Richard Byrd

Richard Evelyn Byrd (born the October 25th 1888 and deceased on March 1st 1957), was a polar Explorateur and American Aviateur of the US Navy having the rank of Rear-admiral.

Biography

Entered with the Naval Academy in 1912, it quickly learns how to control and is impassioned for the sea means of transport applied to aeronautics. It is charged by US Navy with developing the transatlantic overhead crossing in 1919.

The May 9th 1926 it tries the overflight of the North pole with the Ford Trimotor Floyd Bennett . The June 29th 1927 it carries out on the same plane a transatlantic flight of New York to Worm-on-Sea.

It is in 1928 that it launches its first forwarding in the the Antarctic with two ships and three planes especially equipped. Equipment radio allowed the world follow-up of forwarding. During the summer 1928 a base camp was built on large the barrier of Ross. The November 29th 1929, Byrd tries the overflight of the South pole which it makes a success of after 18 hours a perilous flight at low altitude.

Byrd will launch three more forwardings to the Antarctic:

in 1933 - 1935: because of the bad weather this forwarding failed to be to him fatal, because confined in a Igloo, it was close to asphyxiation by Carbon monoxide. It is the radio which saved it and which allowed its repatriation. This forwarding had three Citroen-Kégresse lent by André Citroen and which will resist after a fashion the cold of -70°.
in 1939 - 1941
in 1946 - 1947, forwarding Operation Highjump which was most important in Antarticque.

In 1955, it orders the forwarding which establishes the bases American permanent McMurdo in edge of Mer of Ross.

Homages

Two geographical points received its name: the Byrd Mount on the island of Ross in the Antarctic and the lunar crater Byrd. Two ships of US Navy one also named in his honor, the cargo liner USNS Richard E. Byrd and the Destroyer US Richard E. Byrd.

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