Talk:Lincoln Ellsworth

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Contents 1 Question 2 About Lincoln Ellsworth 3 Little America 4 Questionable passage

[edit] Question

Is Lincoln Ellsworth related to Oliver Ellsworth, the 3rd Chief Justice of the United States?

I would guess Ellsworth Air Force Base (Rapid City SD) is named after him?

[edit] About Lincoln Ellsworth

Excerpts from a letter reply dated July 26th 1970's from Mary Louise Ellsworth (Lincoln Ellsworth's widow - I met her personally in the late 1980's in New York at the Carlyle Hotel - Mary Louise Ellsworth is now deceased - --203.29.131.4 06:10, 7 January 2006 (UTC)Sally Douglas) ...To answer your question about President Abraham Lincoln - The first officer killed in our Civil War was Ellsworth. (Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth - father of James W Ellsworth and hence Lincoln Ellsworth's Paternal grand-father). In Alexandria Virginia at a hotel a man tore down the flying flag. He (Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth) went up to put it up and was shot. A very old fashioned picture I have shows this most dramatically. He was a close of Mr Lincoln's and was buried from the White House. I have the original letter the President sent to his family. It is typical of Mr Lincoln in the lovely way it was written... ...Yes Lincoln had Wyatt Earp's Wedding ring - his very used cartridge belt and his gun. Mr Earp was not living but Lincoln saw Mrs Earp quite a few times. She gave him these things and photographs... As you I am sure have heard he (Lincoln Ellsworth) was a very simple man - this I feel is the essence of greatness... ...Mary Louise Ellsworth

