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| New York Tribune, 28-May-1919 |
On the third leg of he US Navy's attempt at a transatlantic flight, NC-4 flew from the Azores to Lisbon, Portugal. On the second leg, NC-1 had to land on the ocean and a ship rescued its crew. NC-3, the flagship, landed on the water and was forced to sail to the Azores. Australian Harry Hawker, who had been chief test pilot and designer at Sopwith, along with navigator Kenneth Mackenzie Grieve, had taken off from Newfoundland in a Sopwith Atlantic and was forced down on the water when the engine failed. They were picked up by a ship without a radio so no one knew they were alive until the ship reached port.
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| New York Tribune, 28-May-1919 |
800-Mile Flight From Azores Is Made in 9 Hours, 43 Minutes,
Averaging 82 Knots ; Flying Time From Trepassey 27 Hrs.
Cheers, Bells and Sirens Shriek Welcome at Lisbon
Epochal Feat Is Declared Accomplished; Final "Leg" All in
Sight of Coast; Destroyers to Guide 'Plane Across Biscay Bay
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| New York Tribune, 28-May-1919 |
WASHINGTON, May 27. -- Blazing the way of the first air trail from the western to the eastern hemisphere, the United States navy seaplane NC-4, under Lieutenant Commander Albert Cushing Read, swept into the harbor at Lisbon, Portugal, to-day, the first airship of any kind to have crossed the Atlantic Ocean under its own power and through its natural element.
Taking the air at Ponta Delgada, Azores, at 6:18 a. m., New York time, on the last leg of the transatlantic portion of the voyage from Rockaway Beach, Long Island, to Plymouth, England, the NC-4 covered the 800 miles in 9 hours and 43 minutes, maintaining an average speed of better than 82 knots an hour. The total elapsed flying time from Newfoundland to Lisbon was 26 hours and 41 minutes.
At the first opportunity the big 'plane will continue to Plymouth, 775 nautical miles to the north. Possibly Commander Read can start to-morrow. To the Navy Department, however, it makes little difference when he completes the journey. The great object of all the effort lavished on the undertaking -- navigation of a seaplane across the Atlantic through the air -- has been accomplished.
Twentieth century transportation has reached a new pinnacle, and the United States navy has led the way.
True Course Maintained Throughout
Naval officials emphasized that the long delay at the Azores was due to the weather and to no weakness of the machine or its daring crew, nor to any failure of the carefully laid plans of the department to guide the fliers to their destination. The fourteen destroyers strung from Ponta Delgada to Lisbon reported with machine-like precision to-day as the flight progressed. The 'plane was never off its course, and there was no moment when officials in Washington did not know to within a few miles where it was in the air.
To maintain adequate communication for this stage of the journey, the destroyers stuck to their posts after the flying boat had passed, relaying back to Ponta Delgada reports from ships further eastward. The chain was not broken until after the 'plane was safely moored for the night near the cruiser Rochester at Lisbon.
For the next few hundred miles of his epoch-making journey Commander Read and his crew will be within sight of the Portuguese or Spanish coasts in the sweep northward. Skirting the coast of Cape Finisterre, they will head out across the Bay of Biscay to Sight Brest, the most westerly point of France, thence direct to Plymouth.
The destroyers that will guide them across the bay were already in position to-night, provided with the flares and bombs that have made the trip safe thus far except for the fog that forced the other two machines of the seaplane division, the NC-1 and the NC-3, out of the flight after they had safely negotiated virtually the entire distance from Newfoundland to the Azores.
Original Crew Accompanies Read to Lisbon
Commander Read had with him on the flight to Lisbon the same crew as that which left Newfoundland on the NC-4 on May 16. Lieutenant E. F. Stone, of the Coast Guard, and W. K. Hinton were the pilots, with Ensign R. C. Rodd as radio operator, and Chief Machinist's Mate E. S. Rhoads as reserve pilot-engineer. The crew, was met at Lisbon by most of the members of the crews of the NC-1 and NC-3, who had preceded them on a destroyer.
The chart of the flight, as shown by the reports of the station ship destroyers on the NC-4's progress to-day, shows how the winds helped her along. At times, Commander Read's snip apparently was whirling through the air at a ninety-knot clip; again her speed fell off to less than sixty, only to pick up again as she reached the zone of influence of other breezes. Probably the machine overtook and passed winds that had stirred the waters about Ponta Delgada the day before, preventing
earlier start.
