GRAF ZEPPELIN

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3987, 22 August 1929, Page 2

GRAF ZEPPELIN

ARRIVAL AT TOKIO

CONTINENTS CROSSED,

Tokio, August 19,

The airship Graf Zeppelin flew over Tokio this afternoon, escorted by seven aeroplanes. The airship passed near the Imperial Palace, proceeded to Yokohama, returned, and re-crossed the capital, and arrived at its hangar at nightfall. Thousands rushed the ground, toppling over the armed marines. The passengers emerged by a side door, avoiding the crowd. Capt. Eckener and Lieut. Schiller were given an ovation and were swept into a marquee, the reception becoming chaotic. Capt. Eckener was lifted on to the table and bombarded by flashlights, while the band played “Deutschland Über Alios,” the Germans joining in.

The Minister of Communications and other distinguished people were unable to reach Capt. Eckener, who slaved all night on the airship. He told a Sun interviewer that the flight had been trouble free, with perfect weather.

The Graf Zeppelin, after flying the Atlantic for the third time, started from Lakehurst, New Jersey, U.S.A., at 11.42 p.m. on Wednesday, 7th August, on her world voyage. She made a record Atlantic trip, arriving at Fredrichshafon at 1 p.m. on 10th August, the crossing time being reckoned at 55J hours. The airship resumed its world voyage from Hriedrichshafen on the night of 14th August, passed over Russia and the Ural Mountains into Siberia on Friday, 16th August, and had reached Yakutsk, in Eastern Siberia, on Sunday. Thus the distance from Friedrichshafen to Tokio, about 9000 miles, has been covered in six days. The next stage will be the flight across the Pacific from Tokio to San Francisco.