Omaha daily bee., 1919-05-20

penSe, awaiting the result OF Harry
Hawker's bold attempt to fly across
the Atlantic, and after a day oil
anxious inquiries and unvcrified ru-
mors and speculation the fate Of the
pilot and his navigator, Mackenzie
Grieve, is still unknown.
A Sopewith machine, supposed to
be Hawker's, according to an ad-
miralty wireless report. descended
to the surface of the ocean 40 miles
west of the mouth of the Shannon.
Received No Dispatch.
According to the Daily Mail, ad-
miralty quarters in Queenstown.
when questioned at ll:l5 o'clock to-
night, denied having received wire-
less dispatch from the Castletown
station saying Hawker's machine
had landed 40 miles west of the
mouth of the Shannon, or any other
wireless.
Moreover, it was asserted, the
especially sensitive wireless plant at
Ballybunnion, on the northwest
coast of County Kerry, Ireland, did
not receive the message.
Admiralty in London is investi-
eating the mystery.
Early, unverified reports were that
the Sopewith machine encountered
gale, which reduced it's speed to 40
miles an hour, and finally compelled
it to descend.
Crowds Throng Airdrome.
Crowds waited the day long 1t
the ,Broolands airdrome, where
Hawker learned to fly, believing
that the aviator would make his
landing there, although experts had
expressed the opinion that Hawker
would unlikely be able to fly there.
The fate of Hawker and Grieve
cannot be definitely stated, and to-
night it is impossible even to assert
that the machine found at sea is
Hawker's.
4 The weather off the Irish. coast
Monday was boisterous, with rain
and haze.
The admiralty has sent out III
available ships to search for the
aviators. .f
Pay Bets Prematurely.
St. Johns, N. F., May l9.-Early
reports of Harry Hawker's safe ar
rival on the Irish coast, at first ac-
cepted as true, had turned tonight
to grave fears for the fate Of the
Australian aviator and his navigator,
Com. Mackenzie Grieve. When
darkness fell it was felt that no news
was bad news, for the time allotted
for the history-making fight had
long since passed. x
This little city, which had har-
bored Hawker and Grieve, wanted
to believe that they were safe on the
other side of the Atlantic. Bets
laid against their success were paid
cheerfully at the first report that
they had landed, and the whole city
voiced its happiness.
Capt. Frederick P. Raynham. the
British aviator who was badly cut
and bruised in the collapse Of his
Martinsyde plane when he tried to
"take Off in the wake of his rival,
sent message of congratulatioh to-
Hawker from his sick bed. and is
sued a statement applauding what
he termed his fellow Briton,s sue
cess"
When the realization struck home
that the 20-hour flying period for
which the Sopwith carried fuel had
elapsed without official report Of the
aviators, those familiar with the
dangers of the adventure hesitating-
ly advanced the guess that the flight
had stopped short of its goal,
Interest Centered in Pilots.
Interest. at once turned to the
possible fate of the airmen, perhaps
adrift in their ingeniously construct
ed emergency boat which had
been shaped to form the rear hood.
of the Sopewith's fusilage after ii
had been tested here and proved to
possess considerable seaworthiness.
Then there were the "nonsinkabler
rubber suits which Hawker and
Grieve wore, and discussion switched
to them. They were of the United
States navy's type, designed to be
inflated through small pipe.
1t was estimated that food sup
plies. including warm drink. had
been stored In the boat" sufficient
to last the two flyers 48 hours, pro-
vided the boat" could stay afloat
that length of time
\ Raynham May Try.
Raynham announced tonight he
may still attempt a transatlantic
fight. After a check Of the dan,-
age sustained by his Martinsyde, HI
said he might try to repair ii.
II shall fly home if it is possible
he declared, probably in the same
plane reassembled. If that IS not
possible, then in new one, proyid-
ing my owners agree.
Raynham Optimistic.
Although associates OF Hawker
and Grieve late tonight reluctantly
conceded that the aviators 'tprob-
ably have failed" Captain Raynham
was still optimistic as to the safety
of the Sopwith and its crew. He
suggested that Hawker might have
landed at some isolated spoint on
the coast of ireland. The Storm
breeding depression referred to BY
meteorologists was known to Haw-
ker and himself yesterday when ther
both decided to take the air"
said.