Official word of the arrival of the 'plane at Lisbon reached the Navy Department first through a dispatch from Brest, France, sent by Rear Admiral Halstead, commander of the American naval forces in French
waters. The message was received at the Otter Cliffs, Me., station and relayed to Washington.
Immediately Secretary Daniels cabled the congratulations of the department to Commander Read. The Secretary also sent a cable to President Wilson at Paris, telling him that American naval aviators had been the first to cross the Atlantic.
Daniels Cables News to Wilson
The cablegram from the Secretary to President Wilson said:
"Know you will be delighted to learn naval aviators first to cross Atlantic."
Secretary Daniels said to-day no definite plans for further trans oceanic flights had been made. He explained that the first trip was the beginning of a series of experiments in long distance flying and that very probably, after defects in naval aircraft, brought to light during the flight, had been corrected, another squadron of seaplanes would be headed across the Atlantic. Mr. Daniels said he had not decided whether the NC-4 should attempt to fly back to the United States or be "knocked down" at Plymouth and shipped back to America.
Whole of Lisbon Welcomes NC-4
Days of Waiting at Last
Rewarded When 'Plane Sweeps Over the City
LISBON, May 27 (By The Associated Press). The achievement of the first transatlantic air flight, with Lisbon as the first European stopping point, has aroused the enthusiasm of the Portuguese as no event has stirred them for many years. When the American seaplane NC-4 came over the Tagus River this evening the populace, crowding all places of vantage, gave full expression to this enthusiasm by cheers of welcome, the booming of guns and the ringing of bells.
For days the people of Lisbon have been awaiting the completion of this momentous voyage over the Atlantic and, though disappointed from day to day because of the inability of Commander Read's craft to continue its flight from the Azores because of unfavorable weather conditions, yet each day they looked hopefully toward the west, for the coming of the Americans. Now they are able to say that they never doubted that the NC-4 would wing its way safely across the intervening 800 miles of water.
Early in the day word was flashed that the NC-4 had started, and at intervals there were bulletins of the progress made. The whole city was en fete, and during the later hours of the day virtually all business was abandoned by those who crowded every where to witness the arrival.
Guided by skillful hands the American 'plane, which had covered the distance between the protecting destroyers along the route with clocklike regularity, swept on over Lisbon and settled down gracefully near the cruiser Rochester.
Warships Flash News of Triumph
Message Greeted With Chorus of Sirens and Bells at Azores Port
PONTA DELGADA, May 27 (By The Associated Press).- The naval seaplane NC-4, which left hero at 6:18 (New York time") this morning, has won for America the honor of the first successful flight across the Atlantic ocean.
News of its arrival in Lisbon was given to the inhabitants here. Flotilla Commander Wortmann. To him it came in a wireless message relayed from the victorious seaplane by the bridge of destroyers that spanned the 800 miles of ocean between the Azores and Portugal. This message read:
"We are safely on the other side of the pond. Crew all well."
That was all. Following it came more details of the last leg of the flight across the ocean. These told how splendidly the four Liberty engines had worked throughout the trip. They told, too, how the people of ancient Lisbon lined the banks of the historic Tagus and cheered the giant seaplane as it finally settled upon the river, how sirens shrieked and bells were rung in celebration of the remarkable victory.
The moment the news was received Admiral Jackson, ranking naval officer here, ordered all the warcraft in the harbor to blow their sirens and foghorns. The terrible noise was kept up fur fully live minutes, while the officers and seamen aboard joined their voices in the bedlam of noise.
The crew of the seaplane, which was the same as that which made the memorable flight from Newfoundland to the Azores, boarded the 'plane for the start an hour before sunrise, but it was not until several hours later that the giant machine taxied outside the breakwater, headed to windward and rose gracefully into the air. Trouble with one of the motors caused the early delay. The 'plane circled the harbor and then headed for her destination amid cheers from the sailors and soldiers who lined the decks of the ships in the harbor and the crowds on the piers, together with the shrieks of whistles from all tho steam craft within sight.
The din of the salute was kept up for several moments, the 'plane meanwhile speeding on her way and slowly disappearing in the bright eastern sky. After this start, the seaplane sent, a wireless message to Admiral Jackson, which read:
"We seem to be on our way. Many thanks for your hospitality."
Plymouth Is Excited Over Coming of NC-4
Progress of Flight of U. S. Seaplane to Lisbon is Received With Great Enthusiasm
PLYMOUTH, England, May 27 (By the Associated Press).--The news of the flight of the American navy seaplane NC-4 from Ponta Delgada to Lisbon was received with the greatest interest in Plymouth, which is to be the final destination of the big aircraft on its trip from Newfoundland to England. Wireless reports of to-day's flight, given out by the Admiralty, showing that the seaplane was making excellent progress, evoked considerable enthusiasm.
