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Show !U.S.ADJ -FIRSLTO LAND-IN LAND-IN ARCTIC SEA American Pilots Gain Dis-' tinction of Being First to Cross Pacific Ocean by Air Route BREMERTON, Wash, May 17 (By A. P.) Three plane, af tha United States army yeeterday which flew fram Attu Island ta Paramashiru island wsrs foresd by a storm ta alight once an tha way, a radiogram eeught here today stated. The radiegram waa aant ' by Lieutenant Lowell H. Smith, acting act-ing commander of a flight around the earth in which the three pianee are engagsd, and waa an ''Ita way ta tha headquarter, of the army air eervice in Washlngten, O. C. The flight waa made largely In a storm of snow and wind, and a etecm arose aeon after arrival at Paramashiru, Japan, S7S mi lea from Attu, Alaska, tha, longeet jump af tha expedition. Lieutenant Smith reported. PARAMASHIRU, Ialands KurHeo. May 17 (By A. P, Blaxing a trail through aklea never before invaded by an airplane, tha three United Statee army world fllera reached thla lea fringed remote bay border-, lng tha Arctic at 11:15 o'clock thla morning, thereby gaining for their country and themeelvea tha diet (notion (no-tion of being tho first to have croaeed tha Pacific by air. In negotiating the hasardoua hop of S7I mllea from Attu island In tha Aleutian group, tha pilota, Lieutenant Lieu-tenant Smith, Wade and Nelson, fought through chill Arctic wlnda and snowstorms that whipped their fare with lacerating Icy grains. Two of tha planes landed In Kaahlwaba bay and the third descended de-scended to the water off tha nearby near-by Island of Shi menu. Amaaement waa written on tha face of thnee aboard an American and a Japanese deetroyer which were waiting here to receive tha expedition, ex-pedition, aa the first of tha giant air cruiser waa discerned through tha misty cloud to tha north. WEATHER IDEAL. For a week the weather en Para-maahlra Para-maahlra had bees) Ideal for (lying and dally tha aklea had been canned constantly for the planes, but In vain. In view of the favorable favo-rable weather reports he had eent to Attu, the commander of the American destroyer John D. Ford, waa puuled at their failure to appear. ap-pear. . Early thla morning, with evereaat skies, rising winds and a falling barometer presaging a atorm. a warning was sent from the Ford In I aa effort to dissuade the fllera from ! hopping off from Attu. Then, at 11:10 o'clock, the guar- termaster on watch began emitting a aerlea of yella that brought everyone every-one on deck. Approaching from the north waa tha plane of Lieutenant (Continued on page S.) 1.JS. AIRMEN FIRST TO TAN D IN ARCTIC SEA (Continued from page 1.) Smith, the acting flight commander. command-er. On either elde behind him waa another plane, forming: a triangle. ' Tha watcher were apeechleaa with surprise, for It waa almost unbelievable un-believable that the filers, to greet whom the Ford had journeyed In a month-long battle against tha elemerHa, actually were overhead and aafe. The difference In time between Attu Island and Pararaaahiru Island la about fifteen hour. The time of the filers' departure from Attu has not been learned, but figuring from the time of their arrival at Parent Pare-nt a hi ru 11:1ft a. tn. today and the probable flylnf time of six or aeren hours. It la believed the aviators muat have left Attu aorae time be fore noon Friday. Paramashlru. second largest of ths Kurlle Islsnds, Is the home of the halry'Alnua, Jspanese aborigines who have been driven north by the constant economic and cultural of tha Japanese In the south. The hop from Attu was tha longest long-est of tha 2T,v miles of the fliers' planned route. From Attu the course waa laid for Cape Kronatskl on the Kamchatka peninsula, all relies from Attu. Paramashlru la 117 miles from Kronatskl. ONE PLANE WRECKED. Ths three planea remaining after one of the four that left Santa Monica, Cel.. March 17. waa wrecked agalnat s mountain in the Alaaka penlnaula April SO. are piloted by Lieutenants Lowell H. Smith, acting commander In the absence of Msjor Frederick L. Martin, who waa flying fly-ing ths machine that came to grief; Erik Nelson and Ielgh Dade. They arrived at Attu Islsnd, westernmost of tha Aleutians, a week ago. after aSIO mile flight from Atka Island. A welcome from wsr craft of Japanese and the United fttatea awalta the filers at the end of the next Jump southward to Bettobu. on Tetorofu, largeet of the Kurlle group. The Japaness will he hosts and tha American craft carriers of supplies. Ths Kurlle Islsnds srs all mountainous, moun-tainous, msny with sctlve volcanoes, whose eruptions are described as natural phenomena of fiery beauty. |
