In 1928, Byrd began his first expedition to the Antarctic involving two ships and three airplanes: Byrd's Flagship was the City of New York (a Norwegian sealing ship previously named Samson that had come into fame as a ship some claimed was in the vicinity of the RMS Titanic when the latter was sinking) and the Eleanor Bolling (named after Byrd's mother); a Ford Trimotor airplane called the Floyd Bennett (named after the recently deceased pilot of Byrd's previous expeditions) flown by Dean Smith; a Fairchild FC-2W2, NX8006, built 1928, named "Stars And Stripes" (now displayed at the Virginia Aviation Museum, on loan from the National Air and Space Museum); and a Fokker Universal monoplane called the Virginia (Byrd's birth state).
A base camp named "Little America" was constructed on the Ross Ice Shelf and scientific expeditions by snowshoe, dog-sled, snowmobile, and airplane began.
  In order to increase the interest of youth in arctic exploration, a 19-year-old American Boy Scout, Paul Allman Siple, was chosen to accompany the expedition.
 Siple would go on to earn an doctorate degree and was probably the only person, other than Byrd himself, to participate in all five of Byrd's Antarctic expeditions.

Photographic expeditions and geological surveys were undertaken for the duration of that summer, and constant radio communications were maintained with the outside world.
After their first winter, their expeditions were resumed, and on November 28, 1929, the first flight to the South Pole and back was launched.
Byrd, along with pilot Bernt Balchen, co-pilot/radioman Harold June, and photographer Ashley McKinley, flew the Floyd Bennett to the South Pole and back in 18 hours, 41 minutes.
They had difficulty gaining enough altitude, and they had to dump empty gas tanks, as well as their emergency supplies, in order to achieve the altitude of the Polar Plateau, but they were ultimately successful.

As a result of his achievement, Byrd was promoted to the rank of rear admiral by a special act of Congress on December 21, 1929.
As he was only 41 years old at the time, this promotion made Byrd the youngest admiral in the history of the United States Navy.
 By way of comparison, none of his Annapolis classmates would become admirals until 1942, after 30 years of commissioned service.
 He is one of only three persons, one being Admiral David Dixon Porter and the other being arctic explorer Donald Baxter MacMillan, to have been promoted to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy without having first held the rank of captain.

After a further summer of exploration, the expedition returned to North America on June 18, 1930.
 Unlike the 1926 flight, this expedition was honored with the gold medal of the American Geographical Society.
This was also seen in the film With Byrd at the South Pole (1930) which covered his trip there.

Byrd, by then an internationally recognized, pioneering American polar explorer and aviator, served for a time as Honorary National President (1931–1935) of Pi Gamma Mu, the international honor society in the social sciences.
He carried the Society's flag during his first Antarctic expedition to dramatize the spirit of adventure into the unknown, characterizing both the natural and social sciences.

In order to finance and gain both political and public support for his expeditions, Byrd actively cultivated relationships with many powerful individuals.
 These individuals included, but were not limited to, President Franklin Roosevelt, Henry Ford, Edsel Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Vincent Astor.
 As a token of his gratitude, Byrd named geographic features in the Antarctic after his supporters.
In 1928, Byrd began his first expedition to the Antarctic involving two ships and three airplanes: Byrd's Flagship was the City of New York (a Norwegian sealing ship previously named Samson that had come into fame as a ship some claimed was in the vicinity of the RMS Titanic when the latter was sinking) and the Eleanor Bolling (named after Byrd's mother); a Ford Trimotor airplane called the Floyd Bennett (named after the recently deceased pilot of Byrd's previous expeditions) flown by Dean Smith; a Fairchild FC-2W2, NX8006, built 1928, named "Stars And Stripes" (now displayed at the Virginia Aviation Museum, on loan from the National Air and Space Museum); and a Fokker Universal monoplane called the Virginia (Byrd's birth state). A base camp named "Little America" was constructed on the Ross Ice Shelf and scientific expeditions by snowshoe, dog-sled, snowmobile, and airplane began.   In order to increase the interest of youth in arctic exploration, a 19-year-old American Boy Scout, Paul Allman Siple, was chosen to accompany the expedition.  Siple would go on to earn an doctorate degree and was probably the only person, other than Byrd himself, to participate in all five of Byrd's Antarctic expeditions.
Photographic expeditions and geological surveys were undertaken for the duration of that summer, and constant radio communications were maintained with the outside world. After their first winter, their expeditions were resumed, and on November 28, 1929, the first flight to the South Pole and back was launched. Byrd, along with pilot Bernt Balchen, co-pilot/radioman Harold June, and photographer Ashley McKinley, flew the Floyd Bennett to the South Pole and back in 18 hours, 41 minutes. They had difficulty gaining enough altitude, and they had to dump empty gas tanks, as well as their emergency supplies, in order to achieve the altitude of the Polar Plateau, but they were ultimately successful.
As a result of his achievement, Byrd was promoted to the rank of rear admiral by a special act of Congress on December 21, 1929. As he was only 41 years old at the time, this promotion made Byrd the youngest admiral in the history of the United States Navy.  By way of comparison, none of his Annapolis classmates would become admirals until 1942, after 30 years of commissioned service.  He is one of only three persons, one being Admiral David Dixon Porter and the other being arctic explorer Donald Baxter MacMillan, to have been promoted to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy without having first held the rank of captain.
After a further summer of exploration, the expedition returned to North America on June 18, 1930.  Unlike the 1926 flight, this expedition was honored with the gold medal of the American Geographical Society. This was also seen in the film With Byrd at the South Pole (1930) which covered his trip there.
Byrd, by then an internationally recognized, pioneering American polar explorer and aviator, served for a time as Honorary National President (1931–1935) of Pi Gamma Mu, the international honor society in the social sciences. He carried the Society's flag during his first Antarctic expedition to dramatize the spirit of adventure into the unknown, characterizing both the natural and social sciences.
In order to finance and gain both political and public support for his expeditions, Byrd actively cultivated relationships with many powerful individuals.  These individuals included, but were not limited to, President Franklin Roosevelt, Henry Ford, Edsel Ford, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Vincent Astor.  As a token of his gratitude, Byrd named geographic features in the Antarctic after his supporters.
Richard E. Byrd