About Bernt Balchen
Bernt Balchen was a Norwegian pioneer polar aviator, navigator, aircraft mechanical engineer and military leader. A Norwegian native, he later became an American citizen and was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross. On 28–29 November 1929, as the pilot of a modified Ford 4-AT Trimotor named Floyd Bennett, Balchen became one of the first four men to fly over the South Pole. In a last-minute decision by Amundsen, he was not chosen to be on the record-breaking dirigible flight as Nobile was in charge of picking the crew, which already had a complement of 23.
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