TWO FALSE STARTS

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 244, 13 July 1939, Page 9

TWO FALSE STARTS

Bomber’s Flight From U.S.A. To England

NEW YORK, July 11. The Consolidated flying-boat, the first warpluuc to bo delivered in England by air, left San Diego this morning on its 6000-mile flight. It was scheduled to stop only at Newfoundland. However, it was forced down on Buffalo Harbour when head winds exhausted the fuel. It is to stay the night at Buffalo, and is to resume its flight nt dawn tomorrow. Two days ago, on the first attempt to make the flight, it took off from San Diego but turned back after failure of the automatic pilot.

The 15-ton bomber was secretly ordered by the British Ministry and is the largest contracted for outside the Empire, a recent cablegram stated. It the bomber has a range of 4000 miles an'd passes rigorous Royal Air Force tests, a large order will be placed in lhe United States, or, as in the case of the Soviet Union, will be produced in England under licence. A spectacular two-day delivery flight is planned. The machine will vault the continent from San Diego to Botwood (Newfoundland)—a distance of 3300 miles —and, after refuelling, will fly the Atlantic. Three of the members of the crew of Dr. Archibald's flying-boat Guba. which recently made a survey flight over the Indian Ocean to plan a reserve Eng-land-Australia route fo r Imperial Airways, were selected to fly the bomber because of their experience in handling huge seaplanes. TO TAKE OFF AT DAWN Machine Could Have Reached Botwood (Received July 12. 11.30 p.m.) BUFFALO. July 12. The Consolidated flying-boat is to take off nt dawn. Pilot Rogers said they could have reached Botwood, but 17 hours’ flying against head winds had reduced the fuel to below the margin of safety.