Norge: the departure was delayed
95 years ago the departure of the Norge expedition was initially scheduled for 8 April. To give greater prominence to the event, a solemn ceremony was scheduled in Ciampino, in the presence of Mussolini himself.
However, when the public and the authorities gathered on the immense field that was then the largest airport in Rome, the weather reports arriving from the reference stations along the route led Nobile to the conclusion that it would be imprudent to leave.
It wasn’t a great disappointment; risking damage to the aircraft on the first take-off would have been absurd.
La partenza del “Norge” rinviata per il vento, Il Corriere della sera, 09/04/1926.
La partenza, come si sa, era fissata per le 9, ma già dalle 7.30 è cominciata la corsa delle automobili sulla via Appia antica che conduce all’aeroscalo di Ciampino. (…) Sono le 9,45 quando improvvisamente si apprende che a causa del vento fortissimo, che ha cominciato a soffiare, la partenza è rinviata.
Arbeiderbladet, 09/04/1926:“Norge”s start blev utsatt på grunn av sterk vind