New-York tribune., 1919-06-17
London t0Hail
Heroes of Air
Victory To-day
Alcock and Brown Quickly
Recovered From Severe
Experience; Dangers of
Ocean Journey Described

brated today the achievement Of the
two British airmen who yesterday COM
pleted the first NONSTOP transatlantic
flight, meanwhile preparing for q
formal reception to the air victors,
CAPTAIN John Alcock and Lieutenant
Arthur W. Brown.
Formal examination of the Vickers-
Vimy airplane in which the two men
flew 1850 nautical miles. in sixteen
hours and twelve minutes from St.
Johns Newfoundland to Clifden, near
Galway, Ireland, has been completed
by Aero Club officials, who found the
seals intact on the marked parts of
the airplane, thus officially establishing
the authenticity of the fight.
Meanwhile the aviators, tired but
happy, are on their way to London and
are expected to reach here tomorrow.
Both are we'll, but Lieutenant Brown,
the navigator Of the plane, suffered
bruises on the nose and face when the
machine landed in bog The bplane
was badly damaged and may have to
be dismantled. S.~
First Aerial Mail Carried
Features of the trip we're the carry
ing of the first aerial mail across the
Atlantic and the transportation Of two
mascOts dog and a cat
Enthusiasm over the success Of the
trip, it is commented, has not been ac-
companied by any minimizing Of the
great dangers the aviators encountered.
Once, the airman said, they barely
escaped being plunged into the sea
when the machine went into fat
spin. Early in the flight Lieutenant
Brown said. stay wire had broken,
but Of this he did not speak to his
companion until they landed. Captain
Alcock said he would have turned back
had he known this.
Captain Alcock, describing his ex-
periences while flying at an altitude OF
1000 feet, said:
ut was hailing and showing. The
| machine became covered with ice by
six o'clock in the morning, and re-
mained so until an hour before we
landed. My radiator shutter and water
temperature indicator were covered
with ice four or five hours. Lieutenant
Brown continually had to climb up in
the fuselage to chip off the ice with a
knife. The air-speed indicator also
gave trouble, being full of frozen
particles which came out when we de-
scended to a lower altitude an hour
before landing"
Sensation Chiefly Of Thirst
The aviators said they did not feel
hungry during the fight, but we're ex-
tremely thirsty.
"For time" Captain Alcock said,
1--WE spoke to each other through the
communication telephones, but these
broke down after four hours, and we
had to discard them. Then l had to
shout to Lieutenant Brown. Most of
our conversation consisted of tapping
one another on the shoulder and going
through the motions of drinking"
When the Vickers-Vimy machine
landed Lieutenant Brown, the naviga-
tor, said to Captain Alcock:
What do you think of that for
fancy navigating?'
The pilot Of the machine responded i:
Every good"
The two men then shook hands.
When assistance reached the machine
both men were deaf and dazed and
unable to walk steadily. They quickly
recovered, however, and were escorted
to the wireless station. They distributed
cigarettes as souvenirs and gave away
the small dog and cat which were mas
cots during the trip.
After breakfast to-day Lieutenant
Brown went to bed, while Captain AL
cock inspected the machine By noon
both were looking perfectly we'll and
willingly distributed autographs to ad-
mirers. Captain Alcock wanted to fly
to England in q borrowed plane, but
his companion observed:
II have had enough flying for a bit u
First Transatlantic Postman
Captain Alcock exhibited a bunch of
rain-soaked letters which he had been
asked to mail if the flight were sue
cessful, saying:
II am the first transatlantic post
man."
The machine travelled at rate OF
lao miles an hour at times, and the
pilot once found himself divine
straight toward the surface of the
ocean. He was so near the water that
he had to "snatch" the machine from
its dive so quickly that it almost
looped the loop. He says the machine
would have crumpled up had it touched
the water at the speed it was then
travelling.
The two engines ran smoothly
throughout, and when the airplanc
landed there was still 29O gallons Of
petrol left in the tank, sufficient for
a further flight of ten hours.
crew heartiest congratulations on
your brilliant achievement"