Oskar Omdal

Oskar Omdal (October 11, 1895 – December 23, 1927) was a lieutenant and pilot in the Royal Norwegian Navy.[1]

Oskar Omdal
Oskar Omdal ca. 1924
Born(1895-10-11)October 11, 1895
Kristiansand, Norway
DiedDecember 23, 1927(1927-12-23) (aged 32)
Atlantic Ocean
OccupationPilot of the Royal Norwegian Navy
Known forMysteriously disappearing during trans-Atlantic flight
Oskar Omdal (left) with Roald Amundsen, 1922

Biography

He was born at Kristiansand in Vest-Agder, Norway. He attended the Technical School at Porsgrunn. He graduated from the Norwegian Naval Flight School (Marinens Flygeskole) at Horten in 1919. He was promoted to lieutenant in the Royal Norwegian Navy during 1922.[2][3]

In 1923 with Roald Amundsen he tried to fly from Wainwright, Alaska to Spitsbergen across the North Pole, but their aircraft was damaged and they abandoned the journey. In 1925, Omdal was a mechanic on Lincoln Ellsworth and Roald Amundsen's attempted flight to the North Pole. [4][5] [6] [7]

Disappearance

Omdal took off on December 23, 1927 from Curtiss Field on Long Island, New York with Frances Wilson Grayson, navigator Brice Goldsborough and engineer Frank Koehler headed for Harbor Grace in Newfoundland. This flight was in preparation for Grayson's planned crossing of the Atlantic Ocean to set the record for the first woman to cross. The twin-engine air-craft Dawn, an amphibious Sikorsky S-36, and its crew never arrived. No trace of the plane or the four aviators was found.[8][9]

Legacy

Oscar Omdal street in Stavanger and Oscar Omdal terrace in the Hamresanden district of Kristiansand are both named after him. [10][11]

In 1928, the Ontario Surveyor General named a number of lakes in the northwest of the province to honour aviators who had perished during 1927, mainly in attempting oceanic flights.[12][13] These include Goldsborough Lake (50.70°N 89.34°W / 50.70; -89.34), Grayson Lake (50.88°N 89.43°W / 50.88; -89.43) and Omdahl [sic] Lake (50.81°N 89.49°W / 50.81; -89.49) which are in close proximity to each other in the Wabakimi Provincial Park.[14]

See also

References
  1. Ulf Larsstuvold. "Oskar Omdal". Norsk biografisk leksikon. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  2. "Oscar Omdal (1895-1927)". The Fram Museum. Archived from the original on December 22, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  3. Marinens Flygevåpen 1912-1914 (in Norwegian) (Hafsten, Arheim)
  4. Roald Amundsens mislykkede polferd (Norgesglasset NRK)
  5. Roald Amundsen (Store norske leksikon)
  6. Kenneth P. Czech (12 June 2006). "Roald Amundsen and the 1925 North Pole Expedition". Aviation History magazine. Retrieved Nov 21, 2010.
  7. "1925 N24/ N25". Norsk Polar History. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  8. Oskar Omdal (Store norske leksikon)
  9. Sean Chase (December 9, 2010). "Vanished at sea -the doomed obsession of Frances Wilson Grayson". Pembroke (Ontario) Daily Observer. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  10. Erik Bolstad. "Oscar Omdals gate i Stavanger". postnummer-koordinatar. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  11. "Oscar Omdals terrasse i Hamresanden". housenode.com. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  12. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (2007). "St. Raphael Signature Site Strategy" (PDF). Toronto, ON. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2011-07-19. p 14.
  13. "Lost Aviators: New Lakes Named". The West Australian. Perth, WA. 16 January 1928. p. 13. Retrieved 2011-07-19.
  14. "Omdahl Lake, Ontario". Lakepedia. Retrieved May 1, 2017.

Other sources
  • Arlov, Thor B. (2003) Svalbards historie (Trondheim: Akademisk Forlag) ISBN 82-519-1851-0
  • Hafsten, Bjørn/Arheim, Tor (2003) Marinens Flygevåpen 1912 – 1944 (Tankestreken forlag) ISBN 82-993535-1-3
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