Based on documents reported after returning from the expedition on June 18, 1930, the United States Naval Command recognized Richard Evelyn Byrd as the first person to perform a flight in Antarctic airspace.
Richard Evelyn Byrd becomes first person to fly over Antarctica
Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) is a US Navy officer specializing in polar exploration. He was originally a naval pilot and he was the first person to explore the North Pole by air. In addition, he was also one of the first Americans to land in the polar regions and organize logistics bases there. With his passion for exploration, on November 28, 1929, Richard E. Byrd and Captain Bernt Balchen, pilot Harold Irving June and photographer Ashley Chadbourne McKinley drove a Ford Trimotor to become the first group of people to fly over the Antarctic.
Byrd attended the Virginia Military Academy before his financial situation prompted him to move to the United States Naval Academy in 1912. He learned to fly during World War I during his travels with the US Navy. He developed a passion for flight and pioneered a variety of deep sea navigation techniques. His name was given to the USNS Richard E. Byrd, the Lewis & Clark class transport vessel of the US Navy 7th Fleet.
This long journey began in 1928, Richard with his companions left New York with two transports and 3 planes, including a Ford Trimotor aircraft named Floyd Bennett. With a modified 1928 Fairchild FC-2W2 named Stars And Stripes, and an airplane to a single wing Fokker Universal Plane.
The entire expedition sailed to the Antarctic Fringes by boat and once disembarked on the Ross Ice Shelf they built a base called Little American. When camp construction was completed, it was November 29, 1929. Richard with Captain Bernt Balchen, pilot Harold Irving June and photographer Ashley Chadbourne McKinley flew a Ford Trimotor plane deep into Antarctica to photograph and survey the terrain at deeper in this frozen continent. As a precaution, Richard asked to bring some extra fuel, although the takeoff was difficult because the wind was too strong, but the Ford Trimotor could still reach the height to meditate before the flight is 18 hours 41 minutes .
Based on documents reported after returning from the expedition on June 18, 1930, US Naval Command recognized Richard Evelyn Byrd as the first person to perform a flight in Antarctic airspace. He was even promoted to rear admiral at the age of 41. Richard naturally became the youngest naval admiral in United States history.
