TERRIBLE DIVE TO DISASTER

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 434, 16 August 1928, Page 8

TERRIBLE DIVE TO DISASTER

“ICE RUSHED UPWARD TOWARD US”

ITALIA FELL 1,500 FEET IN TWO MINUTES

SURVIVOR WRITES OF EXPEDITION’S TRAGIC END (United P.A.—By Telegraph — Copyright) Times Cable. Received 9 a.m. LONDON, Wednesday. THE end came swiftly . . . The sudden loss of gas caused the Italia to drop 1,500 ft upon the pack-ice in less than two minutes. "Everyone remained calm, even when they saw the white expanse below change, the hundreds of ice-floes growing in size, and apparently rushing upward toward us.”

Thus does Professor Francis Behounek, the Czecho-Slovakian scientist aboard the Italia, describe the airship’s last desperate dive to disaster. “Within a quarter of an hour of the start of our tragic voyage we were over the sea flying in a north-westerly direction over the north-eastern coast of Greenland which had never before been explored,” says the professor, describing the beginning of the final flight, in a dispatch to “The Times.” General Nobile supervised the steering in which Commandants Mariano and Zappi, Lieutenant Viglieri and the motor mechanic, Signor Ceccioni, took turns. “The cabin was crowded with technical equipment. 1 pitied Dr, Lago, the Italian journalist, who was scarcely allowed to move for fear he might knock something over or interfere with the observations. It must have been very monotonous for anyone who was not concentrating on the navigation or on scientific observations. “For 10 hours we were sailing over a fog with the blue sky of the unceasing Polar day above us. There was nothing to break the monotony. “About 5 p.m. on May 24 we approached the coast of Greenland. The fog thinned and disappeared. Before us rose the coastal icebergs of Greenland. which did not exceed I,oooft. in height. WHERE MERIDIANS MEET “We flew along the coast of Greenland for about half an hour, taking photographs and making observations. Shortly before 6 p.m., Greenwich time, we started toward the North Pole. Ai 9 p.m. a fog showed, but we rose above it and at 11.30 p.m. we reached the Pole. There we descended below the fog In order to obtain a clear view. “Below us spread a grey, sad, endless expanse of Polar ice, cleft by long, winding channels which looked from above like dark-coloured bands on a monotonous surface. “The spot where all the meridians meet, which has claimed the sacrifice of so many inquiring and adventurous men, presented a melancholy and depressing scene, but we had no time for meditation or dreaming. “We had to concentrate on our instruments, while the others prepared to drop an Italian flag and the Pope’s cross. It had originally been Intended to drop some men on the ice in a small pneumatic boat suspended from the cabin door. The boat would have held one at a time. “It had also been intended that Mariano, the late Professor Malmgren (the Swedish meteorologist) and Professor Fontremoli (of Rome University), should descend, taking instruments with them for oceanographic observations. “A tent, sleeping bags, food and other necessaries were prepared in readiness, but the wind—although it was not dangerous to the airship—-

made a descent impossible. We had to confine ourselves to observations from the ship. Professor Pontremoli observed the earth’s magnetic field and the atmospheric electricity. He handed his notes to General Nobile, and these have been preserved, but all the rest of his work was lost when he was killed later in the crash. “ViVA, iTALiA!” “We circled round the Pole for two hours. Our gramophone played a Fascist hymn. The crew shouted “Viva, Italia,” and cheered. General Nobile emptied a bottle of brandy on to the Ice before we left the Pole. “We flew in the direction of the thirtieth to fortieth meridian, detouring slightly in order to inspect unexplored territory. The weather was mostly l'oggy, and the sky was overcast. The fog began to concentrate in compact mass. A layer of ice, almost half an inch thick, accumulated on the surface of the ship, and on the radio antennae. Signor Biagi, the wireless operator, was compelled to change some of the latter. “We slept in short turns, as the sleeping accommodation was most severely limited. In the small hours of the morning the weather showed a marked change. Tile wind, which was stronger from the south-west, was dragging the airship eastward, although all three motors were working, which would normally have given a speed of 60 miles an hour. “The fog prevented us from ascertaining the position astronomically, and we were compelled to rely on bearings obtained by radio from the Citta di Milano. “Shortly after 'nine on the morning of May 25, I noticed suddenly by the altimeter that we were rapidly sinking. Then I heard signals to the motor crew and the motors stopped. The airship dropped and then rose quickly above the clouds. Apparently there had been a mistake in manoeuvring the vertical steering gear. The incident proved that the ship was then light enough to be able to ascend without the assistance of the motors. “Signor Trojani, the engineer, said we had reached an altitude of 2,700 ft. The disaster came soon after 11 o’clock, up to which time everything was apparently normal. The last observation from the electrometer marked on my book was at 10.35. A test would have been made at 11.35. END CAME SWIFTLY “The end came so swiftly that it was impossible even to wireless for help. The sudden loss of gas caused the airship to drop 1,500 ft. upon the pack-ice in less than two minutes, despite desperate efforts to lighten her! It is impossible to describe the accident in detail. “Everyone remained calm, even when they all saw the white expanse below change, the hundreds of ice-floes growing in size and apparently rushing upward toward us.”