SAVING OF NOBILI.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 237, 6 October 1928, Page 7 (Supplement)

SAVING OF NOBILI.

THE RETURN TO PICK UP MAROONED SURVIVORS. A NOSE DITTE INTO THE FLOE. (By CAPTAIN- EDsAR LTINDBORG.) tThis is the third section of the full story of the heroic rescue oE General Nobili by the gallant Swedish airman, Captain Einar Lundborg, and now for the first time given to the world through the Xorth American Newspaper Alliance, for which Captain Lundborg has ..-ritten a ft 11 and exclusive account o£ his exploit.] . 111. . The first thing we did after we had taken General Nobili to the camp on Ryss, or Russian Island, was to put him into one of our excellent sleeping bags and to feed him on the best possible food. He had some Swedish smpergas with, cheese and finely minced beef and some roast potatoes, while a drink of whisky served to thaw him inside, and, of course, the inevitable, cigarettes after his meal. • *•> One of the first remarks the General made was that he could not sufficiently admire the good taste we had shown in the choice of articles we -iad dropped from our aeroplanes to the marooned men on the ice floe. When, later on, I was marooned myself, I came to realise the truth of what Nobili had said when our first supplies came down to him from the air- and were opened and examined; "The Swedes are practical folk." ; I mention this remark not in order to boast but simply as a proof of the appreciation which was shown for the organisation of the Swedish expedition. ' ■ ' .

General Nobili's dog Titina shared his master's meal, but would not lie down in his sleeping bag. and was therefore provided with one of his own.

By means of that plentiful supply of Siberian firewood which drifts up. on the coasts of the North East Land and of which Russian Island gets Its full share, we made a huge fire .which threw out plenty of heat and added to the cosy and intimate atmosphere of the camp. A Rescuing Hand. I now related to the General that with another Swedish airman, I had followed' the Italia on her journey to Stockholm and had escorted her to Nynaeshamn, where we. had parted company. General Nobili said he remembered the incident well and he promised to send me later a photograph of our escorting aeroplanes taken from the airship. It seemed quite strange that fate had now so willed it that I should have been.instrumental in lending the General a rescuing hand in the high North. There was, however, little time to talk. Five men still remained out there on the ice and I had promised them all to return to them. I knew that they were relying on my word and I felt that it was up to me to go back to them at once, although, I admit, that it would have been far pleasanter to rest and get a little sleep. I told the General that I was starting again at once for the camp on the. ice.. ■Hβ.did not say much in reply , but his feelings could be plainly read" in his expression'. His fine eyes with tears and he looked at me with a pathetic look of hope and gratitude in his face. His last words to me w ; ere: "The moment when I see you all here " again, my comrades from out there on the ice arid you yourself, will be the happiest of my life. They deserve help, those men out there." ■.'.'. '-.'■ '■ ."■..-•:

This simple leave-taking made a deep impression on us Swedes. I wanted to relieve the tension, and not for General Nobili's sake : alone; I.therefore pulled myself together and replied, "I'll be back-soon with all of them.-"

My comrades, headed by Captain Thomberg, the chief, now took a number of tins of petrol to the Fokker. This fuel Had been brought by the Hansa machines which had to attend to my supplies because the "Quest" had left Virgo Bay and was now on her way to her new base. '.I was not. allowed to lend a hand in filling up the tanks as my comrades • wanted to v - make everything ready for me themselves so that I might start as.fresh as possible. This time 1 left all my .personal equipment behind, including knapsacks, my sleeping bag, etc. The only things I took' with me were a bos of ammunition, my Browning pistol and a little chocolate. I said goodbye to the chief and to the other men and started the Fokker, which was now very light.