All the plans for patrolling the course of the intended flight from Lisbon to Plymouth have been arranged. 'There are to be eleven American torpedo boat destroyers between Lisbon and Plymouth, five off the Portuguese coast from Lisbon to Cape Finisterre and five between Cape Finistierre and Brest. The other boat, the U. S. S. Stockton, will bo half way between Plymouth and Brest. The Stockton, which is in port here, will not leave to take up her position until her Commander receives word that the NC-4 has departed from Lisbon.
Hoodoo Outgamed By Winning 'Plane
Victory Won After a Succession of Accidents Tested Spirit of Crew
To the NC-4, hoodoo ship of the United States Navy's giant transatlantic seaplanes, has gone the honor of the first flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
Seldom before in history has the handiwork of man gone through such a series of vicissitudes before achieving success in an epoch making endeavor as did the NC-4.
Last of the four huge seaplanes built to attempt the flight across the Atlantic, she was delivered in sections at the Rockaway Naval Air Station April 17 last, too late to be given the adequate preliminary test flights that Her sisters had received.
Scarcely had she been assembled when a disastrous fire almost ended her career. But for the prompt efforts of the overworked NC mechanics she would have been destroyed. As it was only her lower elevator was damaged.
From her more unfortunate sister ship -- the NC-2 -- this deficiency was made good and the ship was completed ready for the flight only a few hours before the time set. Then the flight was delayed for forty-eight hours by unfavorable weather.
Second Accident Occurs
On the eve of the actual start for Halifax --first leg of the transoceanic flight -- the NC-4 figured in another accident, that resulted in her being named "the hoodoo of the Nancies." This was the accident that eliminated her engineer, Chief Special Mechanic E. H. Howard, from the flight and cost him his right hand. Howard had been working on the NC boats ever since the NC-1 had been delivered to the navy, last November. He was an expert on
Liberty engines and had flown in every type of naval craft equipped with them.
Then came the start, from Rockaway of the most remarkably planned flight in history, on May 8. The NC-4, together with her sister ships, the NC-3 and the NC-1, left the naval air station under perfect conditions.
For three hours and twenty minutes all went well with the three ships. Then in crept the "hoodoo" that still hung on the tail of the NC-4. A faulty oil pump brought her engines to a halt and she was compelled to land upon the surface of the sea. Even her wireless failed to function, and for a whole night, she was lost to the world.
The next morning saw her safely taxying to the naval air station at Chatham, Mass. In the mean time her two sisters had completed the flight to Halifax. Mechanics worked hard to repair the "hoodoo" ship, but the unfavorable weather which followed kept her fast at Chatham while her two sisters completed the flight to Trepassey, N. F., jumping off place for the the transatlantic flight.
Long Delayed by Gale
For days the easterly gale that held up the NC-4 continued unabated, and it looked as though the unfortunate ship would be left, behind. This appeared doubly certain when it was reported the guardships strung across the ocean were running out of fuel.
Suddenly there came a rift in the veil of her misfortunes. The gail abated, and her commander, taking ad vantage of this break in the luck started his ship for Newfoundland.
This was on May 14, after being five days weatherbound at Chatham. It had been the intention of Lieutenant Commander Read to fly direct to Trepassey N. F., in order to catch up with the waiting NC-1 and NC-3. Here again he met with bad luck, because it was found that although he made an average speed of eighty-five nautical miles an hour, the start had been too late to permit the complete trip in one day. Consequently he was compelled to land at Halifax.
The following day he was held up by unfavorable weather. In the meantime Commander John H. Towers, admiral of the transatlantic seaplane division, had given up hope of the NC-4 arriving in time, and ordered the flight to begin with the other two ships.
On May 15 the NC-4 started from Halifax for Trepassey. Before she had completed the flight the NC-1 and NC-2 had actually started on the transoceanic flight.
From this moment, however, the ill luck which had beset the NC-4 completely deserted her and descended upon her two sisters. From this moment every decision made by her commander proved to be correct, and the remainder of the flight was made, in record time against adverse weather conditions.
Naval Records of Crew Of Winning Seaplane
Best Pilots and Mechanics in Service Were Selected to Make Flight Over Atlantic
The men who completed the epoch-making flight across the Atlantic in the naval seaplanes which reached Lisbon yesterday were chosen from the best pilots in the naval service. The service records of the men are as follows:
Lieutenant Commander Albert Cushing Reed, commander of Crew No. 2, was born at Lyme, N. H., March 29, 1887, and first entered the naval service as midshipman July 8, 1913. He served for several years with the Pacific fleet in the Far East.
