Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-05-09
FIRST LEG OF
OCEAN TRIP IN
nine HOURS
Destroyers Searching for
Third Airship Which Re-
ported Engine Trouble A.
ter Starting Flight.

Continued From Page OneJ
was giving trouble and he might
have to come down.
Prospects Considered Bright.
Commander y Towers, with the
NC-1, and NC-3, made the trip to
Halifax in fraction less than nine
hours, the distance on the map over
the course they took being 523
miles. These two planes went
through the test in such fashion as
to convince officers here that pros
poets for reaching Plymouth, Eng
land, the ultimate goal of the navy
alrmen, were exceedingly bright.
Each of the three planes had a
triple radio installation when it left
RockaWay. One set was the tele-
phone by which they communicated
with each other while in flight at a
distance of score or more miles.
Stations and guardships listened,
in" on many of these conversations
and reported them. The second set
was the regular long distance radio
installation and the third was, the
equipment for the radio compasses.
Messages Exchanged Freely.
AS the planes approached one of
the patrol vessels, long before it was
sighted, the long distance radio was
buzzing. Questions and answers
flashed back and forth, relating to
directions for navigation. Important
communications were relayed to and
from the speeding seaplanes, some
from Washington.
One carried greetings to Com
mander Towers and his crews from
Acting Secretary Roosevelt, who
watched the trip with keen interest
all day as the departments mes
sages came in. Another relayed
cabled assurances from London that
every facility of the British admir-
atty would be at the disposal of the
American airmen when they reached
British waters.
The communication arrangements
of the Navy department worked out
perfectly. Repeatedly messages
from Commander Towers, sent from
his speeding flagship of the air
squadron, the NC-3, reached the
desks of officers here in few min
utes of the time they were sent In
tercepted by any of the radio sta
tons ashore or afloat on the chain
reaching clear to Halifax, they we're
rushed to Washington on the navy's
leased wires.
The entire operation of the system
was grouped under direction of 1t
Tunis A. M. Craven.
Dirigible Sent to Montauk.
Cape May, N. j., May 8.-The
navy dirigible C-5, commanded by
Lieut. Commander E. w. Coil, left
the naval air base here at 2:25
o'clock today under sealed orders,
bound for Montauk, N. Y, by way
of Rockaway. AS the airship left
under sealed orders, naval officers
were unable to confirm or deny re-
ports that the C-5 was expected to
go to Halifax and would leave Rock
away tomorrow for Chatham, Mass.
In addition to Commander Coil,
lilC ~ CALM TWO OlliCSIS, WHO d.
rived here today from Washington,
and four men.
The dirigible landed late in the
afternoon at the naval station at
Rockaway Point, it was announced
tonight. 1t was understood that the
flight to Montauk would be COM
pleted tomorrow.
Britishers Await Full Moon.
St. Johns, N. F., May 8.-With
snow, rain and fog blowing in by
a southeast wind, hopes of a start
in their Transatlantic flight. were
once more deferred by the British
aviators, Harry Hawker and Capt.
Frederick P. Raynham, here today.
No uneasiness was shown by
either of the Britishers when word
was received of the start of the
American naval flyers on the first
leg of their trip, and both tonight
seemed to have settled down to
wait for the full moon, scheduled
to make its appearance with ia
vorable flying weather on May IA.