Transcript

Legendary Legends: The Greatest Adventurer and the Voyage of the Nautilus

From Today I Found Out · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 37 min · 6,676 words · 47 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Legendary Legends: The Greatest Adventurer and the Voyage of the Nautilus", an episode of Today I Found Out published December 22, 2025 (37 min, about 6,676 words). It mentions 27 people, works and ideas, including Sir Hubert Wilkins, USS Nautilus, Nautilus, Oclass submarine USS-2, Rald Amundsen.

What this episode is about

The narrative explores the groundbreaking voyage of the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine to reach the North Pole in 1958, highlighting its significance in demonstrating nuclear power in naval operations and restoring American pride during the Cold War. It also recounts the earlier, lesser-known yet ambitious Arctic expedition of Sir Hubert Wilkins, an adventurous Australian explorer, whose bold endeavors paved the way for future polar exploration despite his eventual failure.

Key takeaways

  • Wilkins’ Antarctic dreams foreshadowed today's climate science; the poles aren't just icy, they’re essential.
  • From sheep farms to combat zones, Wilkins lived a 'third act' adventure—who needs a peaceful retirement?
  • Eisenhower's Nautilus triumph? A nuclear show-off moment, born from a late-night radio 'I did it!' thrill.
  • Wilkins taught us resilience: his unyielding spirit in icy purgatories is the real heroism we need today.
  • Forget the polar bear; Wilkins is the true North—navigating between madness and genius in harsh terrains.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Sir Hubert Wilkins, Nautilus, USS Nautilus, Adelaide School of Mines
  2. – 10:00: Rald Amundsen, Ernest Shackleton, Charles Edward Bean, Manfred von Richthofen
  3. – 15:00: Richard E. Byrd, Bob Bennett, Sir Hubert Wilkins, Rald Amundsen
  4. – 20:00: Bob Bennett, Charles Kingsford Smith
  5. – 25:00: Lincoln Ellsworth, Sir Hubert Wilkins, William Randolph Hearst, Richard E. Byrd
  6. – 30:00: Nautilus, Simon Lake, Sloan Danhower, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
  7. – 35:00: Nautilus, William Randolph Hearst, Sloan Danhower, Harold Furdrip
  8. – 37:05: Sir Hubert Wilkins, Nautilus

Notable quotes from "Legendary Legends: The Greatest Adventurer and the Voyage of the Nautilus"

  • This is the incredible story of a man whose life was like something out of a movie. Sir Hubert Wilkins and the Doom Voyage of the Nautilus. Though largely forgotten today, Sir George Hubert.
    about Sir Hubert Wilkins · at
  • Richard E. Bird called the flight the greatest ever in the far north, while Rald Amonson eating humble pie declared that no flight has been made anywhere any time which could be compared with.
    about Rald Amundsen · at
  • Luxurious Schllo Lizenberg Castle owned by the American polar explorer Lincoln Ellsworth. Ellsworth, who had partially financed and planned Rald Ammonson's failed 1925 attempt…
    about Lincoln Ellsworth · at
  • Exploration. And submarines open up a new field of Arctic research that needs explaining. With financial backing secured, Wilkins set about finding a suitable submarine with…
    about Oclass submarine USS-2 · at
  • Legendary submarine designer Simon Lake and US submarine officer Sloan Danhower, the latter of which would serve as the expedition commander. The lease agreement stipulated…
    about Sloan Danhower · at
  • Submerged. On March the 24th, 1931, before a crowd of 800 people gathered in Brooklyn, the heavily modified 012 was recristened Nautilus after the fictional submarine in Jules…
    about Nautilus · at
  • The planned Zeppelin rendevous at the pole was cancelled and that he was withdrawing all further funding for the expedition. The ordinarily defiant Wilkins had no choice but to…
    about William Randolph Hearst · at
  • To organize another submarine expedition to the North Pole, but was unable to secure the required funding. He did, however, live long enough to see his dream come true when the…
    about USS Nautilus · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Sir Hubert Wilkins — Person · Primary subject (referenced explorer) · 7 mentions · first at
    Central figure of the episode; his aviation and submarine Arctic/Antarctic expeditions frame the narrative leading to the 1958 USS Nautilus success.
  • Rald Amundsen — Person · Referenced peer / comparator (polar explorer) · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as a benchmark for polar achievement; he criticizes Wilkins’s plan, later praises Wilkins’s transarctic flight, and is referenced in the broader history of reaching the pole by air.
  • Richard E. Byrd — Person · Referenced peer / comparator (aviation polar explorer) · 3 mentions · first at
    Cited as an early claimant to reaching the North Pole by airplane and as a prominent contemporary who praises Wilkins’s achievement.
    Richard E. Bird called the flight the greatest ever in the far north, while Rald Amonson eating humble pie declared that no flight has been made anywhere any time which could be compared with.
  • Sloan Danhower — Person · Referenced expedition commander (submarine officer) · 2 mentions · first at
    Operational commander of the Nautilus submarine expedition; executes dives and is part of the leasing corporation enabling the mission.
  • Carl Benson — Person · Referenced collaborator (co-pilot) · 1 mention · first at
    Named as Wilkins’s co-pilot for Arctic flight attempts; his skills and actions are central to the survival/repair episodes on the ice.
    Dubbed the Droider. Also, at the recommendation of his old mentor, Vil Stephenson, he hired as his co-pilot, 27-year-old Carl Benson, a pioneering bush pilot and explorer whose…
  • Simon Lake — Person · Referenced engineer (submarine designer) · 2 mentions · first at
    Key enabling figure for the submarine expedition logistics: his company structure leases the O-class submarine to Wilkins’s effort.
    Leased from the Navy for 5 years for a nominal fee of $1 per year by Lake and Danhower, Inc., a corporation set up by legendary submarine designer Simon Lake and US submarine…
  • Harold Furdrip — Person · Referenced scientist (chief scientist) · 1 mention · first at
    Credited with the expedition’s most important scientific output (water/biological sampling, gravimetry), despite the mission’s operational failures.
    Developed multiple slow leaks while the freshwater system froze solid. Yet, despite these hardships, chief scientist Harold Furdrip still managed to do important work…
  • Bob Bennett — Person · Referenced spouse · 4 mentions · first at
    Introduced as the actress Wilkins courts after his celebrity rise; later becomes his wife and appears in the narrative around his public acclaim and personal life.
    Celebrities. The pair received a ticker tape parade in New York during which Wilkins met and began courting Australian actress Susan Bennett. While two months later, Wilkins…
  • Ernest Shackleton — Person · Referenced expedition leader (polar explorer) · 1 mention · first at
    Appears as the leader of the Quest Expedition Wilkins joined; his death marks the end of the “heroic age” and situates Wilkins in that lineage.
    Antarctic Peninsula and the 1921 to 1922 Shackleton Rowit or Quest Expedition to Antarctica's Wet Sea, led by legendary explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, most famous for his 1914…
  • Jules Verne — Person · Referenced author (namesake inspiration) · 1 mention · first at
    His fictional submarine Nautilus provides the symbolic branding for Wilkins’s refitted O-class submarine, tying exploration to popular science fiction imagery.
    Before a crowd of 800 people gathered in Brooklyn, the heavily modified 012 was recristened Nautilus after the fictional submarine in Jules Vern's classic 1870 science fiction…
  • Manfred von Richthofen — Person · Referenced historical figure (WWI ace) · 1 mention · first at
    Appears in a vivid anecdote establishing Wilkins’s wartime proximity to major events; Wilkins claims to have witnessed the Red Baron’s final dogfight.
    Wilkins even witnessed the death of legendary German fighter ace Manfred von Rishtoven aka the Red Baron firsthand.
  • Charles Edward Bean — Person · Referenced collaborator (historian/journalist) · 1 mention · first at
    Cited as someone Wilkins assisted after WWI in documenting and commemorating the ANZAC role, reinforcing Wilkins’s war-records work.
    Assisted Australian journalist and historian Charles Edward Bean in his efforts to reconstruct and commemorate the ANZAC role in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign before entering an air race between England and Australia.
  • Charles Kingsford Smith — Person · Referenced aviation pioneer (buyer of aircraft) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as the purchaser of Wilkins’s earlier aircraft (renamed Southern Cross), linking Wilkins’s equipment choices to broader aviation history.
    Interestingly, the buyer was none other than fellow Australian aviation pioneer Charles Kingsford Smith, who renamed their aircraft Southern Cross and along with co-pilot Charles M became the first.
  • Henry Wilkins — Person · Referenced family member (father) · 1 mention · first at
    Provides biographical grounding for Wilkins’s origins and upbringing in South Australia.
    Eventful 70 years. Born on October the 31st, 1888 in Mount Brian, East, South Australia. the 13th child of sheep farmer Henry Wilkins and his wife Luis.
  • Luis Wilkins — Person · Referenced family member (mother) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in Wilkins’s birth and family background; name appears as “Luis” in transcript (likely “Louisa”).
    Eventful 70 years. Born on October the 31st, 1888 in Mount Brian, East, South Australia. the 13th child of sheep farmer Henry Wilkins and his wife Luis.