On June 30, 1915, he was detached for instruction in aeronautics. During the war he had commanded several naval air stations along the coast, including all on Long Island. He also was a member of the test board for heavier-than-air craft.
Lieutenant Elmer Fowler Stone was born at Livonia, N. Y., January 22, 1887, and joined the Coast Guard Service as a cadet, April 80, 1910. He was commissioned as a third lieutenant in the Revenue Cutter Service and assigned to the Onondaga June 6, 1913. He learned to fly at Pensacola, and during the war saw service as a seaplane pilot aboard the U. S. S. Huntingdon.
Lieutenant Walter Hinton was born in Van Wert, Ohio, November 10, 1888. After serving as an enlisted man he was appointed a temporary boatswain November 16, 1917, at Pensacola. He was promoted to ensign in March the following year. He served at various naval air stations, and on January 15 last flew the H-16 type of flying boat No. 839 from Rockaway to Hampton Roads, Norfolk, Va.
Ensign Charles Rodd, radio officer of Crew No. 2, was born at Cleveland September 4, 1894. He was given a provisional commission as ensign in the Naval Reserve Force August 20, 1918.
Lieutenant James L. Breese, Jr., reserve pilot of Crew No. 2, was born at Newport, R. I., July 12, 1885. He was given provisional rank of ensign November 12, 1917, and has served at various naval air stations.Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Accident dives Rhoads Chance.Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Chief Machinist's Mate E. S. Rhoads, engineer of the NC-4. obtained his chance to make the flight the very night before the famous seaplane started from Rockaway. The chance came to him through the unfortunate accident that cost Chief Special Mechanic E. H. Howard his right hand.
Howard, who had been working on the planes ever since the first one was completed, was adjusting the small dynamo propeller underneath the rear Liberty engine of the NC-4. Just as he reached up, the revolving propeller struck his wrist and severed it completely, eliminating him from the momentous flight at the eleventh hour. Rhoads was then chosen to take his place.
Rhoads is serving his second enlistment in the navy. He originally enlisted as a coal passer, and is known as one of the best enginemen in the navy. He is 28 years old, and his home is at Somerset, Penn.
Navy Log Shows Progress of NC-4
New York Tribune
Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, May 27. --The log of the flight of the NC-4 from Ponta Delgada to Lisbon, based on cablegrams received at the Navy Department today, follows:
8:20 a. m.."NC-4 left Ponta Delgada for Lisbon at 10:18 (7:18 New York time)."
8:58 a. m.?"NC-4 passed station ship No. 1 at 11:13 (7:13 a. m. New York time)."
9:01 a. m. "8a.m.- Weather reports -- Flying conditions from Ponta Delgada to Lisbon very good. To-day fair weather and moderate to fresh southwesterly winds at flying altitude prevail over the entire course, with the barometer rising slowly. Weather clearing and wind nearly west. Favorable flying conditions should continue over Wednesday. Time filed, 8:42 Azores time (6:40 a. m. New York time),"
9:10 a. m. "NC-4 passed station ship No. 2 at 11:38 ( 7:38 a. m. New York time)."
10:10 a. m. "NC-4 passed station No. 4 at 12:54 (8:64 a. m. New York time )."
11:06 a. m. "NC-4 passed station ship No. 5 at 13:35 (9:35 a. m. New York time)."
11:07 a. m. "NC-4 passed station ship No. 6 at 14:05 (10:05 a. m. New York time)."
12:15 p. m. "NC"4 passed station ship No. 7 at 14:10 (10:40 a. m. New York time)."
12:16 p. m. "NC-4 passed station ship No. 8 at 15:16 (11:16 a. m. New York time)."
1:08 p. m."NC-4 passed station ship No. 9 at 16:18 (12:18 p. m. New York time)."
3:57 p, m. -"NC-4 passed station ship No. 12 at 18:05 (2:06 p. m. New York time)."
4:28 p. m. "NC-4 passed station ship No. 13 at 18:38 (2:38 p. m. New York time)."
4:46 p. m. "NC-4 passed station ship No. 14 at 19:16 (3:16 p. m. New York time)."
