LANDING AT SEA

Southland Times, Issue 22497, 6 December 1934, Page 5

LANDING AT SEA

ULM AND PARTY LOST UNDETERMINED POSITION SEARCH FROM HONOLULU NO TRACE OF AIRMEN (United Press Association—Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 6.40 p.m.) Honolulu, December 4. Lost in storm-driven clouds, Mr C. T. P. Ulm was forced to bring his monoplane down at an undetermined spot in the Pacific to-day after the gasoline tanks . were dry. S.O.S. calls gave graphic warnings that the three flyers had missed their goal and and sought immediate aid. A flight of United States Army aeroplanes took to the air in rescue attempts, coastguard boats put to sea under forced draught, and an ocean liner turned from her course. Improving weather conditions, however, are regarded as favouring the aviators. Overcast skies which had shrouded the islands have cleared, the sea is calm and the Weather Bureau said that favourable conditions extended for several hundred miles out to sea. The searchers were hindered by the fact that the exact point where Ulm was forced to alight is unknown—whether he had passed the island or had fallen short.

“BADLY LOST”

MESSAGES FROM PLANE POINT OF LANDING NOT KNOWN SEARCH HAMPERED (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 6.40 p.m.) Honolulu, December 4. “Will land in the sea,” said a brief message from Ulm at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday (Hawaii time). Ulm came to the ocean’s surface a short time later, but the mystery of his location, Commander E. W. Todd, Commander of the Fleet Air Base at Pearl Harbour, said, seriously handicapped the searchers. “We are handicapped because we do not know exactly which direction he is in,” he added as he hurriedly despatched nine planes southward and prepared to send a like number in a north-easterly direction.

Realizing their approaching peril Ulm sent a constant stream of messages; One said: “Please tell them to shake it up on the beacon.” This is interpreted here as indicating that Ulm was far off his course and could not pick up the beacon direction signals which were being broadcast constantly. Later came a message indicating that the pilot did not know the direction in which he was flying. “I don’t know if 'I am south or north of the islands,” he said. “I must get the beacon soon.”

Then came a message: “Have no positions. Must be badly lost.” After two hours’ effort to find his way Ulm finally abandoned the attempt and sent out the first 5.0.5., stating: “We are just going to the water.” Listening stations said he added that the plane would float. In addition to planes, surface vessels, destroyers and minelayers are being sent in the search. All the naval planes are sea-planes that can sit down on the water and pick up Ulm and his companions until help comes. Ulm seemed to think he passed the islands and was southward of here, but he passed over the President Coolidge about 500 miles out at 4 a.m., which would seem to indicate that perhaps he has not yet reached the islands. The planes will travel in a radius of 250 miles in all directions.

“We hope to locate Ulm soon. We will go out in a great circle of the course, besides other directions,” said Commander Todd.

The liner President Coolidge turned from her course. The commander of the ship, which is approaching Honolulu from San Francisco, estimated from the time Ulm passed the ship that he must be near the place where the plane alighted. Messages from wireless operators, he said, apparently indicated that the pilot was successful in bringing the plane to the waves in safety. FAR FLUNG SEARCH AIRCRAFT AND WARSHIPS. METEOROLOGIST’S CALCULA- ' ' TIONS. (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 9.30 p.m.) Honolulu, December 4. Patrol planes roared in wide circles above 23 naval searching craft and scores of Japanese fishing sampans as darkness settled. Meanwhile, at 5.1 a p.m. the liner President Coolidge reported that she had arrived at the spot where the plane was believed to have touched the sea and found no trace. This was more than eight hours after the plane flashed that she was landing. Added hope that the men might be found came in offers of aid by the Japanese fishing fleet. Nightly these craft put to sea for cruises, taking them several hundred miles out. The searchers believed the men might be adrift within 200 miles of Oahu Island on which Honolulu is situated. A far flung naval search is being carried on by 18 submarines, light minelayers, the Coastguard cutter Itasca and the coast patrol boat Tiger. RearAdmiral Harry Yarnell, Commandant of Pearl Harbour Naval Station, Admiral Sinclair Cannon, Commander of the Submarine Base, and Commander E. W. Todd are co-operating in directing a co-ordinated search. Late to-day patrol planes were ordered to return to their base by 7 or 8 pun., but surface craft continued to spray the darkness all night with

searchlights. On every island of the archipelago a look-out was kept on the possibility of the plane being washed ashore. Searchlights are covering the area within a radius of 300 miles north-east of Oahu.

