NAHF

Carl "Ben" Eielson

Explorer

When Eielson, nicknamed "Ben," first became interested in aviation, his father pleaded with him to pursue a more conventional vocation. His father later realized that aviation was coming into its own, and that possibly Ben had a great mission to perform. “I think young men should get out and see the world. That’s what my boys have done, and I’m proud of them. I believe Ben has contributed to aviation with his work in the Arctic and Antarctic, and if he must be sacrificed, I am a proud but grieved father.”

Went to Alaska in 1923 and area businessmen bought him a war-surplus Jenny aircraft and formed the Fairbanks Airplane Corp. He flew machinery, passengers and doctors into remote areas of Alaska.
Awarded a government contract and became the first to fly airmail in Alaska.
Joined the Detroit News-Wilkins Arctic Expedition in 1926 and became the first man to fly over the Artic Ocean.
His flight over the North Pole in 1928 earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Harmon Trophy.
First man in 1928 to fly over both the polar regions as pilot of the Wilkins-Hearst Antarctic Expedition.
Died in a crash while trying to rescue passengers from a ship in the Bering Sea.

Biography

Enshrined 1985
1897-1929

Eielson was born in the town of Hatton, North Dakota to Norwegian immigrant parents. After he finished high school, he enrolled in the University of North Dakota to study law. A year later, he transferred to the University of Wisconsin. However, when the United States entered World War I, he enlisted in the aviation section. In June 1918, at the end of the school year, he reported for active duty. The war ended before Eielson completed his flight training. After the armistice, he earned his wings and earend a commission as a second lieutenant before receiving an honorable discharge from service.

After returning to the University of North Dakota to resume his pursuit of a law degree, Eielson convinced a group of local businessmen to buy him a war surplus Jenny. He not only gave them flying lessons and joyrides, but he also embarked upon a career as a barnstormer. His barnstorming was so lucrative that after Eielson received his bachelor of arts degree, he took up full time barnstorming. But after wrecking his plane, he again decided to become a lawyer and enrolled in Georgetown University's law school in Washington, D.C. To help defray expenses, he secured a job as a guard in the Capitol building, where he met a delegate to Congress from the territory of Alaska. Through this meeting a remarkable turning point came in his life.

When Carl Benjamin Eielson, best known as "Ben," went to Alaska in 1923 it was not as a pilot, but as a teacher in Fairbanks High School. However, when the town's businessmen learned he was also an aviator, they bought him a war-surplus Jenny to serve their various commercial endeavors. He not only took passengers on joyrides, but also flew passengers and supplies into remote mining camps, and brought out sick miners and expectant mothers. In these first commercial flights in Alaska, he proved the great advantage of the airplane over the primitive dogsled. That fall, Eielson traveled to Washington and convinced Post Office officials to award him a contract to fly mail between Fairbanks and McGrath for $2 a pound, half the dogsled operator's fee. He also constructed a hangar on Fairbanks' baseball grounds to protect his DH-4 mail plane.

In February 1924, Eielson was ready to deliver Alaska's first airmail. Dressed in animal furs and skins, he loaded 164 pounds of mail aboard his plane. He then took off in the sub-zero weather and reached the town of McGrath safely in only three hours, a trip normally requiring two weeks by dogsled! In the months that followed, Ben's airmail efforts were so noteworthy that President Coolidge sent him a letter of congratulations. The Post Office canceled his contract after a minor crackup, saying that it might explore the possibility of airmail service in Alaska again some day.

Bitterly disappointed, Eielson rejoined the Army Air Service at Langley Field, and attempted to convince his superiors of the value of aviation in Alaska. Unsuccessful in this pursuit, he soon returned home. One day Eielson received a telegram inviting him to become a pilot for Captain George Hubert Wilkins, who was planning to explore the Arctic by air. Eielson was elated and soon joined the Detroit News-Wilkins Arctic expedition in Fairbanks. The expedition's aircraft consisted of a single-engine and a trimotor Fokker monoplane. But trouble struck quickly when the trimotor sustained damage and Ben wrecked the other plane's landing gear. In less than a day, the expedition's aircraft had been put out of commission! Fortunately, the single-engine plane was quickly repaired and Eielson and Wilkins used it to ferry supplies to Barrow on the shore of the Arctic Ocean. Enroute, the expedition made the first flight over the Brooks Range, but then it ran into a solid blanket of fog. When the plane escaped from the fog, the crew found that they were flying over the Arctic Ocean. Turning toward shore, they encountered a raging blizzard. But Ben's piloting skill enabled the expedition to land at Barrow, thus completing the first flight over the Arctic Ocean.