Books & papers

  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea — Book · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at
    The submarine Nautilus was named after the fictional submarine in Jules Vern's classic novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
    Submerged. On March the 24th, 1931, before a crowd of 800 people gathered in Brooklyn, the heavily modified 012 was recristened Nautilus after the fictional submarine in Jules…

Companies & orgs

  • Lockheed Aircraft Limited — Company · Manufacturer · 2 mentions
    Lockheed Aircraft Limited manufactured the Lockheed Vega used by Hubert Wilkins for his Arctic crossing.
    Modern-looking aircraft go by and immediately set about tracking down the model and manufacturer. It turned out to be a Lockheed Vega introduced by Loheed Aircraft Limited at…
  • Adelaide School of Mines — Company · Educational institution · 1 mention · first at
    Sir Hubert Wilkins studied mechanical and electrical engineering at the Adelaide School of Mines.
    Young George lived and worked on his family sheep station until the age of 15 when he left home to study mechanical and electrical engineering at the Adelaide School of Mines. In his spare.

Products & tech

  • USS Nautilus — Product · Case study · 1 mention · first at
    The USS Nautilus is the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, which reached the North Pole in 1958.
  • Nautilus — Product · Case study · 15 mentions · first at
    The Nautilus is a submarine used in the historic Arctic exploration mission led by Sir Hubert Wilkins.
  • Oclass submarine USS-2 — Product · Case study · 3 mentions
    The Oclass submarine USS-2 was leased and modified for the Wilkins Ellsworth TransArctic Expedition.
  • USS Wyoming — Product · Incidental · 1 mention · first at
    The USS Wyoming rescued the Nautilus during a storm in the Atlantic.
    Distress signal which was picked up by the nearby US Navy battleship USS Wyoming. The warship steamed to the rescue and after several hours of struggling and tossing seas…

Sponsors

  • William Randolph Hearst — Person · Referenced sponsor / patron (media magnate) · 2 mentions · first at
    Key financier enabling Wilkins’s later expeditions; he funds the Antarctic flight and the submarine expedition, then withdraws support, forcing the Nautilus mission to end.
  • Lincoln Ellsworth — Person · Referenced collaborator (polar explorer/patron) · 3 mentions · first at
    Wilkins’s partner in conceiving the Wilkins–Ellsworth Trans-Arctic Expedition by submarine; also contextualized as a major Antarctic aviation pioneer.
  • North American Newspaper Alliance — Company · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    The North American Newspaper Alliance sponsored Hubert Wilkins' transarctic flight.
    A smooth enough area on the ice pack on which to safely land. Undeterred, Wilkins pressed on with his plan and soon found an enthusiastic sponsor, the North American Newspaper…
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute — Company · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute contributed funding to the Wilkins Ellsworth TransArctic Expedition.
    Consequently, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts contributed a further $35,000 while Wilkins himself invested $22,000 of his own money. He even took the unusual step.
  • Detroit Aviation Society — Company · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    The Detroit Aviation Society sponsored Hubert Wilkins' transarctic flight.
    Soon found an enthusiastic sponsor, the North American Newspaper Alliance, who along with the Detroit Aviation Society and the Detroit Newspaper, agreed to fund his transarctic…

