U.S.A. NAVY FLIGHT.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 208, 3 September 1925, Page 7

U.S.A. NAVY FLIGHT.

TWO AEROPLANES DOWN. | A TRAGIC FAILURE. FATE OF FIVE MEN. (By Cable. —Press Association. —Copyright.) I ! SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1. j All hopes of the two naval aeroplanes j ■which left San Francisco yesterday I accomplishing a non-stop flight to j Hawaii lias been shattered, both j machines having been forced to descend, i The P.N.9, No. 1. in charge of Comman- j der John Rodgers, was forced down ! almost within sight of Honolulu, and No. 3, in charge of Lieutenant Snoody, had to descend 300 miles from San i Francisco, and is now being towed back to port. The latest news of No. 1 machine is that with her motors stopped for lack of I fuel she was battling in a stormy sea i and in heavy rain, and that she probably came down at 1.45 p.m. to-day. Naval vessels are searching for her, but nothing has been heard froni her for several hours. j Earlier wireless messages stated that ■ No. 1 had passed the destroyer Reno, ■ 1400 miles out, at 10.47 a.m. Pacific ■ time. She was visible for 10 minutes and was given her compass bearing. The previous message from the plane was ! received at 6.10 a.m. The cessation of the Teceipt of mes- j sages from Xo. 1 plane at Honolulu led j to the belief on the part of naval offi- '•. cers there that ehe had been forced to i land on the water, where her wireless ; sending apparatus would not be able to | function. A previous communication had mentioned that her fuel supply was low and that her ability to continue the flight beyond petrol ship Aroostook, 300 miles from Hawaii, was doubted. ! Xo. 3 machine was forced to alight on ' the surface of the ocean on account of : engine trouble. She rode the waves for six hours before the destroyer William Jones arrived to take her in tow in a disabled condition. At that time Com- j tnander Rodgers, on No. 1 machine, was j proceedingly smoothly and sending cheerful messages. The convoys reported No. 1 as being between 800 and 1000 miles out. Trade winds were be- | hind her and were then expected to j help her to make up the hour and a-half which she was behind on the schedule. When plane Xo. 3 was located she had not been heard from since two o'clock this morning. A message from the destroyer said the plane was forced down by breakages in the oil pressure lines to j both engines. It was impossible to effect repairs at sea or to continue the flight to Hawaii. For the first SOO miles No. 1 plane averaged a speed of 85 land miles an hour. A message received from No. 1 naval | aeroplane by the Aroostook has aroused j fears that the airmen in the plane, after j landing on a choppy sea, would not sur- j vive long. Navy officials at Honolulu j have ordered the patrol ships to search ' the course. They endorse the fears en- j tertained, saying the length of the air- ' men's survival above the water would ' depend on the kind of landing effected 1 by the plane, the damage sustained by i the latter, and the supply of oil with ■'■ which to calm the water. ; It is now hoped that the third j machine, the PB 1, which will attempt j the flight later in the week, with more i fuel, will be successful. The last wireless message received ! from Commander Rodgers stated: '"I guess we will be gone if we have to ! descend in this rough sea without a j motor." i It is feared that all five airmen aboard Xo. 1 plane are lost.— (Reuter.) NO. 3 MACHINE. COLLISION WITH DESTROYER.; j LITTLE HOPE FOR NO. 1. j i (Received 12 noon.) j .SAX FRAXCISCO, September 2. j Collision with the destroyer William Jones, and not mechanical trouble, pre- ] vented Xo. 3 seaplane (Captain Snoddy) ' continuing the Hawaiian flight after it was forced to alight on August 31. : The 'plane was towed into harbour here to-day. The five men of the crew were weary and unshaven, and still aboard. ; They immediately began to repair the damage, and are eager to start again if the authorities will permit it. Meanwhile the convoy and seaplanes and submarines from Hawaii are continuing the search in the vicinity, 185 miles west of Maui Island, where it is feared the PX9, Xo. 1. after being forced down by lack of fuel, was shattered to pieces by the heavy seas. Captain Boeing, of the seaplane PB Xo. 1, will attempt the Hawaiian flight at 2 p.m. on September 3. She is 4000 pounds heavier than the defeated 'planes and carries 500 more gallons of petrol. Her speed is at least twenty miles an "hour greater. — (A. and X.Z. Cable.) I i P.B. Nβ. 1 MAY NOT GO. MR. WILBUR RELUCTANT. [ (Received 12.30 p.m.) ! WASHINGTON, September 2. ' .Mr. Curtis D. Wilbur (Secretary for' the Navy) is not disposed to have the naval 'plane PB Xo. 1 leave San Francisco on Thursday in an attempt to fly to Hawaii, as scheduled, if it should be determined the men of the PX Xo. 1 are lost.—(A. and X.Z. Cable.) I I NO NEWS OF NO. 1. i INCREASING ANXIETY. (Received 12 noon.) SAN FRANCISCO. September 2. • Twenty hour 3 have elapsed without of Commander Pvodgers and his four mates aboard the P.N. 9, No. 1. Anxiety is increasing as the systematic search continues. It is hoped* that the 'plane alighted on the sea safely, but it is pointed out that if an accident occur-; red she was heavy enough to sink, though j the flyers were equipped with lifebelts.— i (A. and X.Z. Cable.) I