[edit] Little America

The Search For Lincoln Ellsworth

At 8AM on the 22nd November 1935, the American Explorer Lincoln Ellsworth and his Canadian Pilot Hollick Kenyon took off in their single engine NORTHROP low wing monoplane "Polar Star" from Dundee Island, 500 miles south of Cape Horn on the east coast of the Antarctic Archipelago for a trans Continental Antarctic flight to the Bay of Whales, Ross Sea, a distance of 2200 miles with most of it to be across unknown regions. Eight hours after their departure their wireless signals ceased and the worst was feared for their safety as it was estimated that they had covered only 1000 miles of their journey should the cessation of wireless signals be due to them being forced down through engine failure or bad weather. On board Ellsworth's Ship "Wyatt Earp" at Dundee Island was Sir Hubert Wilkins, second in Command of the Expedition. Sir Hubert contacted Washington U.S.A. by radio and requested that the British Government be asked to help in locating Lincoln Ellsworth and Kenyon by making a search in the Ross Ice Barrier area while he Sir Hubert in the "Wyatt Earp" proceeded to Chile in South America to take on a relief aeroplane in readiness for a search in the area of Charcot Land situated between the Bellinghause and the Ross Seas on the east side of the Antarctic Archipelago. At this time the British Antarctic Research Ship "Discovery 2" was in Antarctic waters south of Cape Town conducting part of a oceanographical survey and at the mutual agreement between the British Government and the Commonwealth Government of Australia, the "Discovery 2" was directed to proceed to Melbourne, Australia with all haste to take on board several aeroplanes and a party of RAAF Airmen with the purpose of proceeding to the Bay of Whales, Ross Sea to commence a search for the missing crew of the "Polar Star". I was appointed by the Minister for Defence Sir William Glasgow to lead a Royal Australian Air Force party in the proposed aerial search and to this end I made preparations. Two aeroplanes were to be taken, one a De Havilland "Moth" seaplane for scouting work and a Westland "Wapiti" provided with floats and ski undercarriages for fitment as may be required, to be used for the main search. The R.A.A.F. party consisted on myself, Flying Officer Murdoch, 2nd Pilot, Sergeant Pilot Spooner, relief Pilot, Sergeants Easterbrook and Reddrop, Corporal Cottee and Aircraftsman Gibbs. The Royal Research Ship "Discovery 2" arrived at Williamstown Port Phillip Bay, in the second week of December and after extensive alterations were made to her after structure to permit the carrying of the Wapiti aeroplane, our Aircraft and stores were loaded and the Ship made ready for departure. My final briefing was given by Captain John King Davis, Director of Commonwealth Navigation who had considerable experience and knowledge of Antarctic conditions and operations. We said farewell on the morning of 23rd December but did not clear the Port Phillip heads until the next day as it was necessary for the ship to carry out Directional finding calibrations to its radio equipment. We made good progress through Bass Strait and after several days most of us had gained our "sea legs". We maintained an average of 220 miles per day and on the morning of 31st December we sighted the mountainous coast of southern New Zealand where after steaming up the coast we entered Port Chalmers and steamed up the narrow water way to the town of Dunedin. The purpose of calling at Dunedin was to top up the Ships fuel tank to give as great a steaming range as possible without detracting very much from a direct route to the Ross Sea as our Captain intended to enter the pack ice at the head of the Ross Sea in longitude 180 degrees east. We spent several pleasant hours ashore but were unable to spend much time on sightseeing as the RAAF party took the opportunity to complete the preparations to the aircraft in readiness for the forthcoming flying. We departed early on the 2nd January 1936 and steamed south at full speed and within several days were in the region of sleet and snow. By Tuesday 7th January we were over 1000 miles south of New Zealand and then crossed the 180th Meridian of longitude to the east and thus picked up a (date) day, giving us two Tuesdays. During this day we crossed the Antarctic Circle (66 33 South) and entered loose pack ice. The pack ice increased but we still had made good progress and by Thursday 9th January we had penetrated over 100 miles into the pack ice which normally is at least 300 miles deep at the head of the Ross Sea and which must be navigated before reaching the blue waters of the Ross Sea. This belt of pack ice is a feature of this locality, it is caused by the prevailing south east winds driving the hummocky pack ice from the region of the Bellinghause Sea to the west across to Cape Adare at the North western tip of the Ross Sea. On the 10th January our progress came to an end due to very heavy ice which now loomed ahead of us. Later in the day we made a few additional miles but our progress was unsatisfactory and it was obvious that a reconnaissance flight must be made to assist the ship in its ice navigation and progress. At about 8AM on the morning of the 12th January the Ship managed to enter an isolated pool of water which I considered would be safe from which to make a solo flight. At about 10AM I was lowered overboard in the Moth seaplane and after a bit of taxying to ensure that no ice existed in my proposed take off path, I opened up, took off and climbed up to a cloud layer at 1200 feet altitude and flew away to the south. I observed that better ice conditions existed about 30 miles from the Ship. After a flight of about 40 minutes I returned to the vicinity of the Ship and alighted in the water pool which had closed up considerably since I had taken off. I had to twist and turn the Moth to avoid the ice, however all went well and I was hoisted onboard without damage to the aeroplane. During the next day conditions remained much the same, low clouds with occasional snow squalls and heavy pack ice, some of which was over 20 feet thick. Captain Hill was particularly anxious that a second flight be made if at all possible as the ice navigation of the Ship had now become most