Editing North Pole (section)

===1940–2000===
In May 1945 an [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]] of the ''Aries'' expedition became the first [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] aircraft to overfly the North Geographic and North Magnetic Poles. The plane was piloted by David Cecil McKinley of the [[Royal Air Force]]. It carried an 11-man crew, with Kenneth C. Maclure of the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] in charge of all scientific observations. In 2006, Maclure was honoured with a spot in [[Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame]].<ref>Halliday, Hugh A. (January/February 2004) [https://web.archive.org/web/20071025111929/http://www.legionmagazine.com/features/canadianmilitaryhistory/04-01.asp The Aries Flights Of 1945], ''Legion Magazine''</ref>

Discounting Peary's disputed claim, the first men to set foot at the North Pole were a Soviet party<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYdBH4dOOM4C&pg=PA7|title=Exploring polar frontiers: a historical encyclopedia |last=Mills |first=William James |year=2003 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-57607-422-0 |access-date=9 January 2012}}</ref> including geophysicists Mikhail Ostrekin and Pavel Senko, oceanographers Mikhail Somov and Pavel Gordienko,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/chronograph/910/ |title=Советские граждане были доставлены на точку Северного полюса, где, образно говоря, проходит земная ось |access-date=8 January 2012 |publisher=[[Vokrug sveta|Вокруг Света]] |archive-date=23 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130423070325/http://vokrugsveta.ru/chronograph/910/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and other scientists and flight crew (24 people in total)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/resources/infosheets/21.html |title=Concise chronology of approach to the poles |date=February 2001 |publisher=[[Scott Polar Research Institute]] (SPRI) |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-date=16 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516042713/http://www.spri.cam.ac.uk/resources/infosheets/21.html |url-status=live }}</ref> of [[Aleksandr Kuznetsov (explorer)|Aleksandr Kuznetsov]]'s ''Sever-2'' expedition (March–May 1948).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aari.nw.ru/resources/d0014/vve/#v48 |title=Высокоширотная воздушная экспедиция "Север-2" (1948 г.) |date=2005–2008 |publisher=[[Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute|ФГБУ "Арктический и антарктический научно-исследовательский институт"]] (ФГБУ "ААНИИ") |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100203114959/http://www.aari.nw.ru/resources/d0014/vve/#v48 |archive-date=3 February 2010 }}</ref> It was organized by the [[Chief Directorate of the Northern Sea Route]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1592 | title=Черевичный Иван Иванович | publisher=Патриотический интернет проект "Герои Страны" | access-date=12 January 2012 | author=Уфаркин, Николай Васильевич | archive-date=2 February 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202132003/http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1592 | url-status=live }}</ref> The party flew on three planes (pilots Ivan Cherevichnyy, Vitaly Maslennikov and Ilya Kotov) from [[Kotelny Island]] to the North Pole and landed there at 4:44pm ([[Moscow Time]], [[UTC+04:00]]) on 23 April 1948.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://readr.ru/dmitriy-loginov-velikiy-polyarniy-vodovorot-prosipaetsya.html |title=Великий полярный водоворот просыпается |last=Loginov |first=Dmitri |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111194459/http://readr.ru/dmitriy-loginov-velikiy-polyarniy-vodovorot-prosipaetsya.html |archive-date=11 November 2013 }}</ref> They established a temporary camp and for the next two days conducted scientific observations. On 26 April the expedition flew back to the continent.

Next year, on 9 May 1949<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skypole.ru/about/volovitch_e.htm |title=Volovich Vitaly Georgievich |publisher=Polar World |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218040102/http://www.skypole.ru/about/volovitch_e.htm |archive-date=18 December 2008 }}</ref> two other Soviet scientists (Vitali Volovich and Andrei Medvedev)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cdfai.org/PDF/The%20Cold%20War%20in%20the%20Arctic.pdf |title=The Cold War in the Arctic |date=29 July 2010 |last=Barlow |first=John Matthew |publisher=[[Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute]] (CDFAI) |access-date=9 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605124121/http://www.cdfai.org/PDF/The%20Cold%20War%20in%20the%20Arctic.pdf |archive-date=5 June 2013 }}</ref> became the first people to parachute onto the North Pole.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/pathfinders/Arctic%20Aerial%20Exploration.htm |title=Arctic Aerial Exploration |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-date=18 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818100636/http://century-of-flight.net/Aviation%20history/pathfinders/Arctic%20Aerial%20Exploration.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> They jumped from a [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]], registered CCCP H-369.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1211994 |title=Десантников отправят на Северный полюс |journal=Коммерсантъ |date=29 July 2009 |last=Safronov |first=Ivan Jr. |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119195818/http://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1211994 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 3 May 1952, [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] Lieutenant Colonel [[Joseph O. Fletcher]] and Lieutenant [[William Pershing Benedict]], along with scientist [[Albert P. Crary]], landed a modified [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]] at the North Pole. Some Western sources considered this to be the first landing at the Pole<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070607155556/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/user/fact_may.htm Aviation History Facts], U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission</ref> until the Soviet landings became widely known.

