ROUND THE WORLD FLIGHT

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19509, 8 June 1933, Page 13

ROUND THE WORLD FLIGHT

PROGRESS OF SOLO-FLYING AMERICA**?. United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright OMSK, June 6. Lieutenant James J. Mattern, the American round-the-world flyer,, who left New York on June 3, arrived at 11.25 o'clock this morning from Moscow. Later he left Omsk for Chile. Lieutenant James Mattern, of Port Worth, Texas, is 28 year's old, and an athlete of note. Since leaving the Army Air Corps he has held positions as test pilot mail pilot, and chief pilot to the Cromvell Scuthem Air Line. With Major Bennett Griffin ho made, an attempt to fly round the world a year ago. He took off from New York at 4.20 a.m. on Sunday on his present solo flight round the world via Moscow, Irkutsk (Siberia), Nome (Alaska), and Edmonton (Alberta). He hoped to make Moscow his first stop. He passed over Lewisport (Newfoundland) 7 hours 20 minutes after leaving New York, having travelled 1000 miles. He carried six oranges as his sole food supply. Leaving New York at 10 a.m., July 5, c :r the previous attempt to beat the existing round the world record set by Harold Gatty and Wiley Post, Griffin and Mattern reached Harbour Grace (Newfoundland) and departed ( gain at 11 p.m. They then astor .ded the world of aviation by landing in Berlin 18hr 42min later, having l aten two world records: (1) In crossing the Atlantic from Harbour Grace to the Irish coast in 114 hours, they improved on the previous record of Miss Amelia Earhart (now Mrs Amelia Earhart Putnam), who did the journey in 134 hours. (2) They made the first nonstop flight from the American Continent to Berlin, and in doing so in 18hr 42min beat Post and Gatty’s tim by about five hours. They continued their flight after a stay of only three hours, heading for Koenigsburg and Moscow. A day of anxiety then passed, during which there was no report of the airmen. At last, however, they were located in Russia, where they had crashed in a peat bog at Borissov, some 36 miles from Minsk. Both men were injured, Griffin slightly, and Mattern more seriously. The aeroplane was wrecked beyrnd repair. Mattern went to Moscow and immediately set about making arrangements for this present venture.