The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-09-01
Icebergs And Tigers Met
 In Flight Around Globe

mander, was the victim of virtually all trouble that was encountered after that, but it was minor trouble compared to the accident which befell Major Mar tin. Lieutenant Smith had considerable engine trouble and at one stage of the flight in Japan his fellow flyers were obliged for a day to proceed without him. At Calcutta he suffered broken rib in fall from culyert on the fly ing field.
 The three planes had completed about two-thirds of the flight when the ma chine piloted by Lieut.. Leigh Wade was forced down by engine trouble, and then it was unable to continue the remainder of the flight. The accident occurred August on the hop from Kirkwall to Iceland.
 Lieut.. Eric Nelson succeeded in com pleting that leg of the trip the day be- fore, but Commander Smith and Lieu tenant Wade were obliged to turn back because of heavy fog. August 3 they hopped off again and when about mid way between Kirkwall and Iceland Lieutenant Wade was forced down by Engine trouble. He and his mechani- clan, Sergeant Ogden, worked on the engine for six hours.
 They were then picked up by a British trawler and lowed to the tor pedo boat destroyer Billingsley and then to the cruiser Richmond, which had been stationed in the north Atlantic waters to assist the flyers in emer- gencies.
 While an attempt was being made to hoist the plane to the cruiser to facili- tate the making of repairs, part of the lifhting apparatus broke, sending down steel boom weighting a ton, which smashed the propeller of the plane and pierced one of the pontoons. Air off cials later decided to send another plane to Nova Scotia to enable Lieutenant l Wade to make the remainder of the flight from that point.
 Russians Hostile
 With one exception the aviators were hospitably welcomed everywhere they landed and the various governments CO., operated in looking after the needs of the airmen as we'll as providing enter tainment for them. The one exception was when the squadron hopped off the North American continent for it's flight across the Pacific, a distance of SIS miles, and to accomplish which 1t would be necessary to break the existing non- stop seaplane flight of 792 miles. A se- were storm encountered en route forced the flyers down. off shore at Roman dorski, on an island owned by Russia. The soviets refused permission to land, but the Americans had gotten out of the storm and were re.dy to take off again just as the Russians decision was received.
 The most arduous part of the flight was the northward trip along the Pa cific coast of the North American con- tinent. Encountering heavy storms, both rain and snow, as well as strong winds, and the accidents to Major Mar tins plane, the flyers were frequently delayed several days at a time. After the three who completed the trip reached the Far East there was little delay aside from that planned for them, but despite this they were 16 days be- hind the original schedule when they arrived at Paris, July IA. This was. due to the unusual delays that were caused before the men left the North American continent.
 No Speed Attempt
 The primary purpose of the flight was to determine the physical practicability of an around-the-world air route with heavier-than-air machines of present de- velopment. In making the plans for the flight no consideration whatever was given to attempts to make time record, because the successful completion of the feat, regardless of the time required, was the main object. It was this that caused Major General Patrick to decline proposition of British air officials to make the flight a sporting proposi- tion in competition with A. Stuart Mac Laren, the British aviator. The latter started his attempt to fly around the world in the opposite direction from the | Americans March 25 from Southamp- ton. Notwithstanding that the Ameri- can flyers were not out to make time record, their feat will stand as such, since they were the first to complete the trip, until some other aviator does 1t in less time.
 Achieving their main object, the fly CTS incidentally brought to the United States another honor-that of being the first nation to make flight across the Pacific ocean-as 1t was the first to make the flight across the Atlantic. These honors are about all the glory the flyers will get out of their record breaking and history-making perform ance. It was recently disclosed in Washington that their only additional reward will be a latter of commenda- tion, written by Secretary of War Weeks, to be attached to their service records. .s.-
 Congress Fails To Act.
 The secretary asked Congress at the last session to permit him to promote certain junior officers in recognition of unusual service, having in mind at the time Lieut.. Russell l.. Maughan for his dawn-to-dusk flight across the con tinent, and the round-the-world flyers. Secretary Weeks expressed regret that Congress failed to authorize him to promote the world fyera or give them some decoration for their accomplish ment. The flight was started March IT from Clover field, Santa Monica, Cal, the squadron being made up of four planes as follows: Seattle, flag plane, with Maj. Fred L. Martin as pilot, and Sergeant Alva Harvey as mechanician ; Chicago, Lieut.. Lowell H. Smith, pilot I and Leslie P. Arnold, mechanician 1; | TQoakau Tiox,k Tas1h VUaAa v.flnk k,