[[File:USS Skate (SSN-578) surfaced in Arctic - 1959.jpg|thumb|[[USS Skate (SSN-578)|USS ''Skate'']] at drift station Alpha, 1958]]
The United States Navy submarine ''[[USS Nautilus (SSN-571)|USS Nautilus]]'' (SSN-571) crossed the North Pole on 3 August 1958. On 17 March 1959 ''[[USS Skate (SSN-578)|USS Skate]]'' (SSN-578) surfaced at the Pole, breaking through the ice above it, becoming the first naval vessel to do so.<ref>Jensen, Joel [http://militaryhonors.sid-hill.us/history/skate.htm FIRST SUBMARINE TO SURFACE AT THE NORTH POLE] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408065040/http://militaryhonors.sid-hill.us/history/skate.htm |date=8 April 2022 }}. militaryhonors.sid-hill.us</ref>

The first confirmed surface conquest of the North Pole was accomplished by [[Ralph Plaisted]], Walt Pederson, Gerry Pitzl and Jean Luc Bombardier, who traveled over the ice by [[snowmobile]] and arrived on 19 April 1968. The United States Air Force independently confirmed their position.

On 6 April 1969 [[Wally Herbert]] and companions Allan Gill, [[Roy Koerner]] and Kenneth Hedges of the British Trans-Arctic Expedition became the first men to reach the North Pole on foot (albeit with the aid of [[Sled dog|dog teams]] and [[airdrop]]s). They continued on to complete the first surface crossing of the Arctic Ocean&nbsp;– and by its longest axis, [[Barrow, Alaska]], to [[Svalbard]]&nbsp;– a feat that has never been repeated.<ref>Jenny Booth (13 June 2007). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110523132909/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1927969.ece 'Greatest polar explorer' Sir Wally Herbert dies], ''The Times''.</ref><ref name=guardianobit>Bob Headland (15 June 2007). [https://www.theguardian.com/obituaries/story/0,,2103675,00.html Sir Wally Herbert], ''The Guardian''.</ref> Because of suggestions (later proven false) of Plaisted's use of air transport, some sources classify Herbert's expedition as the first confirmed to reach the North Pole over the ice surface by any means.<ref name=guardianobit/><ref>[http://www.northpolewomen.com/History.htm Polar History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811095520/http://www.northpolewomen.com/History.htm |date=11 August 2007 }}. northpolewomen.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref> In the 1980s Plaisted's pilots [[Welland Phipps|Weldy Phipps]] and Ken Lee signed affidavits asserting that no such airlift was provided.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ramstad, C.J. |author2=Pickering, Keith |name-list-style=amp |title=First to the Pole|year=2011|publisher=North Star Press|isbn=978-0-87839-446-3}}</ref> It is also said that Herbert was the first person to reach the [[pole of inaccessibility]].<ref>[http://www.polarworld.co.uk/sirwally_history.htm Sir Wally Herbert] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426044517/http://www.polarworld.co.uk/sirwally_history.htm |date=26 April 2012 }}. Polarworld.co.uk. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref>

[[File:RIAN archive 186141 Nuclear icebreaker Arktika.jpg|thumb|Soviet icebreaker [[Arktika (1972 nuclear icebreaker)|''Arktika'']], the first [[surface ship]] to reach the North Pole, 1977]]
On 17 August 1977 the Soviet [[nuclear-powered icebreaker]] ''[[Arktika (1972 nuclear icebreaker)|Arktika]]'' completed the first surface vessel journey to the North Pole.