Full transcript with timestamps

At 11:15 p.m. on August the 3rd, 1958, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower received a historic radio message. Nautilus 90 North. USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclearpowered submarine, had just reached the North Pole while sailing beneath the Arctic ice cap. Known as Project Sunshine, this submerged voyage to the top of the world was designed to show off the superiority of nuclear power for naval propulsion and salvage America's pride following the Soviets launch of Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite the year before. It was also the triumphant culmination of a decadesl long dream. For while Nautilus' atomic power plant ultimately allowed her to succeed in her mission, she was not the first submarine or even the first vessel named Nautilus to attempt an Arctic voyage. Nearly three decades earlier, a maverick Australian explorer sailing in a far crudder war surplus

submarine also set out to conquer the pole from beneath. But while this now forgotten expedition was beset with misfortune and ultimately met with failure, its mission was bold and visionary and set the stage for a century of polar exploration. And the man behind it all, few humans in history can match his exploits in adventure. This is the incredible story of a man whose life was like something out of a movie. Sir Hubert Wilkins and the Doom Voyage of the Nautilus. Though largely forgotten today, Sir George Hubert Wilkins was an extraordinary figure straight out of an adventure novel, packing several normal lifetimes of experiences and accomplishments into an eventful 70 years. Born on October the 31st, 1888 in Mount Brian, East, South Australia. the 13th child of sheep farmer Henry Wilkins and his wife Luis.

Young George lived and worked on his family sheep station until the age of 15 when he left home to study mechanical and electrical engineering at the Adelaide School of Mines. In his spare time, he immersed himself in the relatively young art of photography and cinematography. In 1908, at the age of 20, Wilkins left Australia as a stowaway aboard a ship bound for Africa, kickstarting his life of adventure. Wilkins eventually wound up in England where he immediately began taking flying lessons at the Henden Aerod Drrome because of course he did. He then found work with the Gutt Studios in London where he pioneered the art of aerial cinematography and later as a photojournalist traveled the world and covered events like the first Balkan War of 1912, one of the many smaller conflicts which ultimately planted the seeds of the First World War. During this assignment, Wilkins was arrested and imprisoned in the Ottoman Empire,

contracting a severe case of chalera, and was even reportedly killed in action before being released. Wilkins main passion was for exploration, especially of the remote, hostile polar regions. Wilkins believed that the poles held the key to understanding global weather patterns and that establishing a network of meteorological stations in these regions would allow for more accurate weather forecasts. This obsession was in part driven by the harsh droughts Wilkins had witnessed while growing up in South Australia. Unpredictable events he hoped better science would help farmers avoid. To this end, in 1913, Wilkins joined Wilkr Stephenson's Canadian Arctic expedition commissioned by the government of Canada to explore uncharted regions of the Bowar Sea west of the Perry Archipelago. Unfortunately, the expedition for which Wilin served as official photographer was beset with disasters with Stephenson's questionable

leadership decisions resulting in the loss of several expedition members. When one of the expedition's ships, the Carl, became trapped in the ice, Stephenson and five other members set out across the ice pack, presumably in search of fresh game meat. However, the Carl was swiftly carried away and eventually crushed by the ice, forcing the 24 men aboard to make their way across the frozen bearing sea on foot to Siberia in search of help. 11 died in the attempt with the remaining 13 being rescued by an American fishing schooner and a US Coast Guard cutter in September of 1914.

While Stephenson, traveling by sledge, continued to explore the region until 1918. The remainder of his team, including Hubert Wilkins, returned home by 1916. Yet, despite the hardships, the ordeal taught the budding young explorer many vital Arctic survival skills, skills which would prove invaluable during future expeditions. While Wilkins was in the Arctic, the First World War had broken out and upon his return to Australia, he immediately enlisted in the Australian Flying Corps of the Australian Imperial Force or AIF, being commissioned as second lieutenant on May the 1st, 1917. Due to his photographic skills, he was assigned to the number three photographic section of the Australian War Records Unit and posted to the headquarters of the Australian New Zealand or ANZAC Corps on the Western Front. Though officially tasked with providing an accurate and complete record of the fighting and other

activities of the AIF, Wilkins, ever the adventurer, quickly proved himself a courageous combat soldier, earning the military cross during the third battle of Epra in June of 1918 for bringing a group of wounded men through the enemy lines and a bar to that medal during the Battle of Hindenburg line in September for leading a group of American soldiers who had lost their commanding officer. To this day, Hubert Wilkins remains the only official Australian war photographer from any conflict to receive a combat medal. Indeed, when Australian General Sir John Mish was interviewed by American journalist Lel Thomas, the man who made Lawrence of Arabia a household name, and asked if Australia had a similar wartime hero, the general immediately named Wilkins.

Yes, there was one. He was a highly accomplished and absolutely fearless combat photographer. What happened to him is a story of epic proportions. Wounded many times, he always came through. At times he brought in the wounded. At other times he supplied vital intelligence of enemy activity he observed. At one point he even rallied troops as a combat officer. His record was unique. Further adding to his extraordinary collection of life experiences on April the 21st, 1918. Wilkins even witnessed the death of legendary German fighter ace Manfred von Rishtoven aka the Red Baron firsthand.