difficult. We managed to break into another pool of water and at 12.30PM I was lowered overboard in the Moth with F/O Murdoch as my companion. We had some difficulty in getting off but made it with about 100 yards of water to spare and then climbed up to the cloud layer at 1200 feet. We flew south for a distance of about 20 miles and observed that clear sky and water existed about 50 miles south of the Ship. Upon our return I noticed that the Ship was steaming slowly in the pool but had the prevailing wind on its wrong side for our plane to be hoisted onboard. I flew over the ship and indicated to the Captain to turn the Ship about which he did. We alighted close to the Ship and made an attempt to hook on to the lifting hook but failed. F/O Murdoch then transferred to the motor boat standing by and I took off solo and alighted in a more favourable position for coming onboard. The observations made on this flight were most valuable as it was apparent that the ice conditions would become easier after several miles of pack and this gave encouragement to the Captain of the Discovery. Later in the afternoon the Ship was able to increase speed in more open pack and at 3AM on the 14th January we broke clear of the ice into the Ross Sea after traversing 380 miles of pack ice. We were now about 400 miles from the barrier face of the famous Ross Ice barrier. Except for isolated Ice bergs we were now in a glorious blue sea and able to continue at full speed. Early on the morning of 15th January we saw the ice glare of the Barrier which was observed as a bright white glare over the southern horizon. At about 3PM the barrier face came into view and by 4PM we were close to the ice cliffs and steaming parallel to them to the east towards the Bay of Whales. At this time there was a terrific glare over the ice Barrier, the height of which appeared to be about 100 feet, it was a weird sight. The air temperature had dropped from freezing to 18 degrees Fahrenheit due to the cold outflow of air from the Barrier. This was also noticeable by the formation of sea smoke over the sea caused by the cold air striking the relatively warm water. At 8PM we reached the Bay of Whales and steamed south until we arrived at the edge of the frozen bay ice. The width of the bay appeared to be about 8 miles. At 8.20PM the Ships Officers reported that they could see two orange coloured flags fluttering in the breeze on top of the Barrier face to the east. I had a look through the binoculars and agreed with the observation made. We knew that Ellsworth carried orange coloured signal strips in his plane, several signal rockets were then fired from the Ship, they exploded with tremendous noise at a height of about 1000 feet over the Ship. As no movement was seen on the Barrier ice it was presumed that the missing aviators were either dead or possibly at "Little America" 6 miles due south of the flags. Despite the lateness of the evening it was decided to carry out a reconnaissance flight in over the Barrier ice as far as "Little America" to see whether there was any indication of life before commencing the search with our Wapiti aeroplane. At about 7PM Flying Officer Murdoch and myself were lowered overboard in the Moth and towed clear of the Ship. Due to the low temperature (8 F) the sea spray when flying froze on the floats and undersurfaces of the lower wing and it was obvious that we must get off quickly to stop the icing up otherwise the aeroplane would have to be hoisted onboard to clear the ice with hot water. After a long run I managed to get the plane into the air and then climbed slowly to 1000 feet. When we levelled out it was surmised that water in the floats had run aft in the climb and then frozen. I turned towards the Barrier and set a course for the locality of "Little America" which we knew would be distinguishable by several tall masts or poles rising out of the snow and ice. As we progressed in over the Barrier the flying conditions became extremely bad and it was all I could do to keep a steady course. This was due to the snow blind light which we were now experiencing, no horizon to the south was visible due to the extreme glare from the Barrier ice merging with the reflected glare from a layer of light clouds and we could see nothing ahead of us except a yellowish glare. Some minutes later Murdoch observed what appeared to be black cracks in the ice below and to our surprise as we both looked the cracks appeared to "stand up", we then realised they were poles running out of the snow and ice and that we were over "Little America". I carefully circled the area and we then noticed orange coloured strips near the poles. Suddenly we saw the figure of a man appear out of a hole and he started to wave his arms. This caused great excitement between us as we realised it must be either Ellsworth or Kenyon. I continued to circle and after a few minutes we threw overboard a small bag attached to a letter from the Captain of the Discovery congratulating Ellsworth and Kenyon on their achievement and asking them that if they were well enough, to start out on the seven mile hike to the Barrier face where they would be met by a land party from the Discovery. We observed the figure pick up the parachute and wave. I then turned to the east to look at an object which appeared to be the wing of an aeroplane. Sure enough it was a wing projecting out of the snow and as we had heard that Admiral Byrd had taken home with him all his aircraft we came to the conclusion that this was the wreckage of Ellsworth's aeroplane "Polar Star". I then headed away to the Ross Sea and steered towards an arc of water sky which appeared black against the glare of the Barrier and in a few minutes we could pick out the Ship. We turned along the Barrier face looking for a suitable place for a land party to climb to the Barrier from the frozen sea. I then flew back to the Ship and made an alighting close by. We shut off our engine and shouted out the startling news to the anxiously awaiting Captain and all other members who down to the Ships cook had gathered on the poop. After the plane was hoisted onboard congratulations were passed all round and all hands joined in the toast to the happy occasion. Within ten minutes after our arrival the news was flashed to Australia.