Flight in Brilliant Weather. As already' mentioned, I was flying alone this time, and the machine raised itself from the ground almost-at once. Flying low, I took it close over whera the other men were standing, and after taking in a prearranged signal informing me that the under-runners of "my skis were all right, I rose and steered eastward. Jacobsson and Roseiisvaerd also went up at this time in their Hansa, as it was their turn to escort me to the ice floe. The flight out to Foyn Island was mere child's play in the brilliantly beautiful weather. Sometimes I was quite close to the Hansa machine, while at others I dropped down low to look at the marks of seals and bears, while all the'time'in my innermost heart I was treasuring a vague hope of catching a glimpse of Malmgren and his two companions. Midway between Foyn and Groch Islands, niy motor began to knock, and I wondered what I had better do next. I cut off and tried in turn each of my two petrol tanks, because I had become aware that there was something wrong with the fuel supply. It was no use, However, and with only half ray cylinders working, the Fokker slowly lost height. I was turning over in my mind whether I should try to land on a small ice floe I had caught sight of or whether I should try "landing in high" on Foyn Island. The latter method means putting the machine down in such a way that it crashes for certain but remains; standing on'the spot aimed for. With a little calculation there is not much danger for the pilot in. procedure, and I. knew that on Foyr Island, at any rate, I should have firm ground underfoot. I therefore chose to crash. '

• At the J psychological moment, however, my motor began suddenly to function again perfectly smoothly and normally. Perhaps, I thought, the fault had been due to the presence of a little water in the petrol, but anyhow, it had been very unpleasant so far from land and from landing possibilities. Jacobsson now came up and looked for me. He and Rosensvaerd had felt anxious about my. After having for the sake of any possible eventuality, circled a few times over Foyn Island without developing further trouble, I set out at full speed towards the ice floe where the marooned Italians were waiting for us, escorted.by Jacobsson's Hansa on my'right hand. The remaining ' three Swedish' miles were

quickly covered, and I had already caught sight of. ..the. red tent _and the sindke, and I was thin Wing of making an observation flight over.the camp.at.a low height. It should be noticed that the winds had rturned, and that I should therefore have, to land in a different direction. At this moment the motor again started knocking, and I felt that now, if ever, was the time to keep cool. I had. to go down at any price, and the ice floe where I had already once landed was my only chance. Gliding downwards, I did everything possible to get the motor to work normally again, but without result. In a slow wing glide I now approached one of the narrow sides of the floe. I was compelled to land not into the wind, but on a bearing in.relation to the direction-of the wind in orderto be able to utilise the full length of the floe. Sliding. Forward on the Floe. I" got nearer and nearer, and when only a few metres away from the big ice barrier, the machine took' the firm ground and began sliding forward on the floe. The machine -hopped and danced over the ice bumps, while the skis dug themselves into the snow which had now been made wet and soft by the great heat. It was then 4.30 in the morning. If only my motor had been working properly, I could have opened the throttle wide and gone up again and tried afresh. But who could know how much power it had left—perhaps only so much that I should have crashed against the pack ice at the far end ot the floe where I should have been instantly crushed. I, therefore, had to put myself into the hands of Fate. The Fokker would surely stop soon._ Already, on the previous journey, it had proved itself able to stand pretty hard treatment. I had also ascertained that the landing field was sufficiently long.

I had hardly completed this line o! thought when I felt the tail of the machine lift and the nose and propellers turn into the ground. Before I quite knew what had happened, I. found myself hanging in my straps, head downward, in my dear Fokker, which had turned turtle. I loosened the straps and let myself fall down into the snow. My nose "was bleeding violently, as I had knocked it against the front edge of the pilot's room; but by means of a little snow I quickly stopped the bleeding. Apart from this I was quite undamaged, and had got awaj from the accident as luckily as is possible in such somersaults. In the Midst of the Pack Ice. Here I stood in the midst of the pack ice. Certainly I had by my side one of the world's best aeroplanes, but it was broken and lying on its back. Viglieri came up io me, and embraced and kissed me. He could' not find words to express his sorrow over my fate. I saw Jacobsson's Hansa circling round the floe in smaller and smaller swings. I waved with both arms to show him that I was unhurt. "I have got you," he signalled back, and then the Hausa steered westward. -

Ceccioni now came up, leaning heavily on.his alpenstock. He had been ready to go with,me. Then.Biagi and Behounek arrived, wading through the snow. They seized my hands as if to give me all

their comfort in my despair. I cannot deny that I wasextrmely downhearted, and that I showed it in my face. After having looked carefully over my machine and made sure that such vital parts as the windback stays in the body were broken and bent, and that to repair it on the spot was impossible, 1 be'"an with a'heavy heart, to walk back with Viglieri, Biagi and Behounek to their tent. Immediately on arrival there I went in and lay down to drown my first despair iu sleep. In my heart, however, I had firm confidence in my comrades— I knew they would .try to fetch me, even if there . was only, one chance in a hundred.