NOTABLE FLIGHT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 May 1938, Page 9

NOTABLE FLIGHT

UNITED STATES BOMBERS SPEED RECORD SET Five of the six United States Army goodwill 'planes from Miami, Florida, reached Buenos Aires recently after the longest and fastest flight ever made by the bombing craft of any nation (reports the “New York Times”). But this record was quickly broken by the sixth plane of the squadron, piloted by Major J. V. Meloy, which cut nearly 50 miles from the scheduled itinerary by flying in a straight line from Lima, Peru, where it had been held up by propeller trouble. The first of the ’planes to land was that of the flight commander, Lieuten-ant-Colonel Robert Olds, which was set down at’ El Palomar airport at 12.09 p.m. (11.09 a.m., Eastern Standard Time), followed quickly by three Argentine Army planes that had gone out to meet the Americans and escort them here. The others arrived eleven minutes later. The weather was beautiful, although excessively hot, when the main squadron came in sight and flew at a low altitude over the city, watched intently by a large crowd amazed at their enormous size and the perfectness of their formation. Major Meloy, however, ran into an electrical storm, accompanied by high winds and a heavy rain during the last stage of his flight from Lima. He circled over the landing field for’ an hour and a half and finally came down at 6.30 p.m. (5.30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time), while the storm was still raging in order to avoid having to land after dark. The actual flying time of the main squadron from Miami to Buenos Aires was 28 hours 4 minutes. Their average speed for the 5.225 miles was about 185 miles an hour. The total elapsed time between their departure from Miami and their arrival was 34 hours 14 minutes, breaking all records between the United States and Argentina. The giant bombers twice climbed to altitudes of 20,000 feet, once to escape a storm near Guayaquil, Ecuador, and again to cross the Andes near the famous Christ of the Andes statue on the Chilean border. After leaving Lima at 10.35 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, they flew straight down the Pacific Coast to Valparaiso, Chile, and then turned east and circled over Santiago, the capital, before climbing to cross the divide. Their flying time from Lima was 12 hours 34 minutes.

Major Meloy took a short-cut from Arequipa, Peru, inland over Bolivia and across Argentina in an almost straight line by way of Tucuman. A great throng had gathered at the airport, the Ministry of War having granted admittance to cilivians without passes. United States Ambassador Alexander W. Weddell, accompanied by his military and naval attaches and other members of his staff, welcomed Lieutenant-Colonel Olds and his his fellow-fliers and presented them to Argentine flying offcers present.