Soviet Airmens Dash Across North Polar Regions

Northern Advocate, 22 June 1937, Page 5

Soviet Airmens Dash Across North Polar Regions

(Received 10 a.m.) * ' . SAN FRANCISCO, June 20. F is ‘'officially announced that Vancouver (Washington) will be v. officially considered the end ot the flight of the Soviet singleengined experimental monoplane*, which flew over the North Polar regions en route from Moscow. to San Francisco. * ' The instruments will be sealed there. The abrupt end of the dash was witnessed by only a few soldiers, owing to the general belief that the fliers would'land at Portland, Oregon, where 100 persons, including photographers and journalists, waited; hopefully, Chakaloff emerged. first from the cabin after remaining at the controls for the entire journey. Peering put of reddened eyes, he took a few uncertain steps and then lighted a cigarette. He was greeted by a student from the University of Washington, who spoke in Russian and assumed the role of interpreter. , ■; • While he was gulping a glass cf water, Chakaloff denied a widespread report that the landing was due to a broken oil line. The crew were reluctant to discuss the trip before the arrival of the Russian Ambassador, M. Troyanovsky.

Soon To Bed. • i Crowds gathered later and cheered the fliers and' slapped their backs, but they paid little " heed and hurriedly motored to the commandant’s house, where they had breakfast, sipped some cognac and retired to bed. It was disclosed that the drinking water in the machine froze .when near the Pole, and the crew were forced to suck ice. The pilot insisted that the single motor.: functioned perfectly throughout the flight; ■ In a telephone conversation with M. Troyanovsky, the fliers said they had crossed within a radius of 20 miles of the'Pole, ■ • v - "• * 5 • Very Cold. It was very cold in the Arctic and they would have frozen without their heavy sweaters and fur trousers. Tea and lemon'juice were their only nourishment during the flight. They lost more than an hour through fog over Washington, and Oregon before landing. President Roosevelt and the Secretary of State, Mr Cordell Hull, tele- • graphed their congratulations. M. Stalin telephoned Russian officials in San Francisco from Moscow and asked them to convey his congratulations to the fliers.