The S.A.S. Transarctic Flights

Extract

Scandinavian interest in transarctic flying dates back to the successful transarctic flight of the airship Norge under the joint leadership of Amundsen and Ellsworth. The geographical position of Scandinavian countries, of course, makes such interest natural as they have everything to gain from commercial flying across the Arctic. In 1946 when Scandinavian Airlines System was formed, with the primary object of establishing intercontinental routes to the Scandinavian countries, four Stratocruisers were ordered from the Boeing factory in Seattle and plans were made for a non-stop delivery flight from Seattle to Stockholm following the great-circle route across sub-arctic Canada and central Greenland. The object was to gain experience over this route, which might become of strategic importance in the near future. However, the Stratocruisers were sold before S.A.S. took delivery and the plans for the flight were abandoned. The groundwork carried out in connection with navigation was not wasted however.