Handley-Page and Vimy 'Planes Expected To Be Ready for Test June 1
ST. JOHN'S, N. F., May 27. -- Vice Admiral Mark Kerr, with his big Handley-Page 'plane, and Captain John J. Alcock, with his Vimy bomber, expect to get away on their transatlantic flights from the same, field at Harbor Grace at the same time, it was announced here to-night. Both aircraft respectively the largest and second largest now making ready for the. "big hop," will have their first trial flight about June 1.
Work of assembling the two 'planes has progressed rapidly. The Handley Page, erected in the open at Harbor Grace, is ready for installation of its four engines, with its great l26-foot wings already "sprouting."
Captain Alcock himself is ripping open packing cases in the high-speed uncrating and assembling! of his bomber. He said to-day he would fly "light" to Harbor Grace after his craft is assembled.
The 'Vimy 'plane has five 140-gallon tanks in its body, with another barrel forming its nose. The top centre section is also a fuel receptacle, and an additional seventy-gallon tank, is designed to be emptied first in fuel consumption when the motors are started is fitted for quick release and subsequent use as a liferaft.
Destroyers on Station Since May 11 Disperse After Seaplane Passes
Fourteen United States destroyers were stationed along the course taken by the NC-4 between the Azores and Lisbon. When the seaplane had passed, the ships fell out of line and proceeded to Ponta Delgada, and after fueling
will rejoin the flagship Dixie. The destroyers' names and positions were:
| Ship | Station No. | Lat. N. | Long W. |
| Sampson | 1 | 37:46 | 24:10 |
| ------- | 2 | 37:50 | 23:07 |
| Cassin | 3 | 37:53.5 | 22:04 |
| *Wilkes | 4 | 37:58 | 21:01 |
| Gamble | 5 | 38:02 | 19:58.5 |
| Lamberton | 6 | 38:05.5 | 18:54.5 |
| Ramsay | 7 | 38:09 | 17:50 |
| *Conygham | 8 | 38:13 | 16:46 |
| Wadsworth | 9 | 38:17 | 15:42 |
| Cushing | 10 | 38:21 | 14:40 |
| Winslow | 11 | 38:25 | 13:38 |
| *Ericsson | 12 | 38:29 | 12:34 |
| O'Brien | 13 | 38:33 | 11:29 |
| McDougal | 14 | 38:37 | 10:25 |
*Ships making weather reports.
The ships took their stations at sunrise of May 11 and have since been coursing on a twenty-mile radius. Their orders allowed them some freedom in movement, but at the moment that the start of the flight was flashed from vessel to vessel they were required to take their exact locations and keep them until the 'plane passed.
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| New York Tribune, 28-May-1919 |
Was My Fault; Too Careful, Airman Tells Correspondent of Tribune
Willing to Try It Over Again
Filter Trouble Is What Caused Great Effort to Fail
The following interview with Harry G. Hawker was procured exclusively for The Tribune by a correspondent of its European bureau who travelled from Inverness to Edinburgh with the Australian airman, obtaining the first private interview granted any correspondent and the only one given any American newspaper.
By Frank W. Getty
New York Tribune
Special Cable Service
(Copyright, 1919, New York Tribune Inc.)
EDINBURG, May 27. -- The most interesting individual in the British Empire to-day sat unassumingly in his shirt sleeves in a tiny sleeping compartment last night and told me the first story of his ill-fated transatlantic voyage, beginning among the clouds at 100 miles an hour and ending in the cabin of a Danish tramp steamer at seven knots.
The whole journey from Thurso, where he landed from the Mary was one of successive vast crowd on the railroad station platforms forcing their welcome on Hawker and his navigator, Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie Grieve. Between stations Hawker spoke modestly of his attempt.
My Own Fault
No Fault of Motor
"It was our own fault -- my fault, he said, speaking of the accident which forced them to come down and risk the landing upon the open sea.
"Do you want to say that?" he was asked.
"Inasmuch as it was no fault of the motor, the fault rested with us," Hawker replied, weighing his words very carefully. "It was through being too careful."
He very ruefully laid great stress on the last six words of his reply plainly indicating his feelings. To that one fault the airman attributes the failure. "The trouble was all due to fiyting a filter in the water pipe to catch the loose pieces of solder which shook loose after seven hours' running and were invariably getting in the water pump and causing trouble. Fitting this big filter -- about a foot long -- in the pipe eliminated pump trouble, but evidently it caught and clogged up with other matter besides solder, consequently blocking the gauze in the filter.