In 1982 [[Ranulph Fiennes]] and [[Charles R. Burton]] became the first people to cross the Arctic Ocean in a single season. They departed from Cape Crozier, [[Ellesmere Island]], on 17 February 1982 and arrived at the geographic North Pole on 10 April 1982. They travelled on foot and snowmobile. From the Pole, they travelled towards Svalbard but, due to the unstable nature of the ice, ended their crossing at the ice edge after drifting south on an ice floe for 99 days. They were eventually able to walk to their expedition ship ''MV Benjamin Bowring'' and boarded it on 4 August 1982 at position 80:31N 00:59W. As a result of this journey, which formed a section of the three-year [[Transglobe Expedition]] 1979–1982, Fiennes and Burton became the first people to complete a circumnavigation of the world via both North and South Poles, by surface travel alone.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dimery |first1=Rob |title=1982: First Surface Circumnavigation via both Geographical Poles |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/60at60/2015/8/1982-first-surface-circumnavigation-via-both-geographical-poles-392920 |website=[[Guinness World Records]] |date=18 August 2015 |access-date=18 October 2022 |archive-date=18 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018193003/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/60at60/2015/8/1982-first-surface-circumnavigation-via-both-geographical-poles-392920 |url-status=live }}</ref> This achievement remains unchallenged to this day.  The expedition crew included a [[Jack Russell Terrier]] named [[Bothie (dog)|Bothie]] who became the first dog to visit both poles.<ref name="latimes">{{cite web |title=Made 50,000-Mile Journey With Expedition : Bothie, the Only Dog to Visit Both Poles |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-06-mn-6925-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=6 January 1985 |access-date=16 October 2022 |archive-date=15 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015063455/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-06-mn-6925-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1985 [[Sir Edmund Hillary]] (the first man to stand on the summit of Mount Everest) and [[Neil Armstrong]] (the first man to stand on the moon) landed at the North Pole in a small twin-engined ski plane.<ref>Bruhns, Sarah (27 August 2013) [http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/neil-armstrong-and-sir-edmund-hillarys-trip-to-the-north-pole When Neil Armstrong and Edmund Hillary Took a Trip to the North Pole] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512111015/http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/neil-armstrong-and-sir-edmund-hillarys-trip-to-the-north-pole |date=12 May 2016 }}. atlasobscura.com. Retrieved 9 September 2013.</ref> Hillary thus became the first man to stand at both poles and on the summit of Everest.

In 1986 [[Will Steger]], with seven teammates, became the first to be confirmed as reaching the Pole by dogsled and without resupply.

[[USS Gurnard (SSN-662)|USS ''Gurnard'' (SSN-662)]] operated in the Arctic Ocean under the polar ice cap from September to November 1984 in company with one of her sister ships, the attack submarine [[USS Pintado (SSN-672)|USS ''Pintado'' (SSN-672)]]. On 12 November 1984 ''Gurnard'' and ''Pintado'' became the third pair of submarines to surface together at the North Pole. In March 1990, ''Gurnard'' deployed to the Arctic region during exercise Ice Ex '90 and completed only the fourth winter submerged transit of the Bering and Seas. ''Gurnard'' surfaced at the North Pole on 18 April, in the company of the [[USS Seahorse (SSN-669)|USS ''Seahorse'' (SSN-669)]].{{Citation needed|reason=no source here or on Gurnard's wiki page|date=May 2018}}

On 6 May 1986 [[USS Archerfish (SSN-678)|USS ''Archerfish'' (SSN 678)]], [[USS Ray (SSN-653)|USS ''Ray'' (SSN 653)]] and [[USS Hawkbill (SSN-666)|USS ''Hawkbill'' (SSN-666)]] surfaced at the North Pole, the first tri-submarine surfacing at the North Pole.

On 21 April 1987 [[Shinji Kazama]] of Japan became the first person to reach the North Pole on a [[motorcycle]].<ref name="Kazama 1">{{cite web|url=http://www.adventurestats.com/tables/nsmainnew.htm|title=North and South Pole successful|date=16 June 2004|publisher=ExplorersWeb Inc|access-date=10 December 2012|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084614/http://www.adventurestats.com/tables/nsmainnew.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="Kazama 2">{{cite news|url=https://apnews.com/e92d963b8b0826cb9349a21074fffecf|title=Japanese Is First to Reach North Pole by Motorcycle|work=[[Associated Press]]|date=21 April 1987|access-date=10 December 2012|archive-date=7 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107052822/https://apnews.com/e92d963b8b0826cb9349a21074fffecf|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 18 May 1987 [[USS Billfish (SSN-676)|USS ''Billfish'' (SSN 676)]], [[USS Sea Devil (SSN-664)|USS ''Sea Devil'' (SSN 664)]] and [[HMS Superb (S109)|HMS ''Superb'' (S 109)]] surfaced at the North Pole, the first international surfacing at the North Pole.

