RED TENT CAMP

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 51, 7 September 1928, Page 10

RED TENT CAMP

LUNDBORG'S CRASH

RETURNING FOR CECCIONI

THE RESCUER MAROONED

(No. 3.) (By Captain Einar Lundborg, on board the s.s. Quest, at Sea, off Spitzbergen, July.—Copyright.) The third section of Captain Lundborg's story of his rescue of Nobile tolls of tho crash of his ■'plane when he went back to tho Eed Tent camp to rescue Coccioni —and of how ho himself became marooned with the Italia castaways. Tho first thing wo did after we had taken General Nobilo to tho camp on Eyss, or Eussian Island, was to put him into one of our excellent sleeping-bags and to feed him on the best possible food. Ho had somo Swedish' smocrgas with cheese and finely-minced beef and some roast potatoes, whilo a drink of whisky served to thaw him inside, and, of course, tho inevitable cigarettes after his meal. One of tho first remarks the General made was that he could not sufficiently admire tho good taste wo had shown in the choice o.f articles we had dropped from our airplanes to tho marooned men on the ico floe. When, lator on, I was marooned myself, I came to realise- the truth of what Nobilo had said ■when our first supplies came down to him from the air and were opened and examined. He said: "The Swedes are practical folk." I mention this remark not in order to boast, but simply as a proof of the appreciation which was shown for the organisation of tho Swedish expedition. General Nobile's dog Titina shared lis master's meal, but would not lie

down in his sleeping bag, and was therefore provided with one of his own. By means of that plentiful supply of Siherian. firewood which drifts up en the coasts of North East Land, and of which Eussian Island gets its full share, we made a huge fire which throw out plenty of heat and added to the cosy and intimate atmosphere of the camp. I related to the General that with another Swedish airman I had followed the Italia on her. journey to Stockholm, and had escorted him to Nynaeshanm, ■where we had parted- company; General Nobile said he remembered the incident well, and he promised to send me later a photograph of our escorting airplanes taken from the airship. It seemed quito strange that fate had now so willed it that I should have been instrumental in lending the General a rescuing hand in the high north. There was, however, little timo to talk. live men still remained out there on the ice, and I had i>romised them all to return to thorn. I knew that they were relying on my word; and I felt that it was up" to me to go back to them at once, although I admit that it would have been far pleasantor to rest and get a little sleep. I told the General that I was starting again at once for the camp on the ice. He did not say much in reply, but his feelings could bo plainly read in his expression. His fine eyes filled with tears, and he looked at me with a pathetic look of hope and gratitude in his face. His last words to me were: "The moment when I see you all hero again, my comrades from out there on the ice and you yourself, will be the happiest of my life. They deserve help, those men out there." This simple leave-taking made a deep impression on us Swedes. I wanted to relieve the tension, and not for General Nobile's sake alone. I therefore pulled myself together and replied: "I'll bo back soon with all of them." SECOND RESCUE PLIGHT. My comrades, headed by Captain Tornbcrg, the Chief, now took a num* ber of tins of petrol to the Fokkcr. This fuel had been brought by tho Hansa machines which had to attend to my supplies because the Quest had left Virgo Bay, and was now on her ■way to her new base. I was not allowed to loud a hand in filling up the tanks, as my eonnades wanted to mako everylliing ready for me themselves, so that I might start us fresh as possible. This lime- 1 left all my personal equipment behind,-, including knapsacks, my sleeping bag, etc. Tho, only things I took with me were a box of ammunition, my Browning pistol, and a little chocolate. I said good-bye to the Chief and to the other men, and started tho Fokker, which was now very light. As already menthmed, 1 was flying nlono this time, and the machine raised itself from tho ground . almost at once. Flyfßg low, I took it close over where tho other men were standing, and after taking in a pre-arranged signal, informing mo that tho underruners of my skis were all right, I rose and steered eastward. Jacobsson and Rosensvacrd also went up at this timo in their Hansa, as_ it was their turn to escort mo to the ice floe. The flight out to Foyn Island was mere child's play in the brilliantly beautiful weather. Sometimes I was quito close to the Hansa machine, while lit others I dropped down low to look at the marks of seals and bears, while all the time, in my innermost heart, I was treasuring a, vague hope of catching a glimpse of Malmgrrn and his two companions. Midway between Foyn and Uroch Islands my motor hc^'H to knock, and I wondered what. I had bettor do next. I cut off and tried in turn each of my •hvo petrol tanks, because I h:;il Income nwsrc that then! was .-:omi'S!nng wrong with the fuel supply. It was no use, iiowcvpr, and with only lialf my cylinilrrs .working the'!■''_:;!:?r Eio-viy lost height. T v.-.-is turning ov.-r in my r.iiiu! whether 1 should try to l;:ud en a small ice Hue T, bad cr.ugiit sigld of', or