All Because of Filter
Mistake Before Start
"In various tests I had taken out this filter, but after I had changed the radiator because the first one was too big, I decided that the new radiator meant fresh solder trouble so I put the gauze filter back. "Up to the very last minute the question of leaving the filter in was undecided. I tossed up in my own mind whether I should do so, and then finally decided -- wrongly -- to leave the filter in. But for that we would have succeeded beyond question."
That is Hawker's own story of his failure. He is anxious to get it before the public in every detail. Three times before, twice in competition for Michelin cups and once while flying in a 100-mile contest, he has lost by just such a trivial incident.
Hawker asked me to emphasize especially the fact that the fault did not lie with his motor.
Engine Running Perfectly
Up to the Finish
"The engine," he said, "was running beautifully and perfectly. It did so all the way -- it was perfect from start to finish. It was still going merrily when we finished. It should have broken up, because it
was red hot."
"Given another machine to-morrow, would you make the attempt again?" I asked him.
"By all means," Hawker answered emphatically.
He was dubious about having another try, however, owing to the length of time that would be required to build a 'plane and go through the long preparations.
May Try Again
"I may make another attempt." Hawker continued. "I'll have to talk the matter over with Tom Sopwith. There are many other competitors, particularly the French, in whom I am much interested, although I know little about them as yet.
"I'm not worrying much about the Australian flight just yet. The public doesn't realize the amount of money I have lost on this flight and would have even if I had won the $50,000 prize. It took so much of my time when I could have been doing other things that it is evident I was not trying merely for the money prize, as one New York newspaper said before we started."
The Chronological Story
Here is the chronologically correct story of the flight just as Hawker told it.
"The newspapers, particularly the American newspapers, are so inaccurate that I am going to be sure that this one is right," Hawker said, as he carefully verified every paragraph before putting his final O. K. upon it. Then he began as follows:
"If the American naval seaplanes had not started then we would have waited. But with the United States machines getting away we found conditions good enough; we knew we could find more favorable weather another day, but after all it only meant about two hours difference."
Hawker put especial emphasis upon the latter point. He explained that the weather need never stop the attempted flight, however bad or stormy it might be, but would merely delay matters.
"I'll fly anything that goes -- any time," he continued. "There is no such thing as being brought down in a storm. Grieve and I will fly in any old weather."
Display of Excitement
He burst out into one of the few displays of excitement he showed. Through the rest of the interview he sat at his bunk, his arms clasped around his knees and his eyes looking off into the distance, as if vizualizing once more the voyage through the vast blue wilderness.
"It was 5:21 G. M. T. (1:21 p. m. New York time) when we took off. Ten minutes later -- when we got six or seven miles out to sea -- I dropped the undercarriage and saw it splash in the sea. It floats. It will be picked up some day. The report that it landed on rocks is untrue.
"I left the coastline in a straight line at 2,000 feet. I had climbed to that height from my starting point, four miles inland. That should interest your American friends. Some climb."
Hawker likes to get in humorous digs at Americans.
"We had just cleared the aerodrome," he went on, "when we ran into the well known Newfoundland fog banks, which covered the sea. I was climbing slowly to get above that bank -- very gradually and steadily.
Up to 12.000 Feet
When Five Hours Out
"When we were five hours out we ascended to 12,000 feet. At this time we were about five hundred miles from our starting point, and we had been making all of a hundred miles an hour since we left. A northeast wind was blowing, giving us a southerly drift off our course. We should have carried double the amount of our petrol load, but did not want it. We had a 300-mile allowance to spare as it was.
"There was a fog bank all the way. We never saw a square mile of water during the whole fifteen hours we wee flying.
"All our drift was reckoned by navigation. Commander Grieve was taking all our bearings by the sun and stars, but we had such a bad horizon for the first five hours above the fog banks that we were sent 150 miles off our course.
"The fog bank gradually thickened, and increased clouds barred our way. We passed through Occasional fog banks, and later dodged others. Twelve thousand five hundred feet was the highest altitude we reached during the journey. It did not pay to go much higher with the load we were carrying.
Engine Throttle Never
Open More Than Half
"I never had the engine throttle open more than half way, except when getting off the ground and when the crucial moment of the flight came. We had clear blue heavens which proved to be our salvation absolutely. We had sunshine the first part of the way, but. the horizon was bad, with rough clouds that prevented us from getting our bearings. It was not until the sun went down that we could find out exactly where we were. We had drifted twelve degrees off our course and, while we had known we were not right, we had not allowed sufficiently for the drift.
"We saw only one ship all the way -- naturally, for we didn't see the ocean. We saw nothing below and everything above, and that was what we wanted.