The opinion that the plane is driftin 300 miles north-east of Oahu unless it sank is given by Lieut. E. W. Stephens, navy meteorologist, who I based his belief on the plane’s speed and the prevailing winds. Lieut. Stephens estimated that Ulm fell short of his goal which, with the distance travelled after he turned back in the belief that he overshot the islands, would place the plane in a north-east position. “If Ulm is 300 miles at sea,” Lieut. Steohens said, ‘ it is possible to i drift miles with the wind and tide, but this drift would be away from Oahu. The meteorologist predicted calm seas with light south-west winds probably until dusk on Wednesday, when squalls might occur. The hope is held that the plane would float unless it became water-logged or the wind arose to swamp it. Ulm spumed a lifeboat before taking, off and one of the party carried life preservers. There is speculation whether the gas tanks, which ran dry, would enable the plane to remain afloat only a brief time or for hours. Ulm is accompanied by G. Littlejohn I (co-pilot) and J. L. Skilling (Navigator). NOTHING SEEN MESSAGE FROM LINER. (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 9 p.m.) Honolulu, December 4. The last message from Ulm, received at 9.28 a.m., said: “On the water now. The liner President Coolidge in a message said: “Advise all Press that at 5.15 p.m. nothing of the plane had been sighted. The search still continues, but we have very little hope of sighting the plane.” PROBABLYFELL SHORT KINGSFORD SMITH’S VIEWS. (United Press Assn.— Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 9.0 p.m.) Los Angeles, Dec. 4. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith pressed deep concern over Dim and his companions. “It is too bad, ’ he said. “My ship is in the factory for repairs. If it were in condition I would take off and try to help to find them. If the radio reports are correct it would seem to me that Ulm should be awfully near the islands. He probably encountered head winds which held down the speed and without sufficient gasoline he has fallen short of the mark. PATCHED-UP PLANE WOOD AND FABRIC. (United Press Assn—Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 9 p.m.) Oakland (California), December 4. Mechanics at the Oakland airport disclosed that they had previously considered Ulm’s plane unsafe. The plane was of wood and fabric construction instead of metal. They declared that the fabric was patchy as if put on hurriedly and loose ends hung from the wings and fuselage. The mechanics said that before the take-off they patched up places on the nose Under the wings and on the fuselage. EARLIER REPORTS NAVIGATOR PROBABLY ERRED. FAVOURABLE CONDITIONS. Honolulu, December 4. The search for Ulm centres east of Honolulu. The Air and Navy Departments believe that the navigator erred in his report that the plane had passed the islands. The S.O.S. from the plane on the surface failed at -11 a.m. Navy planes returning for petrol did not sight anything, but they will continue to search in relays under orders to land and effect a rescue. The current in this area is one knot to the west. The sea is smooth and the wind light, tending to drift the flyers towards Hawaii if they are eastward. Look-outs have been posted on all the islands. The search was co-ordinated late today under Admiral H. E. Yarnell, covering an area a 100 miles wide and 300 miles eastward of Hawaii. It involves three minelayers, eighteen submarines, the Coastguard cutters Itasca and Tiger and 23 aircraft. The surface craft forming a line as they are leaving the islands will pivot for 300 miles. , It is believed the plane has not reached this area, but that she exhausted her fuel in retracing the course when the navigator believed that they had overshot the islands. The searching vessels are expected to spot a flare tonight if the plane is still afloat. _ Ulm radioed at 9.08 a.m.: Going down. The plane will float for two Commander E. W. Todd, of the Pearl Harbour Air Base, declared: I have already sent nine planes southward and have nine more which will be in the air in a few minutes to go northeastward. The Commandant of Pearl Harbour is arranging to despatch surface vessels, destroyers and minelayers, in the search. All the naval planes are seaplanes which can sit down on

the water and pick up Ulm and - his companions until help comes. We are handicapped because we do not know exactly in which direction he is. The planes' will travel in a radius of 250 miles in all directions. We hope to locate Ulm soon.”