whether I should try "landing iv high" on Foyn Island. Tho latter method means putting tho machine down in such a way that it crashes for certain, but remains standing on the spot aimed for. With a little calculation there is not much danger for the pilot in this procedure, and I knew that on Foyn Island, at any rate, I should have firm ground under foot. I therefore chose to crash. At the psychological moment, however, my motor began suddenly to function again perfectly, smoothly, ami normally. Perhaps, I thought, the fault had been due to tho presence of a little water in the petrol; but, anyhow, it had been very unpleasant so far from laud and from landing possibili: ties. ENGINE TEOUBLE. Jacobsson • now came up and looked for me. Ho and Bosensvaerd had felt anxious about me. After having for | the sake of any possible eventuality circled a few times over Foyn Island without developing further trouble, I set out at full speed towards tho ice floe whero the marooned Italians wore waiting for us, escorted by Jacobsson 's Hansa on my right hand. Tho remaining three Swedish miles were quickly covered, and I had already caught sight of the" red tent and tho smoke, and I was thinking of'making an observation flight over th camp at a low height. It should be noticed that the wind had and that I should therefore'have to land in a different direction. At this lnomont the motor again started knocking, and I felt that now if ever, was the timo to keep cool. I had to go down at any price, and the ice floe where I had already once landed was my only chance. Gliding downwards, I did everything possible to get tho motor to work normally ag' 'n, but without result. In a slow wing glide I now, axsproached one of tho narrow sides of the floe. I was compelled to land not into tho wind, but on a bearing in relation to the direction of the wind in order to be able to utilise the full length of the floe. I got nearer and nearer, and when only a few yards away from the big ice barrier the machine took tho firm ground and began sliding forward on the floe. The machine hopped and danced over the ico bumps, while the

skis dug themselves into the snow, which had now been made wet and soft by the great heat. It was then 4.30 in the morning. If only my motor had been working properly I could have opened the throttle wide and gone up again and tried afresh; but who could know how much power it had left? —perhaps only so much that I should have crashed against the pack ice at the far end of the floe, where I should have been instantly crushed. I therefore had to put myself into the hands of Fate. The Fokkcr would surely stop soon. Already, on the previous journey, it had proved itself able to stand pretty hard treatment. I had also ascertained that the landing field was sufficiently long. CRASH AT LAST MOMENT. I had hardly completed this lino of thought when" I felt the tail of the machine lift, and the nose and propeller turn into the ground. Before I quite knew what.had happened I found myself hanging in my straps, head downward, in my dear Fokker, which had turned turtle. I loosened the straps and. let myself fall down into the snow. My noso was bleeding violontly, as I had knocked it against the front edge of the pilot's room; but by means of p. little snow I quickly stopped the bleeding. Apart from this, I was quite undamaged, and had got away from the accident as luckily as is possible in such somersaults. Here I stood in the midst of the pack ice. Certainly I had by my side one of the world's best airplanes, but it was broken and lying on its back. Viglieri came up to me and embraced and kissed me. He could not find words to express his sorrow over my fate. I sa.7 Jacobsson's Hansa circling round the floe in smaller and smaller swings. I waved with both arms to show him that I was unhurt. "I have got you," he signalled back, and then the Hansa steered westward. C'eecicmi now came up, leaning heavily on his alpenstock. Ito had been ready to go with me. Then Biagi and Behouuek arrived, wading through the snow. They seized my hands as if to give mo all their comfort in my despair. . I cannot deny tluil: I'was extremely downhearted, and that I showed it. in my face. After having looked carefully over my machine, and uiado sum that such vital parts as the windbai-k stays in the body were broken and bent, and that to "repair it on the spot was impossible, I began with a. heav/ heart, to walk back with Viglieri, Biagi, and Behouuek, to their tent. Immediately on arrival there, I went in and lay down to drown my first despair in sleep. In my heart, however, I had firm confidence in my comrades —I knew-they would try to fetch me, even if there'was only one chance in a hundred. (To lie continued.)