ARKHANGELSK, January 28. /TASS/. Objects related to the Arctic islands' explorers, found on the Franz Josef Land Archipelago, are presented at the Russian Arctic National Park in Arkhangelsk. The national park's head of the historical and cultural heritage preservation department, Evgeny Ermolov, told TASS specialists had managed to bring from the archipelago a kayak and other items from the Norwegian-American expedition of 1901-1902 led by Evelyn Baldwin, as well as parts of an aircraft that conducted aerial survey prior to the first drifting station North Pole - 1 (NP - 1).
"Baldwin's expedition had a food depot on the Greeley Island, and a lot has remained there: sleds, food, and two kayaks. They had been in the surf zone, where water and ice could reach them, and those were very unfavorable conditions. One kayak was on top of the other, and we have managed to remove the upper one from the ice, then lifted it above the surf zone, and later on it was delivered to Arkhangelsk. Unfortunately, the second one had turned into dust and it was not possible to get it," the historian said.
Combined Eskimo and European technologies
Baldwin's expedition reached the Franz Josef Land Archipelago in 1901 hoping to reach the North Pole. They organized a base camp on the Algera Island, and food depots on several other islands. The expedition was equipped well, it had more than 400 Siberian huskies, 15 Siberian ponies and more than 60 sleds. However, the pole trip did not happen due to disagreements between the Norwegian and American expedition members, specialists say. Anyway, the base and depots on the islands were organized perfectly, and nowadays scientists have the opportunity to study technologies used in the Arctic's exploration. Ermolov points to advanced developments used in the expedition. Baldwin was an experienced polar explorer who knew very well what could be useful in the Arctic.
"Baldwin earlier had wintered on Franz Josef Land with Wellman. He knew they would need kayaks to cross water obstacles," the historian continued. The American expedition led by Walter Wellman wintered on the archipelago in 1898-1899, also planning to conquer the North Pole, but they did not succeed. That expedition determined Franz Josef Land's spatial location, discovered the archipelago's easternmost island - the Graham Bell, and obtained valuable data on the local climate.
The kayaks were made specifically for the expedition: they combined features of traditional Eskimo kayaks and modern technologies of that time. The two-person boat was 12 feet long, 4 feet wide - that is about 3.6 m by 1.2 m, and it fit well on a sled. Unlike the Eskimo kayaks sewn of leather, the expedition's kayak was made of tarpaulin - here, it was very strong thick impregnated cotton fabric. "The kayak's shape, the luggage section - traditional Eskimo. The frame is solid, made of wood, they used boat-building technologies, the oars were also wooden. The kayak is a clear mixture of technologies from traditional northern peoples and the European civilization," the expert said. "If you prefer a leather kayak, then you'll have to take an Eskimo who can sew it up. As for tarpaulin, any sailor dealing with sails can sew it."
The kayak was bright orange - to be seen easily from far away. Noteworthy, Baldwin took into account a detail like that. As for the gun mounts, most likely they were made on the spot. It was out of question to lay guns inside the boat, as on the archipelago they must be handy at all times and must not roll into the water. Nor should guns interfere with the rowing. The gun was fixed in front of the first rower so that he could grab it quickly to defend from the polar bear. By the way, the Russian experts were lucky to find a gun case as well.
Wooden aircraft for the Arctic
Another find is elevators from the Arc-5 aircraft number N-128. They were made of wood, like practically the entire aircraft was. The R-5 aircraft had been modified specifically for the Arctic. It was designed for two people, and it didn't have an enclosed cabin. "They made a common cabin, covered it with glass, there was a large hatch through which people could get inside. The exhaust gases from the engine filled the cabin. The cabin was heated, warm. It had powerful radio equipment: a radio compass, radio receivers and transmitters," the historian said, adding the Arctic-version aircraft had additional fuel tanks, emergency food supplies, reservoirs for emergency food and other supplies.
In 1936, two such aircraft, N-127 and N-128, flew to Franz Josef Land from Moscow. One of them was piloted by Mikhail Vodopyanov, the other - by Vasily Makhotkin. They conducted reconnaissance to prepare for the North Pole - 1 drifting station due in 1937. The task was to find out whether it was possible to fly to the archipelago, and whether it was possible to use airplanes to drop polar explorers.
Both Arc-5 aircraft crashed in 1936. From their parts one plane was assembled, and it flew from the archipelago to Moscow. Spare parts were brought later on for the second plane, N-128. It was repaired, and then worked for weather forecasts on the archipelago's northernmost Rudolf Island, where it crashed in 1937. "When we were working there, at the polar station area, of course, we hoped to find something from the aircraft. We were lucky to find these elevators, as well as fragments of wings and fuselage. All the fragments had been inside a stream, and the plane was literally dragged along that stream. We've managed to pull out the elevators," the national park's representative said.
The found fragments prompted the aircrafts' color. It is a popular opinion that Arctic planes were painted red. The scientists have proven the aircraft were not painted fully and red stripes were applied over the main green color.
About the national park
The Russian Arctic National Park is Russia's northernmost and largest protected natural area that unites the Franz Josef Land Archipelago and the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago's northern part. The national park is a most inaccessible territory in Russia and in the world.