"I first noticed trouble five and a half hours out. The thermometer suddenly went up ten degrees, immediately adjusted the shields in front of the radiator to counteract that. This did not make any difference. It had been closed all the time, for the aid was cold and we had been trying to keep the engine hot.
Trouble in Filter;
Water Begins to Boil
"But it was no use. The water was going into the radiator, but wasn't circulating. We went on for an hour or two. The temperature didn't go up or down for a while then it suddenly started to rise again.
"Something was in the filter between the bottom of the radiator and the waterpumps. This chokage left only eight gallons of water in the tank on top of the plane in circulation, and this meant the the water was circulating through the motor and through the tank without going through the radiator. Then the water began to boil in the top of the tank.
"Then came the climax of the flight. Suddenly, at an altitude of 12,000 feet, we met with a great bank of thick black clouds. I tried to go over them, as we should have done, but when I opened the throttle wide to go up, the engine was red hot, and the water in the tank would have soon boiled away. So I decided to go underneath and came down to 1,000 feet before we got under the clouds. After a few more minutes we were forced down to 500 feet to get decent visibility. We were flying so low that we could not keep the motor cool, and the water was boiling fast.
It Was the Finish ;
Distress Signals Fired
"It was the finish.
"I than gave it up, and we decided to fly in a zigzag course across the main shipping route which we knew we were on. I flew first in one direction and then in another until we found a ship, and then we fired Verey lights which the Danes, while they not understand them, knew meant distress. We landed two miles ahead of the steamer to give it time to come up to us, and took plenty in doing so.
"My landing was perfect, despite the high seas. The Sopwith rode water like a duck. Grieve and I seated ourselves comfortably awaiting the rescuers who came -- husky sailors in a lifeboat. This was about 8:30 G. M. T. (4:30 a. m. New York time). The sea was very high, with half a gale running from the northeast and blowing about forty miles.
"It was with great difficulty that the steamer put off a lifeboat. Meanwhile we tossed about in the water, the cresters breaking over. I was terribly seasick. Grieve wasn't. He was used to it -- been at it since he was thirteen years old.
Had to Borrow Clothes
From Sailors on the Mary
"We couldn't save a thing, owing to the high seas, not even the small bag in which we had our clothes. We flew in watertight suits, so had to borrow others when we got aboard. Flying suits are like diver's suits, and we had to change them, too.
"Captain Dunn of the Mary spoke perfect English, and several of the crew jabbered it. The captain thought we were Americans, for he hasn't heard any news since he left New Orleans twenty days before.
"We got quite a comfortable shakedown, some sleep and something to eat at the captain's mess, for we hadn't eaten on the journey except a little chocolate, together with coffee from thermos flasks.
"We spent a very pleasant but very slow week watching hourly for some ship with wireless, but none ever came.
Very Much Disappointed;
Detail Brings Failure
"I knew they would be worrying in England about us, but we could do nothing to help it. The Mary made only eight knots an hour as her regular speed. When we passed the Butt of Lewis and signalled to the shore that we were aboard the Mary, our adventure ended.
"I was very much disappointed that such a small detail had to bring it to an end, especially, when it is realised what a big thing it meant. We did not realize fully what we had lost at first. That came after we had been picked up. Things were too exciting before that."
The train here stopped at another station, and, although it was long past midnight, the cheering crowd upon the platform stormed around the window of the compartment in which Hawker and Grieve were sitting. Holding autographs in one hand and shaking hands with his admirers with the other, the cheerful little flyer was having a harder voyage than when he was thousands of feet over the Atlantic. If he had not have been so modest he would have enjoyed it keenly.
London Goes Wild
As Hawker Arrives
Nothing Like Reception
to Two Airmen Except
Times of Coronation
LONDON, May 27 (By The Associated Press). -- Harry G. Hawker and Lieutenant Commander Mackenzie Grieve were given a remarkable reception on their arrival in London to-night from Northern Scotland, where they were landed Monday morning after their unsuccessful attempt to fly across the Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland to Ireland in an aeroplane.
Such enthusiasm as was shown in the greeting of the two airmen probably never has been exceeded, except in the times of coronations.
The crowds began gathering early in the afternoon along the route from the railway station to the Aero Club, where Hawker and Grieve were formally welcomed on behalf of London. Throughout the afternoon, until the train with the heroes arrived, the throngs grew in numbers. When the train pulled into the station the entire line over which the procession was to pass was jammed with cheering people.
