The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1921-03-25
SLOWLY SINKING
AT SEA, MESSAGE
SENT BY PIGEON
DirlgibIe and Seaplane Fail to
Locate Missing Bag and
ACCupantS Feared Lost
at Sea
By Associated Press

by Associated Press
Pensacola, Fla, March 24.-All eff
forts to locate the United States navy
free balloon and five men missing
since it left on practice flight Tues
day night have been unavailing, al
though searching parties today
searched the Florida coast between
Pensacola and Port st. Joe. The ball
loon was in command of Chief Quar-
termaster E. Wilkinson as pilot and
carried machinist's mate and three
marines as students. Naval officials
here express great fear for their
safety.
The last information received from
the filters was early this morning when
two carrier pigeons returned bearing
messages. One said that the balloon
was off st. Andrews Bay Fla, drift
ing toward the open sea, The other,
received little later, said that all
ballast had been thrown overheard and
that the balloon was then at an alti-
tude of 100 feet slowly sinking.
A naval dirgible and a number OF
seaplanes and flying boats were imnle-
diately dispatched In search of the
missing balloonists, but up 10 late
hour tonight have been unable 10 To-
cate the balloon or any of it's crew.
The search is being continued tonight
and an Eagle boat has been ordered to
sea to aid in the search,
With Chief Wilkinson in the missing
balloon are r. " Gland, machinists'
mate first class, and Il. l.. Kershaw,
j. c. Elder and w. II. Tressry pr.-
Yates. United States marine corps. all
student balloon pilots. The balloon
left the naval air station here at
o'clock In the evening of March 22
for an all-night flight. The prevailing
winds at the time We're southwesterly
and the balloon drifted over western
Florida in northeasterly direction.
ASK FOR BOATS
No message was received from the
missing filters until this morning, when
pigeon, which had been released
Wednesday, night, reached it's roost
with a message that the balloon was
about 20 miles at sea off st. Andrews
Bay Fla. and Suggesting that boats
! be sent to the rssene. The message was
somewhat obscure.
Naval officials at tftG air station to-
night held out some hope that the ball
| loon may have struck northerly cur
rent of air when II drops to 100 feet
/ altitude and thus have been carried
over the land. The buoyancy of the
balloon would increase as the altitude
decreased II was explained, and the
! pilot may have been able to keep his
! craft in the air long enough to reach
| land.
MAY HAVE LANDED
| There are few towns along the coast
in the vicinity of st. Andrews boy and
! the balloonists may have landed in
| some remote region from which 1t
would be impossible for them to com
municate with the naval station. The
| entire coast Is protected by barren
/ outer reef varying in width from
few yards to several miles and II the
| balloonists reached this reef they may
have landed and would then be forced
| to walk perhaps 40 or 90 miles before
reaching a pass through which boats
| enter and leave the inner waterway.
LIN this case it might be days before
they were able to make tnsr presence
! known unless they were able to con-
struct a raft of drift wood or fallen
trees.
The Eagle boats and sub chasers
are searching all the passes in this
reef from Apalachicola to Pensacola
nd in the morning the aircraft from
4 the station here VIII renew their
search, paying particular attention to
the reefs All merchant vessels in the
gulf have been asked by wireless to
aid in the search.
Chief Wilkinson is both free ball
4 loon and a dirigible pilot and served
with distinction in France during the
World war. He has been instructing
in the lighter-th an-air division at the
naval air station here since he eturned
from overseas and is rated as one OF
the most competent men in The sta
ton He is serving his second enlist
ment and is unmarried. The remaining
four men are on their first enlistnents.