In 1988 a team of 13 (9 Soviets, 4 Canadians) [[Soviet-Canadian 1988 Polar Bridge Expedition|skied across the arctic]] from Siberia to northern Canada. One of the Canadians, [[Richard Weber (explorer)|Richard Weber]], became the first person to reach the Pole from both sides of the Arctic Ocean.

[[File:Arctic World 05.jpg|thumb|Participants of the first German North Pole expedition 1990 from [[University of Giessen]]]] [[File:Arctic World.jpg|thumb|The German North Pole expedition 1990, Ski-Doo for local research on [[pack-ice]]]]
On April 16, 1990, a German-Swiss expedition led by a team of the [[University of Giessen]] reached the Geographic North Pole for studies on pollution of [[pack ice]], snow and air. Samples taken were analyzed in cooperation with the [[Geological Survey of Canada]] and the [[Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research]]. Further stops for sample collections were on multi-year [[sea ice]] at 86°N, at [[Cape Columbia]] and [[Ward Hunt Island]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Schmitt|first=Elisabeth|date=7 June 1990|title=Eisige Ruhe – grandios, überwältigend und bedrohlich (Bericht über Nordpol-Expedition)|trans-title=Icy calm – grandiose, overwhelming and threatening (report on North Pole expedition)|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Pole_expedition_1990.pdf|language=German|journal=JLU Uni-Forum|volume=1990|issue=3|pages=7|doi=|access-date=|archive-date=20 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120234456/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Pole_expedition_1990.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 4 May 1990 [[Børge Ousland]] and [[Erling Kagge]] became the first explorers ever to reach the North Pole unsupported, after a 58-day ski trek from Ellesmere Island in Canada, a distance of 800&nbsp;km.<ref>[http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-1000/first-people-to-reach-the-north-pole/ First people to reach the north pole] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128152333/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-1000/first-people-to-reach-the-north-pole/ |date=28 January 2012 }}. Guinnessworldrecords.com. Retrieved 4 July 2012.</ref>

On 7 September 1991 the German research vessel [[RV Polarstern|''Polarstern'']] and the Swedish [[icebreaker]] [[Oden (1988 icebreaker)|''Oden'']] reached the North Pole as the first conventional powered vessels.<ref>Fütterer, D. et al. (1992) [https://dx.doi.org/10013/epic.10107.d001 "The Expedition ARK-VIII/3 of RV Polarstern in 1991"], Reports on Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, '''107''',  {{hdl|10013/epic.10107.d001}}</ref> Both scientific parties and crew took oceanographic and geological samples and had a common [[tug of war]] and a [[association football|football]] game on an ice floe. ''Polarstern'' again reached the pole exactly 10 years later,<ref>Thiede, J. et al. (2002) [https://dx.doi.org/10013/epic.10426.d001 "POLARSTERN ARKTIS XVII/2 Cruise Report: AMORE 2001 (Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge Expedition)"], Reports on Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, '''421''', {{hdl|10013/epic.10426.d001}}</ref> with the [[USCGC Healy (WAGB-20)|''Healy'']].

In 1998, 1999, and 2000, [[Lada Niva]] Marshs (special very large wheeled versions made by BRONTO, Lada/Vaz's experimental product division) were driven to the North Pole.<ref>[http://www.ladaniva.co.uk/baxter/resources/LadaOddities.htm "Lada Oddities"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061114/http://www.ladaniva.co.uk/baxter/resources/LadaOddities.htm |date=4 March 2016 }}. ''ladaniva.co.uk''.</ref><ref>Rosloot, Hans "Amphihans". [http://www.amphibiousvehicle.net/amphi/Va_Vz.html "The Amphiclopedia Vi to Wa"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402122238/http://www.amphibiousvehicle.net/amphi/Va_Vz.html |date=2 April 2015 }}. ''amphibiousvehicle.net''.</ref> The 1998 expedition was dropped by parachute and completed the track to the North Pole. The 2000 expedition departed from a Russian research base around 114&nbsp;km from the Pole and claimed an average speed of 20–15&nbsp;km/h in an average temperature of −30&nbsp;°C.