He states, "Traveling toward the front in a car when we stopped to watch an aerial dog fight, there were some 30 or 40 planes in that whirling battle, split roughly into three groups, and they were fighting at such an altitude, it was difficult to distinguish the Allied planes from the Germans, except the character of their attacks. One plane seemed to be lagging, then went into a nose dive and came down. As it approached, we saw it was an Allied plane. A German swooped in pursuit, and as it came down on our plane's tail, we saw that it was all red. the distinctive coloring of Richtoven's plane, of which we had all heard. Our man plainly was in a difficulty, diving straight for the ground. The machine and the lead came out of its dive just as it neared the ground, zoomed steeply, banked, and went straight out of sight behind a hill.

Rich followed the maneuver exactly in pursuit. There was sound of just one machine gun firing over the very top of the bank. We could see Richtol's red plane apparently go out of control, sides slip, and then it also disappeared. I didn't see the actual crash, but it was evident that the red plane had been hit when we lost sight of it. From a colonel's headquarters nearby, I called up the flying cors headquarters and was told that von Rishtoven had just been killed. I drove to the scene as soon as I could, and by that time, the body of the German ace had been carried to the British RAF headquarters. I did not go to view the body, but photographed his red wrecked plane and then went back to develop my pictures. After the war, Wilkins assisted Australian journalist and historian Charles Edward Bean in his efforts to reconstruct and commemorate the ANZAC role in the disastrous Gallipoli campaign before entering an

air race between England and Australia. Unfortunately, his aircraft, a twin engine Blackburn Kangaroo bomber, suffered engine trouble and he was forced to crash land on the Greek island of Cree, eventually reaching Australia by sea in July of 1920. After his flying corps commission ended in September of 1920, Wilkins threw himself into global exploration, joining John Lacklin Cop's unsuccessful 1920 to 1921 British Imperial Antarctic Expedition to Graham Island, today known simply as the Antarctic Peninsula and the 1921 to 1922 Shackleton Rowit or Quest Expedition to Antarctica's Wet Sea, led by legendary explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, most famous for his 1914 to 1917 Endurance Expedition. The voyage, which was plagued by equipment failures, failed to penetrate the ice pack and proved to be Shackleton's last, the great explorer dying aboard the expedition ship Quest on January the 5th, 1922. Thus ended the

so-called heroic age of polar exploration. In 1922, Wilkins returned to his roots as a photojournalist, traveling to the Soviet Union to cover the great vulga regime famine, not to be confused with the later 1932 to 1933 Ukrainian famine, better known as the Holy. While there, he was commissioned by the British Museum in London to lead a geographic, ecological, and ethnographic survey of northern Australia. He spent two and a half years in that region between 1923 and 1925, collecting minerals, fossils, plants, insects, birds, Aboriginal artifacts, and other samples. At least nine of the specimens he found were new to science with two, the rock walabe, Petragali Wilkinse, the lizard Litza Wilkins being named in his honor. Wilkinson eventually published an account of the expedition in his 1929 book, Undiscovered Australia. But Wilkins's focus remains squarely on the polar regions. And in

1926, he set his sights on his most ambitious project yet, traversing the Arctic by air. The development of the airplane opened exciting new possibilities for Arctic exploration, and dozens of explorers scrambled to be the first to reach the pole by air, with many perishing in the attempt. The first to succeed was legendary Norwegian explorer Rald Ammonson, the first man to reach the South Pole on December the 14th, 1911, who on May the 12th, 1926, flew over the top of the world aboard the semi- rigid airship Nor. This feat was repeated on May the 23rd, 1928 by the airship Italia, commanded by Italian Air Force General Ombberto Noil.

However, on its return flight to Kings Bay, Spitsburgen, Italia crashed on the ice, killing 17 expedition members and triggering a massive rescue operation that resulted in the disappearance of Rald Ammonson. On May the 9th, 1926, US Navy Lieutenant Richard E. Bird and Chief aviation pilot Floyd Bennett became the first men to reach the North Pole in a fixedwing aircraft, piloting the Faler F7 trioter Josephine Ford from Spitsburgen to 90° latitude and back in 15 hours 57 minutes. The flight made Bird and Bennett into national heroes, earning them the Congressional Medal of Honor and Bird a promotion to the rank of commander. In more recent years, however, Bird and Bennett's claims have been questioned with critics such as Bush pilot and explorer Bert Balin arguing that given the weather conditions on that day, the Josephine Ford could not have reached the poll in the time reported. Despite this, the

pair's claim to being the first to the poll is still generally accepted to this day. Hubert Wilkins's plan was far more ambitious than a mere dash to the pole in back involving an epic 2200 mile or 3,500 km flight across the barren uncharted waste between Alaska and Spitsburgen. Wilin's scientific goals were twofold. First, he wanted to confirm that no land masses existed in the vast Arctic Ocean. Geographers had long theorized the existence of a northern continent hidden somewhere among the Arctic ice, but expedition after expedition had failed to locate it. Second, he hoped to land at various intervals along the route, bore holes in the pack ice, and use special acoustic sounding equipment to determine the depth of the ocean floor. This data would not only furnish key evidence for or against the existence of the northern continent, but also help establish the suitability of the Arctic Ocean for

commercial shipping traffic, the fabled Northwest Passage shot by explorers for hundreds of years. Discouragingly, Rald Emonson, the grand old man of polar exploration, denounced the plan as suicidal, arguing from personal experience that Wilkins would never find a smooth enough area on the ice pack on which to safely land. Undeterred, Wilkins pressed on with his plan and soon found an enthusiastic sponsor, the North American Newspaper Alliance, who along with the Detroit Aviation Society and the Detroit Newspaper, agreed to fund his transarctic flight. For the attempt, Wilkins purchased two aircraft from his personal friend, legendary Dutch aircraft designer Anthony Fauler.

