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Show HUGE FLYING BOXCARS FEED SNOWBOUND STOCK NEAR MILFORD 'Operation Airlift" moved into Milford Wednesday1 when two C-47's, the "flying boxcars," loaded hay at the-Milford the-Milford airport and dropped the feed to snowbound stock west and northwest of here. Viewing the immensity of the operation, the citizens who flocked to the airport to watch the transports load up and take off, received a faint idea of the task facing the Army Air Force in "Operation Vittles," supplying the Red-ringed city of Berlin. Loading 50 to 60 bales of hay at a time, the transports taxied down the runway and lifted their loads into the air with all the ease of one of Ben Hillman's Luscombe's taking off. The flight across the mountains and deserts was as smooth and comfortable as though the passenger were riding the club-car on a crack train. P the crew dropped a sack of mail at the station, then continued a few miles west to the herd. Crews could be seen opening the road with bulldozers, and an occasional oc-casional stray, cow, standing alone in a snowdrift waiting for Under direction of Mr. O. P. DeJulio of Salt Lake City, an official of-ficial of the Bureau of Land Management Man-agement who has been assigned the task of coordinating airlift work in Milford, an Army Air Force C-47 and a National Guard C-47 made three trips each on Wednesday, and three more each on Thursday, to fly hay to the livestock. Piloting the army plane was Capt. Liebgott, with First Lt. Knox a co-pilot, TSgt. Applegate and TSgt. Salmon were the crew members, whose duty it was to unload the bales of hay when the plane was "over the target." On Wednesday's first trip, to the Jackson herd west of the Desert Des-ert Range Station in Pine Valley, Tuesday afternoon the Milford Mil-ford Flying Service ski-plane was again called upon lo relieve re-lieve distress and scout calile camps. One trip was made to the Deserf Range Station in Pine Valley io deliver groceries, groc-eries, and groceries and other supplies were flown to the Armstrong sheep camp near Ranch Canyon. Otto Koch also made a flight over the cattle camp of his son-in-law, west of Lund. death or a thaw, brought forcibly home to observers the seriousness serious-ness of the situation, and the absolute helplessness of stock caught far from the roads and help from their owners. As a bell signaled "on target" he two sergeants began unloading unload-ing the hay. One crewman stood in the door, kicking the bales out as the other crewman pushed (hem toward him. Two sheep-i sheep-i men were along, to spot the herd and help feed the bales to the sergeants. Both sergeants, who were near the door and might possibly have been thrown out by a sudden dip or bank by the plane, were securely fastened to (he plane by heavy web belts. On the second run, the results of the first bombardment could be seen. Skimming along a little lit-tle ways off the snow-covered ground, the bursted bales of hay looked very much like the aerial pictures of bombed cities during the war. Every few feet a circle ten to twenty feet across was covered with loose hay. From six to ten bales were dropped on each run, depending on how fast the helpers fed the bales to the crewmen. The mission completed, Capt. Liebgott made another run past the sheep camp, where the herders herd-ers stood beside their horses watching the bombardment, waggled the wings of his plane and headed back across the two mountain ranges to Milford, to pick up another load. On Wednesday, hay was unloaded un-loaded by air to the Jackson herd, the Douglas Q. Cannon herd in Black Canyon, and the Curtis J. Armstrong herd east of Milford. |