| Richard Byrd |
Article Index for Richard |
Website Links For Richard |
Information AboutRichard Byrd |
|
BIOGRAPHY Richard Evelyn Byrd was born into one of Virginia's First Families on October, 25, 1888. A descendent of William Byrd II of Westover Plantation (founder of Richmond, Virginia ), his brother was Harry Flood Byrd who became a Governor Of Virginia and U.S. Senator . Richard E. Byrd attended the University Of Virginia before financial circumstances inspired his transfer and graduation from the United States Naval Academy in 1912 . He learned to fly in World War I during his tour with the United States Navy . He developed a passion for flight, and pioneered many techniques for navigating airplanes over the open ocean including drift indicators and bubble sextants. His expertise in this area resulted in his appointment to plan the flight path for the U.S. Navy's 1919 Transatlantic crossing. Of the three Flying Boats that attempted it, only Albert Read 's aircraft the NC-4 completed the trip; becoming the first ever transatlantic flight. ATTEMPT TO FLY OVER THE NORTH POLE, 1926 On May 9 , 1926 , Byrd and Floyd Bennett attempted a flight over the North Pole. They claimed to have achieved the pole, but were never able to present credible navigational data to support their story. Subsequent evidence from their diaries and mechanical analysis of their plane confirmed by the Norwegian-American aviator and explorer Bernt Balchen has cast significant doubt on their claim. Nonetheless, this trip earned Byrd widespread acclaim, enabling him to secure funding for subsequent attempts on the South Pole. TRANS-ATLANTIC FLIGHT, 1927 Byrd and three others, Bernt Balchen , Bert Acosta , and George Noville, flew in the Fokker Trimotor airplane, ' America ', from near New York City on June 29th, 1927 , to Paris , France , on July 1 st, 1927. FIRST ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION, 1928-1930 In 1928 , Byrd began his first expedition to the Antarctic involving two ships and three airplanes. A base camp was constructed on the Ross Ice Shelf and scientific expeditions by Dog-sled , Snowmobile , and Airplane began. Photographic expeditions and geological surveys were undertaken for the duration of that summer, and constant radio communications were maintained with the outside world. After their first winter, their expeditions were resumed, and on November 29 , 1929 , the famous flight to the South Pole and back was launched. Byrd, along with pilot Bernt Balchen , co-pilot/radioman Harold June, and photographer Ashley McKinley, flew the ''Floyd Bennett'' to the South Pole and back in 18 hours, 41 minutes. They had difficulty gaining enough altitude, and they had to dump empty gas tanks, as well as their emergency supplies, in order to achieve the altitude of the Polar Plateau. However, the flight was successful, and it entered Byrd into the history books. After a further summer of exploration, the expedition returned to North America on June 18 , 1930 . BYRD'S LATER ANTARCTIC EXPEDITIONS Byrd undertook four more expeditions to Antactica from 1933 – 35 , 1939 – 40 , 1946 – 47 and 1955 – 56 . As a senior officer in the U.S. Navy, Byrd, performed national defense service during World War II (1941-45), mostly as a consultant to the U.S.N. high commanders. On his second expidition, in 1934 , Byrd spent five winter months alone operating a Meteorological station, Advance Base, from which he narrowly escaped with his life after suffering Carbon Monoxide poisoning from a poorly-ventilated stove. Unusual radio transmissions from Byrd finally began to alarm the men at the base camp, who then attempted to go to Advance Base. The first two trips were failures due to darkness, snow, and mechanical troubles. Finally, Dr. Thomas Poulter , E.J. Demas , and Amory Waite arrived at advanced base, where they found Byrd in poor physical health. The men remained at advanced base until October 12 when an airplane from the base camp picked up Dr. Poulter and Byrd. The rest of the men returned to base camp with the tractor. Byrd's third expedition was his first one on which he had the official backing of the U.S. government. Just a few months after arriving, he was forced to return to Washington in March of 1940 because he was needed in the U.S. The rest of the expedition stayed in Antarctica. The fourth culminating expedition, Operation Highjump , was the largest Antarctic expedition to date. Byrd also commanded Operation Deep Freeze , which established permanent Antarctic bases at McMurdo Sound , the Bay Of Whales and the South Pole in 1955 , accompanied by Andrew Van Mincey , for whom Mincey Glacier is named. However, once again he only stayed in Antarctica for a few months, leaving the rest of the operation behind. AWARDS AND DECORATION By the time Richard Byrd died on March 12 1957 , he had amassed twenty-two citations and special commendations, nine of which were for bravery and two for extraordinary heroism in saving the lives of others. As well he earned the Medal Of Honor , the Congressional Life Saving Medal , the Navy Distinguished Service Medal , the Distinguished Flying Cross , the Navy Cross and three Ticker-tape Parade s. He preferred to dwell on the substance of his global adventures, and the stories of those that had gone awry as '' Lessons Learned ''. In 1927 , the City Of Richmond dedicated the Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field, now Richmond International Airport , in Henrico County, Virginia . Byrd's Fairchild FC-2W2, NX8006, "Stars And Stripes" is on display at the Virginia Aviation Museum located on the north side of the airport, on loan from the National Air And Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Mount Byrd on Ross Island, Antarctica and Lunar Crater Byrd are named after him. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|