Italia delayed in northern Norway

There had been talk of making the journey from Stolp to Spitsbergen in one long hop. In theory, more than feasible. But in the early hours of 4 May, the Italia ran into very strong headwinds in northwest Finland. After many hours of battling the gale, and with some uncertainty as to their actual location, the crew eventually decided to dip down below the clouds, and found themselves on Norway’s north coast.

The Barents Sea is no place to be in bad weather, so Nobile and his team make an unscheduled stop at Vadsø, a place that conveniently has a large mast to which the airship can be tethered. They arrive at 9 am.