, controversy remains over whether he could have made the 1,350-mile journey in the 16 hours he and Bennett spent aloft. Whatever doubts remain today, Byrd was celebrated as a leading polar explorer of his time.