N-4 Down: The Hunt for the Arctic Airship Italia

The book N-4 Down tells the story of the largest polar rescue mission in history, the tragic crash of the airship Italia near the North Pole in 1928. The airship was on a mission to discover new lands in the Arctic Circle when it hit a storm and crashed onto the ice, leaving six crew members missing and the injured survivors in a desperate struggle for survival. The book explores the glamour and daring of the zeppelin age and the harsh realities of Earth's extremes as the largest international polar rescue expedition mobilized to find the survivors.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 448 pages
Publication date: 27 October 2022
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc

The captivating true story of the largest polar rescue mission in history unfolds, revealing the desperate race to find the survivors of the glamorous Arctic airship Italia, which tragically crashed near the North Pole in 1928.

On May 24, 1928, the world-famous exploring airship Italia, known by its code name N-4, triumphantly returned from its daring expedition to the North Pole. However, its journey was cut short when it was struck by a devastating storm, causing it to crash somewhere over the Arctic ice. This unforeseen event triggered the largest polar rescue mission in history, led by the legendary Roald Amundsen, the greatest explorer of the poles.

Amundsen's body has never been found, and he remains the last victim of one of the Arctic's most enduring mysteries. The search for him was a grueling and perilous endeavor, as the frozen wastes posed countless challenges to the brave rescuers. The story of the Italia's tragic demise and the heroic efforts to save its crew is a testament to the indomitable human spirit and the relentless pursuit of exploration.

The era of zeppelin travel during the Roaring Twenties was a time of immense excitement and innovation. Germanys luxurious Graf Zeppelin, with its state-of-the-art technology and luxurious accommodations, ran passenger service from Germany to Brazil, symbolizing the power and prestige of the German Empire. Meanwhile, Britains Imperial Airship was launched to connect an empire, offering a new mode of transport that promised to connect far-flung regions in a matter of days.

In America, the iconic spire of the rising Empire State Building was designed as a docking tower for airships, a testament to the countrys ambition and vision. The promise of airship travel was particularly appealing to Arctic and Antarctic explorers, who had previously subjected themselves to horrific and often deadly conditions in their attempts to reach uncharted lands.

In 1926, the famed Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the first man to reach the South Pole, partnered with the Italian airship designer General Umberto Nobile to pioneer flight over the North Pole. The mission was seen as a great success, and Amundsen was hailed as a hero. However, as Mark Piesing reveals in his masterful account, the mission was riddled with near disasters and political p.

Weight: 356g
Dimension: 134 x 205 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780062851536