The army and the naval authorities indicated their belief that Ulm is down 200 miles northeast of Honolulu. The liner President Coolidge, which is approaching Honolulu from San Francisco, wirelessed that it was abandoning its course to join in the search. It wirelessed at 2 p.m. (Pacific standard time) on Tuesday to the Globe wireless station that no signals had been received from Ulm's plane for two hours. The President Coolidge believes that Ulm was forced down near her, 200 miles north-east of Honolulu, and she is joining in the search. The Globe Wireless Station received a message that Ulm was compelled to descend into the sea somewhere south of Hawaii at 7.38 on Wednesday morning (New Zealand time). At 8.20 the Globe Wireless Station said that Ulm had stated 35 minutes earlier that he had only enough petrol for 45 minutes flying. The plane is capable of floating for several days in the ocean, but it is not equipped with pontoons for a take-off. The aviators did not carry a life raft, but they have an emergency condenser to distil ocean water for drinking. Messages from the plane to the Globe Wireless Station indicated that the plane reached the surface of the sea without mishap. A continuous stream of S.O.S. messages was sent both before and after landing. The messages mostly were clearly heard by the liner President Coolidge, whose radio operator hazarded the opinion that the plane might be north of the islands instead of south, as Ulm’s messages indicated. MESSAGES PICKED UP FAILURE TO SIGHT BEACON. RUNNING SHORT OF FUEL. (United Press Assn.— Telegraph Copyright.) San Francisco, December 4. The liner President Coolidge wirelessed that Ulm was about 500 miles from Honolulu at 6.25 a.m. (Pacific standard time). The President Coolidge was brightly lighted, with her searchlight pointed straight into the sky to guide the flyers. According to advices received by the Globe Wireless at 10 a.m. (Pacific standard time) Ulm was lost and was running short of fuel. In a message picked up by the Globe Wireless Station at Honolulu, Ulm was begging for “the beacon (presumably the radio beacon) to guide him to Honolulu. “We do not want to have to give an 5.0.5.,” said one message. The Honolulu station commented that the last message from the plane said he was lost and that he kept asking for the beacon. N.R.U.I. (not identified, but presumably the radio beacon station) said the beacon had been on since midnight. Other relayed messages from the plane said it was flying at 12,000 feet altitude and that the weather was not very good.” San Francisco navigators stated that the radio beacon sent its signals on a directional beam and that Ulm would be unable to receive them because he was badly off his course. _ At the take-off Ulm carried 605 gallons of gasoline (American measure), which should last slightly more than 20 hours. GERMAN BROADCAST ULM REPORTED FOUND. (United Press Assn.— Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 1.40 a.m.) Sydney, December 5. A local radio station to-night broadcast a report purporting to come from a short-wave station in Berlin saying that Ulm had been picked up by a German steamer. However, no cable advice to that effect has reached Sydney. Amalgamated Wireless, Ltd., Sydney, received a message stating that all searching planes had ceased for the night, but the Coastguard boat Itasca and other floating craft were still scouring the sea on a radius of from 150 to 310 miles. The search will be resumed at dawn. The naval authorities express the opinion that Ulm is still hanging on. ANXIOUS WIVES THREE MEET IN SYDNEY. (United Press Assn.— Telegraph Copyright.) (Rec. 10.50 p.m.) Sydney, December 5. The news of Ulm’s disappearance is featured in the Australian evening papers. The wives of the three aviators gathered at Ulm’s home at Mosman, a suburb, yesterday and followed the progress of the flight throughout the night. They are naturally very concerned about their husbands fates. Flying Officer B. Shiel, representative of Ulm’s interests in Sydney, speaking on behalf of Mrs Ulm expressed gratitude and admiration for the splendid efforts of the United States naval and military authorities. BANNED BROADCAST STATEMENT BY MINISTER. (Per United Press Association.) Wellington, December 5. The Postmaster-General, the Hon. Adam Hamilton, stated to-day that his attention had been directed to a gathering held in Auckland at which the Rev. C. G. Scrimgeour, leader of the Friendly Road movement, made reference to a proposal on the part of the Broadcasting Station IZB to broadcast messages transmitted by Mr C. T. P. Ulm during his flight across the Pacific. Mr Hamilton says it was learned that messages were to be received by the amateur transmitter and handed to IZB for broadcasting and Mr Scrimgeour was written to and informed that the proposal was contrary to the provisions of the radio regulations and could therefore not be permitted. Reception of messages intended for third parties by amateurs is expressly forbidden by the international agreement to which New Zealand is a signatory and is also contrary to the provisions of the New Zealand radio regulations which are substantially and. rightly based upon international requirements. Mr Hamilton says the departmen. was ready to assist in any appropriate and suitable manner the wishes of the Friendly Road movement in any direction desired. No further representations were made to the department which therefore assumed the idea was not being persevered with. Mr Hamilton says he deemed it necessary to disabuse the public mind of any impression that the department had been obstructive. It was entirely wrong to suppose that any discrimination was exercised to the detriment of IZB or any other B class station, and if the entirely necessary and reasonable steps taken to ensure the operation of broadcasting stations in accordance with the conditions under which they are licensed are construed as irritating tactics, he could only say that such attitude was a totally mistaken conception of the duty devolving on the department.