New Britain herald., 1927-08-20
DOLE RESCUE PLANE
 JOINS LOST RANKS
tContinued from First Page)

5:57.: We are now about to have supper Will call you again after supper,
 6:05 p. m.; Please tell the gentle man who furnished our lunch that it is fine. but we can't find the toothp hpicks-Bill.
 7:10 D. m.: Have seen no wreck age or anything that might be either of the ones We are looking for.
 Forced From Dole Flight
 Captain Erwin took the Dallas Spirit out last Tuesday as starter in the Dole race. but he was forced back to Oakland with a torn fuse lage, caused by the ripping of the canvas bordering a window on the fuselage bottom. He made repairs and put out yesterday to fly zig gag course to Honolulu in quest of his unheard from competitors in the race.
 All day long he and his navigator entertained an audience on both sides of the Pacific with their run- ming fire of radio messages telling of their position and activities in the plane.
 That the plane might continue in the air with it's radio set out of or der was considered possible when the experience of Ernie Smith, pilot, and Emory Bronte, navigator, on an aerial cruise to Honolulu recently, was recalled. After they had flashed an SOS message indicating they were going into the sea, their radio set went dead due to the loss Of the antenna, but they were able to reach an Island in the Hawaiian group as their gasoline supply was exhausted.
 At Fort 'Shafter, near Honolulu, the same message as that received here was picked up by Naval Ra- ,io station with slight variations. This variation was thought to be on account of the difficulty in reading the Dallas Spirits signals at so great distance from the Hawaiian Islands.
 No Receiving Set
 The Dallas Spirit was not equipped with a radio receiving set. At the start of the flight tho Radio Corpor- ation of America broadcast re- quest to all ships to report the pas sing of the plane.
 To communicate with Captain Erwin, vessels were instructed dur ing daylight to display two flags at foremast if radio signals from the Dallas Spirit were heard. It these signals were not heard the signal was to be one flag.
 Surface craft were asked to com municate with the plane by Morse blinker at night, using the letter M" in case the planes transmitting set was heard and the letter ''T'' if the plans radio was silent.
 San Francisco. Aug. 20 P1At o:o2 D. m. last night the Dallas Spirit, flying between Oakland and Honolulu flashed an s o s. call and said the plane was in tail spin. The radio then discontinued opera ton.
 The message said:
 "9:02 p, m. We went into tail spin-S o .S.-Relay that-We came out of it, but were sure scared. It was a close call. We thought it was all off, but we came out of it. The lights on the instrument board went out and it was so dark that Bill couldn't see the-we are in spin S o g."
 The plane was 5o2 nautical miles from San Francisco when the mes sage was sent.
 May Be In Air.
 Although the last of the messages said IS O s. radio experts pointed out that there was possibility that the Dallas Spirit might still be in the air. having snapped out of the tail spin within short distance from the water. As the dropping radio antenna was 250 feet in length i, would go out as soon as if touch ed water
 Relay Call to Ship
 The naval radio station in san Francisco and the Radio Corpora ton of America immediately relayed inc 70 S. of the Dallas Spirit to all ships at sea.
 The nearest vessels to the plans last known position were the de- .Stroyers Corry. Sumner. Farenholt and La Vallette and the Watson liner Maui, outward bound from san Francisco to Honolulu.
 Naval radio was advised that all these vessels had immediately start ed under forced draught to the res cue of the plane. their searchlights playing over the water in an effort 10 get a glimpse of the Dallas Spirit in the darkness.
 The plane had been in the air ap proytmately six hours and 50 mln- utes when the s o $. call was re- ceived. An hour before tho radio signals from the f1iers ceased they reported it was getting dark and we appar- ently will not be able to see much until morning" Earlier in tho flight the crew of the Dallas Spirit had reported sight ing several steamers, including the Mana, which they passed 240 miles from San F'raicisco. The Mana messaged the Federal Telegraph company that the Dallas Spirit passed near ship. flew around, then changed course for Honolulu"
 Game close" the steamer wire lessed Seems to be going fine. W" got some pictures of him.
 At 5:1l p. m. just after passing the Mana, the niers messaged:
 We might pick up the squadron Of destroyers before dark, but that depends on their speed
 When notified that the steamship Maui was a53 miles southwest of the Dallas Spirit, Capt. C. W. Saunders,