A single engine F7A he dubbed the Alaskan, and a three-engine F7B he dubbed the Droider. Also, at the recommendation of his old mentor, Vil Stephenson, he hired as his co-pilot, 27-year-old Carl Benson, a pioneering bush pilot and explorer whose exploits in Alaska and the Yukon were so legendary that the local indigenous peoples dubbed him brother to the eagle. Wilkins and Eileen arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska in March of 1926 and began preparations for their pioneering flight. Unfortunately, disaster soon struck when a newspaper reporter accidentally walked into a spinning propeller, abruptly ending his existence in the universe. Soon after, and backup pilot Tom Lanere, disoriented by glare on the snow-covered landing strip, misjudged their approaches and crashed both of the expedition's aircraft. While Wilkinson managed to make a short exploratory flight using the hastily repaired single engine Fauler, the tri

motor could not be repaired before the onset of the spring thaw and the team was forced to postpone their attempt until the following year. Wilkins and returned to Alaska in February of 1927, landing in Point Brow with a pair of modified single engine Stinson droitter monoplanes. They took off on March the 29th, propelled northwards by a strong tailwind. However, only 1,000 km into the flight, the engine began to sputter and misfire, forcing the pilots to set down on the ice, which contrary to Rolled Ammonson's fears was suitably flat and smooth. While Eileen worked on the engine, Wilkins, ever the encouraable scientist, set about boring a hole in the ice and setting up his sounding gear. He then ordered to shut down the idling engine so he could hear the acoustic return. Despite the subus30 C degree weather, which could freeze engine oil within minutes, complied. The sounding revealed an ocean floor depth

of 5,000 m, too deep for a continental shelf. There was likely no northern land mass. For the next 2 hours, Wilkins and worked on the aircraft's engine, occasionally starting it up to keep it from freezing. In order to better manipulate the troublesome ignition system, removed his mittens, suffering severe frostbite on four of his fingers. When asked why he would take this risk, casually replied that he would rather lose a few fingers or toes than the arms and legs they were attached to. Eventually, the pair managed to get airborne again, only for the engine to start sputtering after around 10 minutes. Once more, they landed to make repairs and were soon underway again.

But by this time, a stiff headwind was cutting into their fuel consumption. Their tanks ultimately ran dry and they crash landed on the ice, shearing off one of the Detroititer's wings. Wilkins fixed their position as 100 km northwest of Point Brow, rapidly drifting out to sea. Not long after, a violent storm blew in, forcing the pair to shelter in the fuselage for 4 days. Thankfully, they had packed enough food and other supplies to last them weeks. When the storm finally cleared, Wilkins and set off across the ice towards Point Borrow.

The terrain was rough and their progress slow and awkward, with Wilkins later noting that a motion picture of our floundering would be considered much overacted. On one occasion, the ice gave way beneath Wilin's feet, causing him to plunge partially into the frigid water beneath. Thankfully, his Arctic survival training immediately kicked in, and to Eileen's astonishment, Wilkins wrenched off his seal skin boots and rub them in the snow to dry them. All the while dancing frantically to keep the blood circulating in his legs. Finally, after two grueling weeks on the ice, Wilkins and reached the small trading post at Beachy Point, some 500 km east of Point Brow. Though utterly exhausted, the two men were a little worse for wear for their ordeal. Though one of Isbitten fingers did have to be amputated. After two failed attempts at crossing the Arctic, a despondent Wilkins began to wonder if any aircraft was up to the

task. Thankfully, the answer to that question literally flew by his window. While recovering from his ordeal in San Francisco, Wilkins saw a sleek, modern-looking aircraft go by and immediately set about tracking down the model and manufacturer. It turned out to be a Lockheed Vega introduced by Loheed Aircraft Limited at Burbank, California the very same year. Designed by the legendary John Nudson Northrup, most famous for his pioneering flying wing designs, the Vega was a high-winged single engine cabin monoplane with an innovative molded plywood fuselage, which gave it exceptional ruggedness, reliability, and performance. These characteristics made the Vega a favorite of many aviation pioneers, being used by, among others, Wy Post for his 1931 Round the World's Light and Amelia Heheart for her 1932 solo transatlantic crossing. Wilkins was especially attracted to the Vega's 1,000mi or 1600

km range, which could easily be doubled with extra fuel tanks, making it ideal for a non-stop Arctic crossing. He immediately contacted Lheed and ordered the third Vega off the production line, selling off the Fauler tri motor Detroititer to pay for it. Interestingly, the buyer was none other than fellow Australian aviation pioneer Charles Kingsford Smith, who renamed their aircraft Southern Cross and along with co-pilot Charles M became the first to cross the Pacific Ocean by air, flying from Oakland, California to Brisbane, Australia via Hawaii and Fiji between May the 31st and June the 9th, 1931. But that is an incredible story for another video. In March of 1928, Wilkins and Isles returned to Point Borrow for the third time with their specially modified Vega. They lifted off into a clear sky on April the 15th following a course that would take them across the northern coast of Almer

Island past the tip of Greenland and finally to Spitsburgen, a journey of 2200 m or 3,500 km. Most of the flight passed uneventfully with Wilkins sending a radio message to the president of the American Geographical Society. No fox is seen, a pre-arranged code phrase meaning no land spotted. Shortly thereafter, however, the radio failed and after 16 hours of flying, Wilkins and ran into a violent storm. After briefly debating whether to put down on the ice and wait out the squall, the pair decided to press on to Spitsburgen. A few hours later, they cited a large sheet of flat snow surrounded by rigid ice, the telltale sign of solid ground. They soon entered another storm, but despite near zero visibility and nearly colliding with a mountain, they managed to put down safely. They had been in the air for 20 hours and 20 minutes. The storm on for a full 5 days, Wilkins and passing the time bundled up in the Vegas

