Evening star., 1924-08-26
MIDNIGHT RESCUE
Of ITALIAN FLYER
THRILLS i. S. CREW
Flare From Helpless Plane in
Arctic Sea Attracts
Cruiser Richmond.
FOUR AVIATORS, LOST 80
HOURS, TIRED, BUT GAME
Locatelli Grimly Watches Machine
Distinguishing to Others for
Courage While Adrift.
By thp Associated prnSs

BY the Associated Press
ABROAD L. S. S. RICHMOND,
August 26.-The discovery late Sun
day night of the missing Italian sea-
plane piloted by Lieut.. Locatelli and
the rescue of its four occupants after
tossing about for more than so hours
on the bleak waters Of the North
Atlantic, came in dramatic fashion.
The Richmond, flagship of Rear
Admiral Magruder, commanding the
conveying squadron to the American
world flyers, was putting out to sea
for the night after a fruitless alI-day
search along the Greenland icepack
when at 1854 o'clock flares were
seen. Immediately the course was
changed in the direction of the lights.
which reappeared at intervals. 1t
/ was after midnight when the plane,
| bobbing on the water. was picked
up by the Richmond's searchlight.
Companion Is Overjoyed
Lieut.. Marescalichi. one of Locatellis
companions who had been taken
aboard the Richmond during the
Iceland o-Greenland attempt, was
awakened and Immediately rushed
\
at the realization that his comrades
were alive.
AS the Richmond drew near the
seaplane four men were seen in the
cockpits. (Previous dispatches said
the crew, besides Lieut. Locatelli, con-
sisted of Lieut.. Julio Crossio. relief
! pilot, and Giovanni Barcoini and
Bruno Farsynelli. mechanicians).
A line was thrown to them, the
plane was hauled astern and the fly
ers were taken off. They were suffer-
; ing only from fatigue and seasick-
ness. and were soon restored after
| partaking of hot coffee and sand
! witches
Planes Wings Damaged.
; The wings and steering apparatus
I of the seaplane were damaged and IL
/ was decided to destroy the craft. The
! effects of the flyers were removed
and then the machine, on which they
had Travelled from Pisa, Italy, was
set af1re and cast adrift Soon after
! being cut loose the tanks exploded
and the seaplane apparently sank.
! BY this time it was $3.50 in the morning.
! Admiral Magruder Immediately
| sent orders to the other vessels call
| ing off the search.
Finding of the seaplane in these
waters after drifting westward be-
yond the probable zone searched by
| the naval vessels for three days, is
regarded as bordering upon the
miraculous.
! The flyers had been sending up
rockets every two hours nightly and
! had almost exhausted their supply. 1t
| developed that the first one they sent
! up Sunday night was seen on board
! the Richmond Lieut.. Locatelli, who
! was on watch as the rocket ascended.
remarked: What's the use" but
few moments later saw an answer
| ing fare from the Richmond.
Searchlight Shows Plane.
! There were dramatic scenes as the
| plane crept into the searchlight zone.
| The decks of the Richmond were
crowded. Admiral Magruder. the
captain. officers and crew, lined the
rails, every eye trained upon the dis
| abled aircraft as it rose and fell with
/ the motion of the waves. with mo-
tion picture men busy with their
! cameras.
Crossio soon after clim bing up the
sea ladder to the Richmond's deck.
stretched wearily and then remarked
! cody: "Alls well that ends we'll
| Locatelli was also stoical, although he
! later watched grimly and with drawn
! face the destruction of his beloved
plane. The two engineers apparently
! suff cred the most, both being Seasick.
| Locatelli. declaring he was not tired.
| told the story of his mishap. He had
been forced down by minor engine
trouble and, unacquainted with the
rough northern seas, had landed
heavily, smashed two struts and dam
aging the rudder stabilizer. Unable
| to take off owing to the roughness of
! the water. he decided to await
! smoother conditions. having sufficient
fuel for three hours flight.
Sing to Keep Up Courage.
To keep up the courage of the party
! Locatelli and Crossio sang Italian
songs and made light of the situation.
The motion of the waves, the cold
and the fog combined to make the
position of the aviators most uncom-
Explains Speed Made.
Il was sorry to outdistance the
! American planes when we hoped
off at Reykjavik," said Lieut.. Loca-
telli but l was compelled to do so
because | was unable to maintain
| the proper height for such a heavy
less speed than $50 meters. We had
planned on the next hop to give the
Americans an hours Lead
| after a flight of ~ hours from
Reyk javik." Locatelli continued. I'VE
developed engine trouble due to wa
| ter In the motors. i bel1eVe We could
have made Frederik sdal, but the fog
| was so thick we decided to land,
make repairs and wait for the weather
| to clear, We came down about %
miles east of Cape Farewell on an
Unexpectedly rough sea.
Seasickness Delays Them.
1.-THE descent loosened two of our
engine supports, and the turbulent
waters prevented US from taking off
again after repairs had been made.
| We decided to wait until Friday, but
the next day and Saturday Engineers
Barroconi and Farsynelli were too
seasick to take an interest in any
thing. Lieut.. Crossie and / were un-
able to handle the plane alone.
| Friday we drifted far south of
Cape Farewell. and Saturday and
| Sunday we drifted 100 miles east.
| We did not see any ships. The fog
lifted Friday, allowing a view of the
coast but it was too far for us to
consider taxi-ing with only 900 liters
| of gasoline remaining. / kept a care
full watch of our positions, and AL
| ways knew exactly where we were.
Sunday the two engineers recovered