Umberto Nobile was an airship designer and pilot who became an Arctic explorer. In 1926 he flew the airship 'Norge' from Rome to Teller in Alaska, by way of the North Pole. He returned to the Arctic in 1928 with the airship 'Italia' and disappeared on 25 May the same year. This is the story of the 'Italia', put into the context of the airship age.