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Public Access A Staff Note “Sir Hubert Wilkins-Ellsworth Trans Arctic Submarine Expedition of 1931
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| Date: |
Monday, October 6, 2008 |
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| Time: |
6:00pm-9:00pm |
| Open to: | Public |
| Detailed Description: | Many considered it foolhardy but Australia-born explorer Sir Hubert Wilkins was determined to be the first to use a submarine to cross the Arctic Ocean by way of the North Pole. At the Pole, he planned to drill up and rendezvous with the airship Graf Zeppelin. A decommissioned U.S. Navy WW I submarine was leased in 1930 and extensively modified for under-ice operation. Christened the Nautilus, the submarine reached the icepack but sabotage forced a return to Bergen, Norway and there the world's first Arctic submarine was scuttled in a fjord in late 1931.
In September 2005, Dr. Stewart B. Nelson led an Explorers Club Flag Expedition that re-discovered the mostly forgotten Nautilus. The Wilkins-Ellsworth Trans Arctic Submarine Expedition of 1931 is certainly worthy of being remembered. Among the civilian crew of his submarine Nautilus was diver Frank Crilley, a holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor, and scientist Harald Sverdrup who would later become director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California.
Dr. Nelson's talk is especially timely as 2008 is the 50th anniversary of the nuclear submarine Nautilus making the first submerged transit of the Arctic Ocean by way of the North Pole – the very thing that Sir Hubert attempted to do in his submarine Nautilus back in 1931. 2008 is also the 50th anniversary of Sir Hubert's death. Additionally, 2008 marks the death of the last surviving crew member of Sir Hubert's submarine Nautilus.
Stewart B. Nelson has been involved in a wide variety of ocean-related activities. He earned a masters degree from The University of Rhode Island and a doctorate from the University of Southern California. The former president of the American Oceanic Organization, he has numerous awards and honors including Congressional Fellow and Marine Technology Society Fellow. He is listed in American Men and Women in Science and Who's Who in Frontier Science and Technology.
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| Reservation Deadline: | Reservations are suggested on a first-come, first-served basis. Please call 212-628-8383, Fax 212-628-4449, or email reservations@explorers.org. |
| Cancelation Deadline: | By 3PM, Friday, October 3rd. Reservations not canceled by this time will be charged to credit card. |
| Contact Email: | reservations@explorers.org |
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