Soon the men began flying fuel and supplies for their planned expedition into Barrow. There, while awaiting good flying weather, they learned that Commander Richard Byrd had reached the North Pole by air. Later, they watch the Norge pass over on its historic flight from the island of Spitsbergen over the North Pole to Nome. A sudden spring ice breakup ended their hopes for more Arctic flights that year.

When the expedition returned to Barrow in 1927, it had gained two new planes equipped for Arctic exploration. On March 29th Eielson and Wilkins took off and headed for the Pole. Enroute, however, they set down for engine repairs. This was the first aircraft landing on the Arctic Ocean. During subsequent forced landings, Ben's fingers became severely frostbitten. Finally, with their plane out of fuel, the crew had to land the plane, and for the next five days, while a storm raged, the men fashioned sleds from parts of the plane. They proceeded to set out for land 100 miles away, an epic trek requiring great courage and even greater stamina. At the end of the first day, after dragging the sleds for hours, the crew members fashioned a snow camp. On the third day they donned fur skins and abandoned a sled. Finally, after 12 days of unspeakable tribulation, they reached a trading post, where Ben's little finger was amputated to save his hand. It was but a small price to pay for his life in such a harrowing Arctic experience.

Upon returning to the continental U.S. in 1927, Eielson again served at Langley Field. In the fall he traveled to Los Angeles to test a Lockheed Vega that Wilkins had acquired. Consequently, when Ben returned to Barrow in 1928, the expedition was down to one plane and two men. But they were confident as a dog team dragged the plane to a frozen lagoon. After becoming airborne, they headed across the North Polar region toward the island of Spitsbergen. The flight soon turned very suspenceful. As Barrow's school teacher received their radio messages, one read: "Wilkins arctic expedition - Greenland - storm." More than a week passed before an anxious world learned their fate.

After 20 hours in the air, the expedition encountered huge storm clouds as the men neared their goal. Suddenly, mountains appeared below and Ben quickly set the plane down on a bit of snow-covered land. For the next five days a storm raged. The crew took hours to clear a runway using snowshoes as shovels. When they finally became airborne again, they viewed Spitsbergen in the distance. They had been stormbound on a small island within sight of their elusive goal.

The flight of Eielson and Wilkins was called the greatest in all of aviation. Norway's King Haakon presented them with the Leif Ericsson Medal. England's King George knighted Wilkins, and Eielson received awarded the American Distinguished Flying Cross. Later, President Herbert Hoover presented him with the coveted Harmon Trophy for 1928. Soon afterwards, Eielson and Wilkins organized an expedition to Antarctica. They not only won the backing of newspaperman William Randolph Hearst, but also acquired a second Lockheed Vega. But when the expedition reached Deception Island in late 1928, the weather was so warm that wheels had to be installed on their ski planes. Finally, on November 16th they took off on the first flight over Antarctica, and thus become the first men to have flown over both Polar regions. On December 16th the fliers made a 1,300 mile exploratory flight along the Palmer Peninsula. Enroute, Wilkins mapped 100,000 square miles of new territory and named one of its areas Cape Eielson in honor of Ben.

When the expedition returned to New York in 1929, the Aviation Corporation of North America asked Eielson to help form Alaskan Airways to serve the growing needs of the territory. Ben accepted and became the company's president and general manager. He soon obtained several new planes which turned his firm into the largest aviation company in Alaska.

But disaster struck when the schooner Nanuk became ice-bound off Cape North, Siberia. Aboard were 15 passengers and a million dollars worth of furs. Immediately, Eielson's new company contracted to rescue the passengers and cargo, and Ben and his mechanic flew to Teller. From there, they flew across the Bering Straits to the stranded ship and returned with two passengers and 1,000 pounds of furs. But now, though a blizzard was raging, Ben and his mechanic took off again and started back toward the ship. Thus began one of the great Arctic mysteries. When Eielson's friend Joe Crosson arrived at the Nanuk the following day and learned that Ben had not shown up as expected, he set into motion one of the greatest searches in Arctic history. It involved every available plane and dogsled and lasted 100 days. Even the Soviets joined in the search with two decrepit monoplanes. Despite all of the efforts of the search party, not until late January 1930, were the remains of Eielson's plane found, nearly 90 miles from Cape North. Snow had almost completely buried the aircraft and no trace existed of Ben or his mechanic. Apparently, both had been thrown clear when their plane crashed into the ground during a turn. 26 more days would pass before the Russian airmen found their bodies deep in the snow and turned them over to American authorities for burial in their hometowns. It was a tragic end to an heroic life, but Carl Eielson's achievements would live on.

For more information on Carl Eielson, you may want to visit the following websites:

North Star
Explore North

Back to Enshrinees