KINGSFORD SMITH AIRMAN'S CONDITION RUMOURS AND SURMISE

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 81, 2 October 1931, Page 7

KINGSFORD SMITH

AIRMAN'S CONDITION

RUMOURS AND SURMISE

SAFE ON AEGEAN SHORE

FOKCED LANDING

SOUTH-WEST ASIA MINOR

WAITING LEAVE TO FLY ON

(United Press Aaaociatioa—By Electric Xele- . graph—Copyright.) (Received 2nd October, 11 a.m.) ATHENS, Ist October. It is reported that Kingsford Smith made a forced landing at Milas, in the Smyrna area, and was expected at Athens to-day

The Vacuum Oil Company confirms this report. . A later message states that bmitn cabled the Vacuum Oil Company from Milas at five o'clock at night that he was awaiting permission to leave.

This presumably refers ■to the permission of the Turkish authorities, who have held -up many aviators in the past. ■ Milas will be found on the shores of the Aegean Sea some distance south of Smyrna in a direct line from Aleppo to Athens, which is less than 200 miles distant over the Aegean Archipelago. Milas is about 2000 miles in a direct line to London. The chances of Smith's beating Mollison'a record have thus practically vanished. Lieutenant Ulm issued the following statement last night from Sydney, at 8 p.m. (Sydney time):— "T -night I'm quite worried not having had any message of Smithy's safe arrival at Borne. Ho took off at 4 a.m. yesterday (Wednesday) from Aleppo. It is 3,1 hours since he left Aleppo, and he has not been reported en route." Lieutenant Ulm thought that the lack of news would indicate that Smith had been forced to land somewhere between Aleppo and Athens. Continuing, Ulm remarked: "The news to hand to-day reported Smith was meeting with trouble with the oil feed system. Probably Smith is on the coast of Asia Minor and might find it difficult to let the world know_ of his whereabouts. He could land without receiving bodily harm. I am not at all worried about his personal safety. I am concerned, however, over the fact that Smith will not toe able to break the record."

The following summary, compiled by Mr. E. Leslie Jones, shows the progress made during the flight by Kingsford Smith :--

Ist Day (Thursday), 24th September.— Loft Wyndham (Australia), 2 a.m.; arrived Cheribon (Batavia), 5.30 p.m.

2nd Day (Friday), 25th September. — Left Cheribon 3.45 a.m. (slept out that night); arrived Victoria Point following morning, 26th September, at 7.15 a.m.

3rd Day (Saturday), 26th September.— Left Victoria Point 11.30 a.m.;, arrived Rangoon 5.55 p.m. ' '" '■ 4th Day (Sunday), 27th September.— Left Eangoon 4.15 a,m. (stopped at Calcutta from 11.25 a.m. until 12.15 p.m.),'then flew on without stopping at Allahabad, to Jhansi; arrived at Jhansi about 6 p.m.

sth Day, Monday, 28th September.— Left Jhansi 3 a.m. (stopped at Karachi from 11.15 a.m. until 1.35 p.m.), then flew to Jask; arrived at Jask 7 p.m.

6th Day, Tuesday, 29th September.— Left Jask 2 a.m. (returned to Jask and left again 10 a.m., stopped at Bagdad 5.?0 p.m., refuelled, and left 20 minutes later), also stopped at Bushire to attend to engine; arrived Aleppo. 11 p.m. 7th Day, Wednesday* 30th September. —Left Aleppo 4 a.m.

Sth Day, Thursday, Ist October.— Reported at:Milas, Asia Minor.

It is calculated that Smith, has already spent over ninety hours in actual flying on this trip.

CONFLICTING REPORTS

(■Received 2nd October, 1.40 p.m.)

SYDNEY, This Day.

The Garden Island naval station in-tercepted-a wireless message which was being transmitted from Constantinople to Nauen (Germany), saying that a sandstorm was responsible for Smith's forced landing at Milas, and that he was hale and hearty.

A message to the Vnauum Oil Company, Melbourne, however, says that the airman is very sick.

LONDON, Ist October. . According to earlier messages ' a night-long vigil at the Eome airport was maintained, but not the slightest inkling of Air-Commodore Kingsford Smith was received. Anxiety is intensified because no wireless signals were heard from the machine.

It is feared Smithy has been forced down for want of petrol in the back country or the Balkans.

Air Force officials in London are puzzled that the flyer has not used his emergency wireless. No airport en route even sighted the machine.

The "Evening News" correspondent at Rome considers it possible Smith might bavo come down in Italian territory, as the route from Aleppo enters Italy just north of Bari, thence over the Appennines, passing no inhabited centre larger than a small village. It might take many hours to reach a village and send news if his wireless is not functioning, as the region is of the wildest nature. t Experts consider that the chances of Smith landing without a crash are small.

The Boine Air Force, acting under instructions from the Air Ministry, is keeping an ambulance and repair planes ready, but no effort has yet been made to search since the chances of finding the airman in the countless small valleys of the Appennines are almost negligible.

The "Daily Mail's" Eome correspondent says it is supposed that Kingsford Smith either made a forced landing at an isolated spot or refuelled somewhere and proceeded direct to Ensland.

The British Air Attache waited at tlio aerodrome'until nearly midnight. Paying a tribute to Kingsford Smith the "Daily Telegraph" asks: "What puts an airman in the highest class?" The paper expresses the opinion that Smith's secret cannot bo put into a single word. Ho simply has every

quality required—brilliant technical skill, courage, good humour in adversity, s.nd wonderful physique. "Ho has accomplished almost every lemg-distanco flight worth attempting," adds Iho newspaper.

RECORD AFTER RECORD

TRUE LESSON OF FAST

FLIGHT

Commenting on Mollison's record, "Flight" (of 14th August) says:—

The record for the time which a light aeroplane takes to fly between England and India is being lowered so frequently and so substantially that it is difficult to keep track of the changes. Mr. Mollison and his Gipsy Moth have accomplished the trip in less than ten days, and already we hoar of plans by himself and by Air Commodore Kingsford Smith to reduce the time still further. We hardly know whether to wonder at each feat or to take it as a matte of couise. One can become sated with wonders of achievement as well as with grandeur. "Visions bf glory! Spare my aching eyes," sang a Welsh bara in a poem which many of us had to learn in, our childhood. We also remember a kind of Utopi* described by the Grand Inquisitor in' "The Gondoliers" where "Dukes were three a penny" (or thereabouts). So now hollow-eyed pilots who have sacrificed their sleep to speed across the -world faster than anyone has done before are so numerous that none of them can command the admiration which is^ really his due, and which each" would have received had his flight been made a few years earlier.