Evening star., 1924-05-22
Reach Kasumigaura, Naval
Base, After Trip of 704
Miles, Requiring 13 Hours.
THOUSANDS GET FIRST
VIEW OF AERIAL CRAFT
Will Be Received by Prince Re-
gent-Plan to Resume World
Flight Sunday.
By the Associated Press.

KASUMIGAURA. Japan. May 22-
This was a notable day for the Amer
lean Army aviators who are circling
the globe by air. Within fifteen
hours they drove down out of the
bleak, windy north Pacific region
where storms and fogs have ham
pered their progress for days. into a
temperate cline, where they probably
can make up some Of the lost time
They made the first landing American
airmen have made in Japan, and they
did two days tasks in one.
Taking off from the icy waters of
Hitokappu Bay, off Yetorofu Island,
in the Kuriles, at 8 am. the aviators
swooped down over Kushiro. on the
Island of Hokkaido, four hours and
fifty minutes later, circled once over
the American destroyer John d. Ford
on duty there in case the flyers need
ed aid. and went on without landing
to Minato, at the northern end of the
Island of Hondo, on which Toxic is
Local ted. They landed at Minato, 354
miles from Hitokappu Bay, at 10:40
am.
Arrive at kasumigaura.
At 1880 pm. they took the air
again for the 350-mile hop to Kasu-
migaura, where they arrived at $40
pm.
Originally it had been planned that
the jump from Yetorofu Island to the
main island of Japan and the further
hop to kaSumigaura should occupy
successive days. but yesterday Lieut..
Lowell II. Smith. commanding the
trrh Il
on the Ford that the aviators would
try to do both today.
On the way here the Americans
gave the population of kushiro, al
ready thrilled by the visit of the
Ford, the first foreign warcraft ever
to enter that fishing towns harbor,
their first sight of an American air
plane and, to most of them, the first
view of any aircraft whatever.
Thousands Watch Planes.
Crowds numbering thousands lined
the hills above the town and gathered
in open spaces to watch the planes
pass over and, the watchers hoped. to
land, for yesterday officials of the
town were told the Americans might
pause there for fuel There was dis
appointment when the aircraft, after
circling over the destroyer, went on
to Minato. The mayor had declared
the landing of the planes would be
regarded as the greatest honor ever
accorded the town.
Crowds also were gathered at
Minato. The beach was gay with
thousands of school children. who
waved flags and shouted. The Ameri-
cans were sighted thirty seconds be-
fore they landed, flying down the bay
in perfect formation. They fell into
line, circled once above the buoys
placed for their mornings, and set
tied onto the water as gracefully as
birds.
There was no ceremony at Minato,
all the time the flyers spent there be-
ing taken up with refueling the air
craft and putting fresh supplies of
water and oil aboard. The flyers had
lunch and brief rest and then went
on
Escorted by japanese.
At Sendai, about half way between
Kasumigaura and Minato, a group of
Japanese planes met the Americans
and escorted them southwark.
Word was flashed here from the ra-
dio station at Tomioka that the flyers
had passed over that point at 4:1O
pm. and virtually the entire unoccu-
pied personnel of the naval aviation
base. which will be the flyers head
quarters for the next few days,
sought vantage points to watch their
arrival. They had made 704 miles in
twelve hours and fifty minutes flying
time.
Present expectation is that the
Americans will not continue their
fight until Sunday or later. They are
to be received by the prince regent in
a special audience on the occasion of
a visit he is making to the aviation
base, and their planes are to be gone
over by the finest corps of mechanics
the navy has been able to assemble
from among it's air force.