fuselage. When the weather finally cleared, Wilkins took a sunshot with his seextant and discovered they had landed on the ominously named Dead Man's Island around halfway between Kings Bay and their destination of Green Harbor on Spitsburgen. But while the flight would be a short one, getting off the ground was another matter entirely given the deep drifts of snow which had built up during the storm. The pioneering pilot's attempt to get airborne played out like a Keystone Cop slapstick routine. With Eileen at the controls, Wilkins pushed the aircraft from outside to help the skis clear the thick drifts. However, when the aircraft got moving and Wilkins tried to scramble aboard, he fell out of the entrance hatch and is took off without him. Realizing his mistake, landed and the pair tried again. On the second attempt, Wilkins again tried to scramble up the rope ladder into the cabin, but his frozen fingers could not

gain purchase. And for a few hairraising moments, he held on to the ladder with his teeth before finally letting go and dropping back into the snow. On the third and final attempt, Wilkins managed to hook his leg around the edge of the hatch and using a piece of driftwood he had found nearby, lever himself aboard the aircraft. Shortly thereafter, Wilkins and touched down in Green Harbor, safe and sound. The daring transarctic flight made headlines around the world and turned Wilkinson and into celebrities. The pair received a ticker tape parade in New York during which Wilkins met and began courting Australian actress Susan Bennett. While two months later, Wilkins was kned by King George V. Wilkins also received, among other awards, the Royal Geographical Society's patrons medal and the American Geographical Society's Samuel Finley Breeze Morse Medal. But perhaps the greatest accolades came from

Wilkinson's fellow polar explorers. Richard E. Bird called the flight the greatest ever in the far north, while Rald Amonson eating humble pie declared that no flight has been made anywhere any time which could be compared with it. Ammonson even magnimmoniously threw a party for Wilkins and is presenting them with a cake decorated with a map of their route across the top of the world. But Wilkinson was not one to rest on its laurels. And on December the 20th of that same year, he and headed to the Antarctic and flew another Vega, dubbed the San Francisco, 600 m or 970 km from the South Shetland Islands across Graham land. It was the first successful flight over the mysterious southern continent and resulted in the discovery of several new islands. But while Wilkins, now 40, had already experienced and accomplished enough to fill several lifetimes, adventure continued to find him. In 1929, American newspaper magnate William

Randph Hurst, who had bankrolled Wilkinson's Antarctic flight, sponsored an epic round the world flight by the German rigid airship Grath Zeppelin, tapping four people, journalist Lady Drummond Haye, and Carl von Vigan, cameraman Robert Hartman, and Wilkins himself to cover the event for his media empire. Graph Zeppelin lifted off from Lakehurst, New Jersey on August the 8th and headed east, making refueling stops at Frederick Shaven, Tokyo, and Los Angeles before arriving back in Lake on August the 29th, a total flight time of 21 days, 5 hours, and 31 minutes. In the process, Lady Drummond Hay became the first woman in history to circumn the globe by air. 1929 continued to be an eventful year for Wilkins, seeing not only the publication of his book, Undiscovered Australia and Flying the Arctic, but also his marriage to Susan Bennett in a small civil ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio. Their marriage was to

prove a long and happy one. In the summer of 1930, Wilkins and his new bride took a belated honeymoon in Switzerland, where they stayed in the luxurious Schllo Lizenberg Castle owned by the American polar explorer Lincoln Ellsworth. Ellsworth, who had partially financed and planned Rald Ammonson's failed 1925 attempt to reach the North Pole by Dorner Wall flying boat and his successful 1926 Nor airship expedition, would later become along with pilot Herbert Hollik Kenyon the first man to cross Antarctica by air, flying the sleek Northrup Gamma Polar Star over 2500 km from Dundee Island to the Little American Research Station on November the 22nd, 1935. During his six-w weekek honeymoon in Switzerland, Wilkins and Ellsworth hatched a bold new scheme for an Arctic expedition. As the Arctic Ocean contained no hidden land masses, Wilkins reasoned, "Would it not be possible to explore this uncharted

region by submarine sailing underneath the ice?" The Wilkins Ellsworth TransArctic Expedition was born. Wilkins pitched the venture to William Randph Hurst, who loved the idea and pledged nearly $150,000, about $3.5 million today, in exchange for exclusive news coverage rights and organizing a historic rendevous between the submarine and the graph zeppelin at the North Pole. But to Wilkins, the mission was more than a publicity stunt. He later explained that in short the expedition is for the purpose of gathering data in connection with a plan for comprehensive meteorology study including the polar areas and with the hope that once polar meteorological stations are established, it will be possible to forecast for several years in advance the seasonal conditions and to collect scientific data of academic and economic interest from an area hitherto unapproached by a scientific staff equipped with a complete

scientific laboratory and facility for comfortably carrying out their investigations and provided with adequate means of sustenance and means of safe retreat. Millions of dollars are spent each year by various institutions in oceanographical and geoysical research. A submarine will provide means for similar investigations in an economic and safe manner in areas as yet untouched by scientists. Wilkins former mentor Stephenson further added, "The Arctic has been crossed only twice in the history of the world, once by airship and once by airplane. The commander of the first airplane, Sir Hubert Wilkins, and the second command of the first airship, Lincoln Ellsworth, have now joined to attempt the first crossing of the Arctic by submarine.

There was romance in flying above the polar ice from Europe to America. There is more romance, or at least more strangeness, in swimming the course beneath the ice. If the journey is successful, the value to science will be greater. But a submarine navigates the very medium to be studied, the ocean. It can take soundings every mile to yield us for the first time a contour of the sea bottoms. A calculation of speed and leeway will help to show the ocean currents. If successful at all, you can make scores, if not hundreds of stops on the 3,000 likes from Spitsburgen by way of the North Pole to Alaska. You dive beneath the flows like a whale. And like the whales that cross the Arctic every summer, you come in the leads between the flows to breathe and look around.

