The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-05-21

Arepassey sunday for Ireland in the
wake of the American airmen, would
survive his daring attempt to cross
the Atlantic waned today as the day
passed with no trace of him being re-
ported" The navy department an
nounced tonight that the naval radio
station at Bar Harbor late this after
noon had intercepted a Caernarvon
press reports reading nothing has
been heard of Hawker."
General Pershing today cabled his
congratulations to the navy on the
cablegram read:
TO the Secretary OF the Navy:
Please accept my congratulations and
those of the entire American Expe-
dictionary Force on the magnificent
feat of the naval airmen who have
added another brilliant page to
American achievements and to the
proud record of navy
UDdauntesi by Experience.
Punta Delgara, Azores, May 20
lndaunted by the miraculous escape
from death Of himself and his crew
or four men, Commander Towers, Of
NC-3, told tonight on board the u. s.
$. Melville, the story OF the terrific
stru gle with the angry seas which
| ended only when the plane finally
| reached this harbor after drifting for
| ffty-three hours.
| Commander Towers said the wealth
err alone was responsible for the fail
| ure OF the plane to reach it's destina-
| tion on schedule time, and expressed
his willingness to try again tomorrow
NC-3 Is badly battered and torn by
the rough seas through which she had
| to pillow on the way to this port and
cannot possibly continue the flight to
Lisbon without extensive repairs
NC-l also is out of the race. She
| sank today. waterlogged off Corvo
where the destroyer Fairfax had been
standing by in the hope of towing the
| plane into port when the sea abated
| NC-4 which arrived from Hotra to-
day. having made the $50 mile trip in
one hour and forty-four minutes, an
average speed OF approximately
eightysix miles an hour has taken or
oil and fuel for the trip to Lisbon and
| will make the chop off, on that lee
early tomorrow morning II the wealth
er is favorable.
Commander Towers narrative de-
scribed the perils of wind and set en-.
countered by the plane from the time
| of the forced landing sixty miles
southwest OF the island of Pico at
| $50, New York time, Saturday morn
| ing until she TAXED into Punta Del.
| gada harbor yesterday under her owr
power.
The hands OF Commander and crew
were blistered and torn by their ex.
ertions in pumping water from the
fast leaking hull and all were weary
| in body and mind. but happy to be
| alive.
| Towers says individually they
gave up hope. but collectively
| they showed no signs of fear
| They subsisted ON chocolate and
! cigarettes, having only scant
| allowance of food-the pations
were barely sufficient for one day.
I To Quench their thirst they had
to drink the water from the ra-
diators.
Everybody was on the qui vive at
all times and but little time was found
for sleep during the drift OF EOS
miles to this port. Not a single YES
sci was sighted during the trip and
the plane was out of sight Of land I'M
til st. Michaels Island was sighted.
| Absence OF any radio calls from the
plane was explained by the discovery
! that some OF the connections were
| broken probably by the Jar OF landing,
or the shaking up the plane suffered
after coming down.
The log of the trip was strapped
to a life preserver, ready to be cast
adrift should the plane sink, as all
hands firmly believed 1t would before
land could be reached.
The engines, Commander Towers
said, gave absolutely no trouble and
would have been good for 5000 miles
more. The Liberty motor he said, had
lived up TO all the claims made for it.