1872
Roald Amundsen born July 16
1928 Latham expedition.
Wreckage – Float, found 31 August 1928.
On 31 August 1928, the crew of the fishing vessel Brodd discovered a damaged float in the water at Torsvåg lighthouse in Karlsøy municipality. The float was transported to Tromsø, where it was examined by officers from the ship Michael Sars and the French transport ship Durance, as well as the French consul. They all thought that this could be a float from Latham 47.02. In Tromsø, the float was loaded on board the Durance which took it on to Bergen, where it was identified by the same people who had repaired it during Amundsen’s stopover in Bergen on 17 June 1928.
The float’s dimensions were measured as:
Length: 2.32 m
Maximum width: 56 cm
Maximum height: 58 cm
Its colour was described as blue-grey.
Based on these measurements, comparisons were made with one of Latham 47.02‘s sister aircraft at the Caudebec-en-Caux plant, which confirmed that it was an identical float. It was also discovered that a piece of wood had been used to attempt a repair to one of the struts and that there was a large gash in the front on the left side, about 20 centimetres long.
The discovery of the float led to theories that the Latham had crashed either in the sea or onto the ice. Some French newspapers also believed that the crew of the Latham had used the float as a “post bottle” and wanted it to be examined internally for any messages, but further investigations found nothing to support this.
From Bergen, the float was taken to Paris, where it was examined by people from the French Ministry of the Navy.
After the investigations in 1928, the float remained in France. It was handed over to Le Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace near Paris, and is now on display at Le musée de l’hydraviation de Biscarosse.