Cheers for Mrs. Hawker
A foretaste of the great welcome that the aviators were to receive came during the afternoon when Mrs. Hawker went to the railway station to proceed to Grantham to meet her husband. The throng loudly cheered the plucky little woman, who never gave up confidence that her husband ultimately would be rescued.
Arriving in London, headed by an Australian band and a body of Australian troops and a large number of automobiles. the welcoming party pushed through the densely packed streets on the way to the Aero Club. In the procession were the mayor and the councillors of St. Pancras and a deputation of the Royal Aero Club, including General Brancker, the Duke of Atholl and other famous airmen.
Another delegation in the parade, which was accompanied by a band, was composed of workers from the Sopwith works, where, the machine in which Hawker and Grieve attempted to span the ocean was constructed.
First Official Welcome
The first official welcome was accorded the airmen at the station at St. Pancras by the Mayor of that borough, but still another was given them inside the Aero Club building. After the ceremony at the Aero Club the aviators were entertained by the Sopwith workers. Like Mrs. Hawker, Mr. and Mrs. Grieve proceeded up the line and met their son and bade him welcome and congratulated him on his rescue.
In every town through which the train carrying the airmen passed to-day, crowds of people gathered to cheer them. Wherever the train stopped official receptions were extended the heroes by the Mayors and corporations.
Asked whether he would make another attempt to fly across the Atlantic. Hawker said to-night:
"I don't know. It depends upon the Sopwith firm."
A series of entertainments, including many luncheons and dinners, have been
(something missing - JT)
Greater Than Royal Reception
The reception of Hawker and Grieve at the King's Cross station excelled in popular demonstrations anything given any genera! or member of a royal family during the war.
It was particularly an Australian occasion. There were thousands of Australian soldiers in and around the station, accompanied by their bands, as the train pulled in. There was continuous singing of "Australia Will Be
There" and the peculiar cries of the Australian bushmen.
The Mayor of St. Pancras and the councillors in their official robes and with the huge gilt mace of the borough officially welcomed the aviators. In the background were many generals, members of the House of Commons and
British. French, American and other aviators.
After the reception the Austrian soldiers lifted Hawker and Grieve on their shoulders and carried them to their motor cars. Hawker was plainly nervous as he sat in his car, dressed in a blue suit. Beads of perspiration were to be seen on his brow. Mrs. Hawker and Grieve followed Hawker in succeeding cars.
Hawker Took Chance
On Hopeful Weather
To Beat Americans
LONDON, May 28 (By The Associated Press). -- In a further statement made to "The Daily Mail's" correspondent at Edinburgh Tuesday, Harry G. Hawker said regarding his attempt to cross the Atlantic:
"We started because the weather was better and the moon was dying fast, and if we had not started then we might have missed the chance of being first across.
"The Americans were off. They were very serious propositions. They had one leg to go. and we had one to go. We knew that one American machine had reached the Azores, and reports came that all three were there. That was very serious, and we had decided overnight with Captain Raynham, who was to attempt, the flight from St. John's in a Martinsyde machine, that we would start if the weather was at all hopeful.
"As a matter of fact, we went away on fewer weather reports than we had any day previously. It was a splendid get-off much better than we had expected.
"We passed over Quidividi at 2.000 feet, being six miles from the airdrome in a straight line. A jolly good climb with that load. We saw Raynham ad his machine surrounded by a crowd, and kissed him goodby."
Aero Convention
Is Wild for Joy
Special Correspondence
ATLANTIC CITY, May 27. -- News of to the second Pan-American Aeronautic Convention, caused an uproar of enthusiasm. Delegates used guns on exhibition at the convention to fire salutes in honor of the achievement, and Mayor Harry Bacharach ordered the fire bells rung and sirens whistled. Rockets swept over the beach front, and then Eddie Stinson, of New York, led a squadron of airplanes from the Airport for a spectacular illuminated dash across the sky. A salvo of twenty-one guns was fired from the heavy Remington quick-firing gun that is a part of the aero exhibit on the pier.
As soon as he received the news, President Alan R. Hawley. of the Aero Club of America, called a meeting of the executive committee of the club and a few minutes later it was announced the gold medal of the club had been awarded to Lieutenant Commander Read and the medal of merit to members of his crew.
Hawker's 'Plane Found
By Ship in Mid-Ocean
ST. JOHN'S, N. F., May 27. -- The Sopwith biplane in which Harry Hawker and Mackenzie Grieve attempted to fly across the Atlantic was picked up in latitude 49.40 north, longitude 29.08 west, by the American ship Lake Charlottesville, according to a radio message received by the Furness liner Sachem and relayed here to-night.
