Evening star., 1928-04-12
Bremen Skins Stone Wall In Taking
OF at Airdrome.

Bremen Skins Stone Wall In Taking
OF at Airdrome.
BALDONNEL AIRDROME. Irish
Free State, April IL NO.-Bearing the
aspirations of two nations for trans
atlantic flying honors, the silver gray
German monoplane Bremen sped west
ward today on what was hoped to be
the first spanning of the Atlantic from
east to west by airplane.
Essaying the same feat, seven av-
iators have lost their lives since last
May.
Terror-struck spectators watched tne
heavily laden plane speeding along the
After running 600 yards. the plane
took the air at 538 am. ti2:38 East
era standard .timel. The flight OF
some 5000 miles, II successful. is ex-
pected to terminate at Mitchell Field,
New York. early tomorrow afternoon.
Sighted by Coast Guard.
Two hours after the start the CAL
way Coast Guards saw the Bremen go
ing strong, well out over the Atlantic
and headed In q northwesterly direc-
tion. The coast guard saw the plane
passing over Costello. Galway, at
I.U9 AuI.s AhfAhS lAaSN4NA ItS 49,
miles between Baldonnel and that
point at the rate Of about 100 miles
an hour.
AT the controls were Capt. Herman
Koehl, German war flyer. and night
flying expert. and Col. James Fttx-
maurice, commandant OF the Free
State air force. who will alternate as
pilots at four-hour intervals. Behind
them sat Baron Ehrenfried Gunther
Won Huenefeld. his last pfennig staked
on this venture. during which he viii
man the fuel pump. cook and keep
the log.
Never had the plane been tested with
its fun load of 3,5o0 hters Of fuel and
its peculiar undercarriage until 1t
started up the sloping runway. Fifty
men armed with axes, hatchetS, crow
bars and FIRE extinguishers were or
dered to their stations along the runway
ready to jump into action should dls-
aster occur
Spectators. including President Cos
grave and other Free State notableS, had
a minute Of hee .t-breaking agony as the
Bremen made It's first mad rush along
the runway. The machine was shrouded
in a cloud Of dust, swirling from the
road behind the starting point. Up the
slope IL raced to the crest. at the
ouu-yhTQ HlAIh WlcIC II WAS mi
culated that IL should take the air.
Then the plane started careening down
the slope on the other side and disap-
peared from the view of watchers at
the starting point.
Spectators Frightened
Men who fly and men who know fly
ing were frightened, for failure to take
or meant a crash and almost certain
death for the trio incased In the all
metal machine.
AZ 600 yards, the Bremen's wheels
left the ground. The undercarrtage un-
der the tail whirled away like run
away cart. still the plane was barely
skimming the ground and roaring
along at 90 miles an hour toward a
stone wall at the end OF the airdrome.
Under the cool control of Capt,
Koehl, who had said that the take-otf
was one OF the most perilouS parts OF
the flight, the plane headed for a
breach made in the wall for the take
Oft. The Bremen shot through safely
IF the wall had not been demolished
the Bremen would have crashed | was
terrified" said Col. Charles Russell,
former chief of the Saorsat air force
and close friend of Fitxmaurice.
After seconds that seemed like hours
the silvered wings appeared above the
horizon and men, women and soldiers,
knowing the Bremen was In the air.
oheered wildly,
II was perfect flying weather A To-
mile wind helped the Bremen into the