The staff will go ashore on the ice fields and walk about for study. They can measure the temperature gradients of the water as deep into the sea as they like. They can take water samples at similarly varying depths to learn how the chemistry changes and how the tiny animal and plant life varies. They can use nets at many depths to capture swimming animals and both plants and animals that float with the current. Consequently, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts contributed a further $35,000 while Wilkins himself invested $22,000 of his own money. He even took the unusual step of publishing a book about the expedition under the North Pole before it had even set sail, explaining that it is unusual and perhaps unprecedented to publish a book as we are doing in relation to an expedition before it takes place. But in our case, this is really not without point for we are going to use a submarine for the first

time in the history of polar exploration. And submarines open up a new field of Arctic research that needs explaining. With financial backing secured, Wilkins set about finding a suitable submarine with which to carry out the expedition. Ordinarily, this would have been a tall order. But thanks to the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty and the 1930 London Naval Treaty, which attempted to limit the size of the world's navies and stave off a global arms race, the US Navy was actively decommissioning dozens of obsolete vessels, including the Oclass submarine USS2, the second of six Oclass boats built by the Lake Torpedo Boat Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut. 012 measured 53 meters long, displaced 575 tons submerged, and carried a standard crew of 29. Launched in September of 1917, and commissioned in October of 1918, she did not see combat in the First World War, instead being deployed on patrols

off the Panama Canal Zone. Unfortunately, the lakebuilt Oboats performed poorly compared to the earlier models built by the Electric Boat Company, and 012 was withdrawn from service in 1924. As a foreign national, Wilkins could not officially purchase the submarine. So, she was instead leased from the Navy for 5 years for a nominal fee of $1 per year by Lake and Danhower, Inc., a corporation set up by legendary submarine designer Simon Lake and US submarine officer Sloan Danhower, the latter of which would serve as the expedition commander. The lease agreement stipulated that at the conclusion of the expedition, the submarine either be returned to the Navy for decommissioning or scuttled in at least 1,200 ft or 270 m of water. 012 was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on July the 29th, 1930 and sent to the Philadelphia Naval Yard for extensive modification. However, this facility was already over capacity, so

much of the work was instead performed across the Delaware River at the Matthysse shipyard in Camden, New Jersey. The conning tower was removed and a heavy wooden superructure built over the deck to protect the vessel from collisions with sea ice. This was also equipped with a retractable periscope and extra buoyancy chambers for added stability while a heavy hydraulic shock absorber was fitted to the bow. A hydraulic arm with a roller similar to those fitted to electrical trams protruded above the hole, giving the crew continuous readings of the vessel's clearance beneath the ice. Due to the danger of becoming trapped beneath the ice, the submarine was equipped with two vertical drills, a smaller one aft to allow fresh air to be drawn into the hole and a larger one forward to bore an escape tunnel in an emergency. Finally, a pressurized compartment with an open floor or moon pool was installed in the

forward torpedo compartment to allow water and biological samples to be collected while the vessel was submerged. On March the 24th, 1931, before a crowd of 800 people gathered in Brooklyn, the heavily modified 012 was recristened Nautilus after the fictional submarine in Jules Vern's classic 1870 science fiction novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. In keeping with this theme, Wilkins invited John Jules Vern, the author's grandson, to the ceremony, flew the French flag, and even fitted the submarine with a plaque bearing the motto of the fictional Captain Nemo, Mobilis in Mobili, motion in the midst of motion. The vessel was commissioned by Lady Wilkins who declared, "Ship, I name you Nautilus. Go on your wonderful adventure. In your heart is a great treasure. Bring that treasure safely back to me." As prohibition was in full swing, Nautilus was christened not with champagne, but appropriately ice cubes.

However, the fact that christening a ship with anything other than alcohol is considered bad luck may partially explain the vessel's later misfortunes. To man the expedition, Wilkins handpicked a crew of 18, many of them US Navy submarine veterans. In a grim foretaste of the difficulties to come, before Nautilus even left port, Quartermaster William Grimmer was accidentally knocked overboard and drowned in New York Harbor. And during diving trials, Nautilus suddenly plunged below her 200 ft test depth, though she miraculously held firm and nobody was hurt. But Wilkins, keen to avoid the Arctic's infamous August storms, pressed on with his preparations. And on June the 4th, 1931, Nautilus left New London, Connecticut, and steamed across the Atlantic towards England. Once again, the voyage was plagued with difficulties. Much of the vessel's specialized equipment had only been cursorily tested before departure with a

vital ice drill in particular consistently jamming. While halfway across the Atlantic, Nautilus encountered a violent storm which knocked out both her engines and left her helplessly a drift. On June the 14th, radio operator Meyers sent out a distress signal which was picked up by the nearby US Navy battleship USS Wyoming. The warship steamed to the rescue and after several hours of struggling and tossing seas managed to get a line across and tow Nautilus to Cork, Ireland and then to Plymouth, England for repairs. There the crew received a surprise visit from Edward, Prince of Wales, a personal friend of Wilkins and later the infamously short reigning King Edward VIII. see our video, What Did the British royals get up to during World War II? To learn all about whether King Edward was really a Nazi collaborator, as well as to learn about Hitler's plan to make him king again if he'd managed to conquer

Britain. In any event, repairs complete, Nautilus resumed her voyage on June the 28th, crossing the North Sea to Bergen, Norway in 4 days. There, Wilkins suffered another setback when a Norwegian official inspected the vessel and declared her unseaorthy. On learning of this assessment, William Randph Hurst dispatched an urgent radio message. I most urgently beg of you to return promptly to safety and to defer any further adventure to a more favorable time and with a better boat. But Wilkins would have none of it, and on August the 23rd, he departed Bergen and sailed northwards. Yet another storm heavily damaged the boat, forcing her to put into Trozo for repairs before finally reaching Spitsburgen. Ever impatient, Wilkins allowed only a single day for repairs before pressing on towards the pole. As the Arctic waters grew ever more frigid, conditions aboard Nautilus became miserable. The air was damp,

cold, and rire of sweat and diesel fumes, while the uninsulated walls became covered in frost. The boat developed multiple slow leaks while the freshwater system froze solid. Yet, despite these hardships, chief scientist Harold Furdrip still managed to do important work, collecting biological and water samples through Nautilus' moonpool and using a sensitive pendulum gravimeter to map the Earth's gravitational field. These experiments revealed that seawater became colder and saltier at greater depths, helping to prove the existence of the deep ocean currents that drive the planet's climate and showed that gravity is weaker at the poles than at the equator, proving that, as Sir Isaac Newton predicted, the Earth is not a perfect sphere, but rather an oblate spheroid. These findings were by far the expedition's most important contributions to science. On August the 28th, Nautilus reached the edge of the

