Drift Experiment

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Background

In the past, there were a few findings of remains of the Latham 47. The first discovery was made in August 1928, when the rescue mission for Amundsen and the French crew members was still going on. A pontoon was found on the north coast of Norway, in Torsvåg, later confirmed as the left wing pontoon of the Latham. It was concluded that the pontoon had been torn from the wing resulting from the Latham’s collision with the sea.

The second object was found two months later in October 1928, on Haltenbanken, outside Trondheim. It was ascribed to be a piece of the Latham’s fuel tank. Surprisingly, the places of discovery of the first two objects are about 1300 km apart. Visible modifications to the tank could indicate that the crew attempted to use it as a float. How can it be, that the findings happened in such long distances in between?

Another important object, which could belong to the Latham, was found by Per Johnson 40 years ago. The trapper and hunter heard about the search for the Latham on the news and remembered an incident that had happened in 1964. At that time Mr. Johnson found a double sheet of plywood with studs and ribs between the sheets on the beach on Edge Island (Edgeøya), on the west coast of Svalbard. 40 years later, in 2004, it occurred to Mr. Johnson that the plywood could have originated from the Latham and thus he contacted the commission.

Between October 2002 and June 2003 a group of experts (Kjell M. Lutnes, the director of the Norwegian Aviation Museum, Professor Roald Berg, Dr. Bjørg Evjen, Rear Admiral Kjell Prytz, meteorologist Helge Tangen, journalist Knut Hoff as well as Navigator Per Arvid Tellemann)  met five times in order to trace the disappearance of the Latham aircraft in 1928. On the basis of collected data included information of objects that have been found in the past (thought to originate from the Latham) and examined material on the case, they discussed different hypotheses about the incident in 1928.

The collected data included information of the hearing in Tromsø 2002, interviews with witnesses from 1928, discoveries made by the captain of the trawler “Kvitholmen” near Bjørnøya in 1933, a map indicating the aircraft’s position and other objects that have been found in the past.

Important factors, such as ocean currents and calculations of drift have been crucial in the research of the commission. Additionally, the comparisons of old findings with new scientific facts in the fields of meteorology and oceanography have helped to emerge one main theory about the tragic incidents. After five months of research the commission finally presented their report and gave recommendations as to where to start a search for the Latham. By combining all of the available information and related analyses, two possible locations for the accident were clear: One off the island of Karlsøy (on the Norwegian coast) and the other in the area south and west of Bjørnøya.


The Experiment: Spidertracks

The expedition team on board of the KV Harstadt and the KNM Tyr will start a drifting experiment. Replicas of both the float and the tank were created by a Norwegian conservator and will include water-resistant GPS units known as Spidertracks. Upon arrival at the suspected site of the Latham’s crash, the expedition crew will await the go-ahead from meteorologists. The meteorologists will determine when the wind direction is suitable for putting the replicas in the water. The aim in doing so is to recreate the situation as realistically as possible.

The daily position of the float and the tank, determined by GPS, can be viewed at the Spidertracks website. The objects’ entire progress, from start to their current position, can be followed night and day online. It is thereby possible to track the objects’ path through the water, till the moment they eventually reach land.