 Balbo's North Atlantic Flight in 1933  |
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The sea planes
Seaplane S.M 55 X The communications
Communications network The ships
Ship Alice The airplanes in support The equipment |
From "La centuria alata" by Italo Balbo: "Fortune wanted an icebreaker, the Ungava, to be in the San Giovanni di Terranova bay together with Senef, the small tanker of the Stardard Oil Company. to use the Ungava The Alice has no watertight compartments Just 900 tons, the impact with an iceberg would immediately drop it in. Nor is there any hope that the floating mountains will disappear in the weeks that follow. It is the area of ??low pressure, but it takes at least 4 days before the Ungava can reach Alice in the Grignet bay, at least as many as they will reach Cartwright. [...] The Ungava reaches Alice. This discharge on the icebreaker all the fuel, the reserve material, the staff of the Labrador base, the journalists, and now the crew does not remain on the Alice: whatever fate awaits, the destiny of the Cruise is guaranteed because the 'Ungava does not fear the ice. Alice should have reached the Labrador as soon as the Belle Isle Strait was clear. However, this extraordinary fact happens: that the small Italian ship, barely relieved of its precious cargo, boldly turns its bow towards Cartwright and maneuvering with exceptional skill, passes through the icebergs the channels of the ice pack, crosses the strait and arrives before the icebreaker, before any other ship of the season, to the small country that for weeks and weeks wanted to reach. I received a triumphal telegram from Commander Balilla Longo. The danger was great and great imprudence. What to do? We are already in the climate of the Cruise, a climate of daring, where success all justifies when it is done for the honor of the flag. Instead of a rebuke the radio telegraph a praise. Alice beat the icebreaker. As soon as it arrives with the men and the material, let's take a deep breath: the base of Cartwright is fine! " | |||||||||