Arctic pack ice at 82° north, some 600 m or 960 km from the North Pole. This was the highest latitude any ship had yet reached under its own power, with all previous ships having been carried further north by drifting sea ice. Wasting no time, Wilkins and Commander Danhower prepared to make their first dive. In preparation for this historic event, master diver Frank Krilly was sent over the side to inspect the submarine's external fittings. He emerged bearing bad news. Nautilus' stern diving planes were missing. Without them, the submarine could not be safely controlled under the ice. Though Wilkins concluded that the planes had likely been ripped off by the ice pack, rumors circulated that the crew, fed up with the miserable living conditions, and fearing for their lives had deliberately sabotaged the vessel in order to force an end to the expedition.

But if this was indeed the case, the plan was a failure. For despite the damage, Wilkins ordered Commander Danhower to dive the boat. After flooding the Ford ballast tanks, Danhau ordered the electric motors set at full ahead and Nautilus rammed her way under the ice pack. As Wilkins later recalled, "The noise of the ice scraping along the top of the vessel was terrifying. It sounded as though the whole superructure was being demolished." Thankfully, Nautilus emerged on the other side, largely unscased, save for a damaged radio aerial, which was quickly repaired. Keen to prove the feasibility of his mission, Wilkins ordered Danhower to dive again, this time filming the plunge from a nearby ice flow. Soon after, radio operator Ray Meyers received another urgent message from Hurst, reading, "Dear Sir Hubert, I am exceedingly happy to hear good news from you, but I feel continued concerned

about the welfare of yourself and your crew. Most urgently beg you to return promptly." Hurst further announced that the planned Zeppelin rendevous at the pole was cancelled and that he was withdrawing all further funding for the expedition. The ordinarily defiant Wilkins had no choice but to abandon his polar voyage and return home. Nautilus arrived back in Bergen on September the 20th, but engine damage inflicted by another storm prevented her from going any further. And per the US Navy's lease agreement on November the 20th, 1931, the submarine was towed out and scuttled in a nearby fjord where she lies to this day. Wilkins returned to the United States frustrated. Though the expedition had failed to reach the North Pole or to generate the headlines Wilkins and Hurst had hoped, it nonetheless collected valuable scientific data and demonstrated the feasibility of using submarines for polar exploration.

However, more advanced technology was needed before this dream could truly become a reality. In the meantime, Wilkins continued to throw himself into exploration work, managing several United States Antarctic expeditions between 1933 and 1939, assisting in the 1937 to 1938 search for Soviet pilot Sigisman Levenovski after he disappeared over the Arctic Ocean, and serving as a consultant for the Office of Strategic Services, the precursor to the CIA, the United States Quartermaster General, the US Navy's Office of Scientific Research, and the US Weather Bureau Arctic Institute of North America. Throughout this period, he attempted several times to organize another submarine expedition to the North Pole, but was unable to secure the required funding. He did, however, live long enough to see his dream come true when the world's first nuclearpowered submarine, also named the Nautilus, reached the North Pole under

the Arctic ice on August the 3rd, 1958. Indeed, shortly thereafter, Wilkins met with Captain James Calvert of the USS Skate, the third nuclear submarine ever built, and discussed launching another undersea expedition to the Arctic. Unfortunately, just six weeks later, on November the 30th, 1958, Sir George Hubert Wilkins died suddenly in his hotel room in Framingham, Massachusetts. He was 70 years old. But in a way, the old explorer did get to realize his dream for when USS Skate became the first submarine to surface at the North Pole on March the 17th, 1959. She was carrying Wilkinson's ashes. Captain Calvert held a brief ceremony on the ice, scattering the ashes and delivering a heartfelt eulogy. On this day, we pay tribute to one of the greatest men of our century. He spent his life in the noblelest of callings, the attempt to broaden the horizons of the mind of man.

Though he may not be as well remembered as other polar explorers like Rald Ammonson, Robert Perry, Richard Bird, and Robert Scott, the legacy of Sir George Hubert Wilkins lives on in the hundreds of weather stations still operating across the Arctic and Antarctic and in the names of the southern continents Wilkins Sound, Wilkins Coast, and Wilkins Ice Shelf. And what better tribute can there be for a man who did so much to open the world's most remote and mysterious regions.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Legendary Legends: The Greatest Adventurer and the Voyage of the Nautilus"?

Sir George Hubert Wilkins (Host).

What is "Legendary Legends: The Greatest Adventurer and the Voyage of the Nautilus" about?

The narrative explores the groundbreaking voyage of the USS Nautilus, the first nuclear-powered submarine to reach the North Pole in 1958, highlighting its significance in demonstrating nuclear power in naval operations and restoring American pride during the Cold War. It also recounts the earlier, lesser-known yet ambitious Arctic expedition of Sir Hubert Wilkins, an adventurous Australian…

What is mentioned in this Today I Found Out episode?

27 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Sir Hubert Wilkins, USS Nautilus, Nautilus, Oclass submarine USS-2, Rald Amundsen, Richard E. Byrd. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Legendary Legends: The Greatest Adventurer and the Voyage of the Nautilus"?

The episode runs 37 min; the transcript is about 6,676 words in 47 timestamped sections.

More from Today I Found Out

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.