THE FLEET'S ARRIVAL.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 189, 12 August 1925, Page 9

THE FLEET'S ARRIVAL.

VIEWED FROM THE AIR.

CATAPULTED FROM WARSHIP.

AN UNUSUAL EXPERIENCE

The exhibition of aerial gymnastic? ?- •* i 0 ™ 1 ** 011 fl ying given by the United States naval airmen yesterday ■was a masterly one indeed. Through the courtesy of Admiral S. S. Eobiaon a representative of the "Star" was permitted to proceed outside Rangitoto Beacon yesterday and take part in the aerial display. Proceeding out on the Harbour Board's Waitemata with Captam Sargeant and the other pilots the Star , reporter boarded the U.S.s. Mississippi by means of a rope ladder. Once on board he was met by Lieutenant R. M. Signer, and conducted to the bridge ■where Captain T. C. Hart extended a warm welcome. Whistles blew* signals were hoisted end the next minute the drone of the M.O. monoplane eeaplane could be heard as the 350 horse-power Curtiss engine ■was being warmed up in readiness for the flight. After the writer had been taken below to the ship's office where he was asked to sign a document, which absolved the United States Navy and the Government from all-liability in the event of an accident, he was escorted through lines of smiling sailors to the top barbette, 50 feet above the quarter deck. The monoplane, the largest in the American Navy, rested on its catapult cradle. "I guess you'd better don this parachute,"- said the pilot, Lieutenant Signer, and with his "assistance and that of an-i other naval officer, the very weighty safety device was strapped on the .reporter. Then the pilot and the mechanic adjusted their parachute gear and all was ready for the flight. "Then Jump." The next move was to crawl along under the catapult device and under the whirring propeller, which was "revving" at 2000, and enter the "Galloping Goose," for that is the name by which the big eeaplane is known by those of the fleet. Entrance was gained through a door, the pilot sitting well up in front, the mechanic next and the writer well back in the tail in the gunner's cockpit. Slowing the engine down for a few seconds, Lientenant Signer gave,the writer a few instructions. "Now, if anything should happen, just you pull that cord which will open the "parachute. Then jump," he said. After this cheerful piece of advice the writer was strapped, into his seat to await the signal for the release of the seaplane from its platform high up on top of the big 16in guns. A minute later the pilot raised his right hand. This was the signal for the gunnery crew just below the catapult platform. Immediately afterwards an explosion followed and the seaplane'was Sn the air 100 feet out from the Mississippi. The sensation of being catapulted from the gun turret was not as unpleasant as one might imagine. It seemed ac though somebody had given you a particularly violent push in the small of the back. A minute later the seaplane was high above the Mississippi. It would be hard to imagine anything that could exceed the beauty presented from the air by Auckland and the contiguous coastline, the' ' beautiful Waitemata, glistening like a, diamond, with the mighty ships of. the .American Battle Fleet below. From the decks of the war vessels' tiiiy figures waved to greet the seaplane's' 'occupants. The fleet looked like a long lino of tractors, trekking slowly over a desert of blue.. . The scene below was a beautiful one. Fringed by the blue Pacific, the picturesque const could be scene for hundreds of miles, while the West Coast was clearly visible to the south. As we headed for the leading vessel, the flagship California, we gained a considerable height. Having feasted our eyes on the glories of the North Shore suburbs and the hundreds of small vessels which were circumnavigating the vessels of the fleet as they moved up towards North Head, the pilot steered a course over the city and zoomed down to within a few feet of the Ferry Buildings. The crowded foreshore, the wharves, the ferry boats and craft of all descriptions, made a never to be forgotten picture, and the harbour, with its numerous little bays and red-tiled houses, running down to the water's edge, presented a "veritable fairy scene. Passing the flagship of ttfe squadron, we dipped as a salute, then we cruised over the Philomel and also saluted the old vessel. Still higher we went until we reached an altitude of 6000 feet. Only One of its Kind. Looking down again to the fleet, the eight battleships were still moving along slowly towards their moorings. Then the anchors were dropped and all came to rest in the harbour. Pretty pictures they made against the city on one side and the green hills of Orakci on the other. Other seaplanes joined us. and for quite a long time afterwards we flew about, occasionally coming down in spiral volplanes to within a few feet of the masts of the vessels, then ascending again to proceed to the outlying murine suburbs to announce that the United States Navy, or part of it, had arrived in Auckland. The "Galloping Goose," which flew perfectly throughout the long cruise, came down on the harbour very gracefully and was secured by a party of sailors, who towed her back to the Mississippi. After his '"bus" had been safely moored, Lieutenant Signer went to great pains to describe the seaplane and catapult gear to the writer. The "Galloping Goose" is a five-seater aeroplane with a high-powered Curtis twelve-cylinder engine, which fives it a speed of well over 100 miles per hour. Lieutenant Signer stated that the Mississippi is the only ship in the world to be fitted with the explosive catapult contrivance. It was placed on the Mississippi for the world cruise as an experiment. Most other catapults for discharging aeroplanes from the decks of vessels °arc worked by hydraulic pressure But the catapult on the Missiseippi is discharged by a full charge from a five-inch gun, which is placed just below the car, or plunger and recoil cylinder, filled with glycerine and water. On this the seaplane rests. The charge is fired from a regular five-inch gun chamber, to which is attached the plunder. A safety device is fitted in ease" the charge .misfires. Lieutenant Si»ner explained that so great is the charge that the seaplane is given a launching speed of 53 miles an hour. From zero the seaplane attains just.on 00 miles per hour at the point of hoppin" off. It was a gracious act on the part of Admiral Robisou- to select the best seaplane in the fleet for the Star representative's flight over the fleet yesterday. The writer, subsequently was fnformed that he-was the first civilian to enjoy the unusual experience of being "shot ujp" from this ex P loslve «atapult.