Word processed by --203.29.131.4 06:09, 7 January 2006 (UTC)Sally Douglas - from the notes - hand written by Eric Douglas – Royal Australian Air Force

Ellsworth Relief Expedition - Antarctic Flying Times & Remarks - Jan 1936 - Flight Lt G E Douglas

Moth Seaplane A7-55 12/1/36 Self Solo - 30 mins Engine Satisfactory in Air, oil pressure normal, lacks revs for take off. Air temperature 30 F, clouds 1200 feet Position Lat 71 45 S Long 178 W Observations General pack and isolated bergs. Some open water to S. 13/1/36 Self & F/o Murdoch - 1.00 hour Engine Take off revs 1700. Satisfactory in air. Air temperature (sea level) 26 F. Aircraft Satisfactory except controls somewhat stiff, clouds 1300 feet Position Lat 73 S Long 178 W. Wind 20 M.P.H. 80 degrees TRUE Observations Heavy pack to east, open water 30 miles to S.W. 15/1/36 Self & F/o Murdoch - 1.00 hour Eng take off revs 1710. Satisfactory in air. Aircraft Due to low air temperature 4 F, sea spray froze to floats and underside of fuselage and wings. Pos Bay of Whales Lat 78 30 S Long 164 W. Ross ice barrier to Little America 7 miles south TRUE Obs One man seen at Little America. Food & letter dropped by parachute. Flying conditions difficult due to snow blind light. 28/1/36 Self & F/o Murdoch - 1.00 hour (take off time 1000 hrs) Eng Take off revs 1725 (This due mainly to better warming) Pos Lat 73 20 S Long 175 E Obs Light broken clouds 1500 feet. Large ice berg 16 by 4 miles, open water to N.W. - 15 miles distant. Otherwise general pack. 28/1/36 Self & F/o Murdoch - 1.05 (take off time 1835 hrs) Eng Very satisfactory Air temp 30 F Pos Lat 73 S Long 174 50 E Obs General pack in all directions, easiest conditions appeared to be to the north east.

Word processed by Sally Douglas in 2002 - from notes - hand written by Eric Douglas --Beckysharp (talk) 22:26, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

Sources (1) Polar Extremes - The World of Lincoln Ellsworth - Beekman H Pool - University of Alaska Press 2002 - 919.804'092_dc21 & ISBN 1-889963-43-7 & ISBN 1-889963-44-5. (2) South Latitude - F D Ommanney - Longmann, Green & Co Ltd - First Published 1838 - Reissued 1965 (3) Discovery 2 in the Antarctic - The Story of British Research in the Southern Seas - John Coleman-Cooke - Forward by Dr G E R Deacon - Director of the National Institute of Oceanography - Odhams Press Ltd - First Published in 1963 --220.245.157.158 00:24, 23 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Questionable passage

• The Boy Scout's Book of True Adventure, Fourteen Honorary Scouts, with Foreward By Theodore Roosevelt and Biographical Notes By James E. West. Published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York (1931) -- Essays include: "The First Crossing of the Polar Sea" by Lincoln Ellsworth, "In the Arctic" by Lincoln Ellsworth, "Scouting Against the Apache" by Frederick R. Burnham, "How I Learned to Fly" by Orville Wright, "Adventurous Hunting" by Kermit Roosevelt, "An Arctic Mirage" by Donald B. MacMillan, "A Tobacco Trade" by George Bird Grinnell, "The Black Ghosts of the Tana River" by James L. Clark, "My Flight Over the Atlantic" by Richard E. Byrd, "In the Jungles of Cochin-China" by Theodore Roosevelt, "Shipwreck" by Robert A. Bartlett, "Written in the Air" by Charles A. Lindbergh, "Tiger! Tiger!" by Merian C. Cooper, "Bandits" by Clifford H. Pope, and "Adventure" by Stewart Edward White. All 13 photo plates of the honorary Scouts are present; both Roosevelts in the same photo.