Evening star., 1924-06-29

| pleted by First Lieut.. Henry H. Halver-
| son. advance officer of the 4th Division
| of the route. The seaplanes, after land
ing in the river. will be hoisted from the
| water and after the pontoons have been
removed and the landing gear with
wheels attached will be towed on their
own wheels. by motor truck, to the Dunn
Dunn airdrome. at which point they will
| receive such repairs and replacements
as will be found necessary.
Calcutta is the main flight supply
| and repair base of southern Asia. The
planes will be equipped with new
motors and wings. and will be trans,
formed from seaplanes to land
planes. The wings Of the planes,
when they reach Calcutta, were be-
ginning a rapid deterioration, due to
the effect of salt air and extreme
heat, in addition to the severe buff
the United States three months ago.
At Calcutta, the flight will be re-
juvenated and the officers of the ex-
pedition face the remaining $4,000
miles of their journey with practi-
! cally new airplanes. From Calcutta
to London, the flight will be made
| with the world cruisers land
| planes. They will be capable of a
greater speed and greater fuel
capacity and faster progress will be
made over this portion of the route
| than has heretofore been possible by
the flight. Present plans contemplate te
the arrival of the flight in England
not later than the 25th of July.
Welcomed by OmcinIs.
At Calcutta the flight was well
coined by the officials of the British
Indian government, Mr.. Waddell, the
American consul general, the officers
of the British royal air force and
Lieut.. Malcolm S Lawton, the ad-
vance officer for the third division, who
was responsible for the preparations
| made for the flight throughout the
| third division, from Shanghai to Cal
cutta, and in addition. responsible for
| the safety of the flight throughout
that portion of the route.
Calcutta is the capital and the
principal city of British India. 1t is
situated on the east bank of the
| Hugh River. one of the mouths of
the Ganges, almost eighty miles from
the sea. The city is the terminus of
the principal Indian railway system
1t is also great seaport. though
navigation is hindered by the shift
ing sand banks of the river. CAL
cutta under the British reign has be-
come "a thoroughly modern munich
| pality. with excellent public utilities.
| The city is practically divided in
nall, consisting of European and a
native quarter. The former lies east
Of. the Madam, or Great Park. and is
| entirely western in appearance
Ihe new Fort William, the seat
| or the BritlSh-Indian government
started by Give in 1857 and compIet-
! ed in 1873, also stands in the Madam
| The native city has some fine streets
and several magnificent palaces of
Indian potentates. The commercial
| part of the city contains most of the
government and other public build
| lngS. Calcutta has a population of
about ! 100000. This is due to it's To-
cation as a natural outlet of the
| Ganges and the Brahma putra Valleys.
1t enjoys an enormous trade and until
| early in the present century was the
| chief commercial city of India. Now
! Bombay, on account of its excellent
| harbor, has d larger foreign trade
than Calcutta.
Now Face MOnsoons.
In the $4,000 miles which are still
| to be flown before the flight has been
successfully completed, it is doubt
| full if any more severe, or difficult
conditions of weather will be en-
| countered than that which have al
| ready been passed through. The mon
soons of India will be their most for
midable obstacle after leaving Cal
cutta, but the experiences of the
flight through Burma, give every in
dication that the airmen will success