AVIATION

Hokitika Guardian, 16 August 1928, Page 2

AVIATION

AT THE NORTH POLE. ITALIA’S LAST VOYAGE. Australian Press Assn.—United Service LONDON, August 14. Describing the final disastrous flight of the airship Italia, Professor Francis Behounet, the Czecho-Slovakian scientist, who participated in it, says: Within a quarter of an hour of the start of our tragic voyage we were over the sea, flying in a north-west direction, on the north-eastern coast of Greenland, a region which hitherto has not been explored. General Nobile supervised the steering, in which Mariano, Zappi. Viglioro and Ceccioni took turns. The cabin was crowded with technical equipment. 1 pitied Logo, tho Italian journalist, who was scarcely allowed to move for fear that lie might knock something or interfere with the observations. It- must have been very monotonous for anyone not concentrating on the navigation or the scientific observations. For ten hours we were sailing over fog, with the blue sky of unceasing Polar day above us. There was nothing to break the monotony. About 5 p.m. on 23rd May. we approached the coast of Greenland. The fog thinned, and then disappeared. Before us there rose the coastal icebergs of Greenland which did not exceed a height of one thousand feet. \Ye flew along the Greenland coast for about half an hour, photographing and observing. Shortly before six o’clock, Greenwich time, we started towards the Pole. At nine o’clock fog showed but we rose about it, and at 11.30 p.m. we reached the Pole, and there we descended below the fog to obtain a clear view. Below us there spread a grey, sad. endless expanse of Polar ice, deft by long, winding channels appearing from above like dark coloured hands on a monotonous surface. This spot, where all of the meridians meet, which has claimed the sacrifice of so many inquiring and adventurous men, presented a melancholy, depressing scene, lnit we had uo time for meditation and dreaming. \Yo had to concentrate on our instruments, while others o'f us prepared to drop the Italian flag and the Pope’s Cross. It was originally intended to drop men on to the ice in a small pneumatic boat, suspended from the cabin door. The boat would bold only one man at a time. It was intended that Mariano. Malmgren, and Pontrcmoli should descend, taking instruments for oceanographic observations. A tent, sleeping bags, and food, with other necessaries, were prepared in readiness but tlie wind, although it was not dangerous to tfie airship, made a descent impossible. \Ve had to confine ourselves to observations from the ship, Pontrcmoli observing the earth’s magnetic field, and ] the atmospheric electricity. Pontrcmoli handed his notes to General Nobile. and these have been preserved, but all the rest of his work was lost when he was killed in the crash. We circled the Pole for two hours. Our gramophone played the Fascist Hymn, the crew shouted “ Viva Italia,” and cheered, while General Nobile emptied there a bottle of brandy before leaving.

HOW THE CRASH CAME. LONDON, Aug. 14. ‘‘Wo Hew in the direction of tho thirtieth to fortieth meridian, detouring slightly in order to. inspect unexplored territory. The weather was mostly foggy, and tho sky was overcast. The fog began to concentrate in a compact mass, and layer ice, almost half an inch thick accumulated on tho surface of the ship, and Antennae Biagi, the wireless operator, was compelled to change some of the latter.

We slept short turns, ns the sleeping accommodation was most severely limited. Tn the small hours of the morning the weather showed a marked change. The wind, which was stronger from the south-west, was dragging the airship eastward, although all three motors wore working, which would normally have given a qpeed of sixty miles. The fog prevented us from ascertaining our position astronomically, and we were compelled to rely on the bearings obtained by radio from the Citta l)i Milano. Shortly after nine in the morning 1 noticed suddenly by the altimeter, that we were rapidly sinking. Then I heard signals to the motor crew and the meters stopped. The airship dropped and then rose quickly above the clouds. Apparently there had been a. mistake in manoeuvring. The vertical steering gear incident proved that the ship was then light enough to he able to ascend without the assistance of motors.

Trojane, the engineer, said we reached an attitude of !2,700 feet. Disaster came soon after eleven, up to which time everything was apparently normal. The last observation from the electrometer marked on my book was 1035, and the next would have been 1135. The end came so swiftly, it was impossible even to wireless for help. ’The sudden loss of gas caused the airship to drop fifteen hundred feet, upon pack-ice in less than two minutes, despite desperate efforts to lighten her. It was impossible to describe the accident in detail. Everyone remained calm, even when they saw the white expanse below change, and hundreds of ice floes, growing in size, and apparently rushing upwards towards us.”

BYRD EXPEDITION

A START NEXT WEEK. NEW YORK, August 14. Commander Byrd’s Antarctic expedition is scheduled to get under waynext week. It is the greatest expedition in the history of exploration from the view of the preparations. The estimates of the expenditures offered at the headquarters reveal that the project, will cost at least 855.000 dollars, :Jnd is likely to reach one million. The donations in cash, from three to four thousand dollars each, total 237,543 dollars 8 cents. So far 435,000 dollars have been donated in equipment. The expenditures already paid amount to 313,000 dollars. TRANS-ATLANTIC FLIER LOSES HIS LEGS. RIO DE JANEIRO, August 14. The surgeons have decided to amputate both legs of Major Delprete. the trails-Atlantic aviator, whose accident was cabled on August 7th.