The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1928-12-07

Today Major Smith tells Of
fighting flames in a mail plane
more than a mile high.
Fire is the most treacherous and
the most feared foe Of the airmail
pilots.
! Before the days of modern planes
largely of metal, the menace wa.
ever present and many Of the airmai
! pilots have gone blazing to theil
deaths on aerial pyres.
One of the narrowcst escapes
which Major Wesley L. Smith, one
OF the original armail pilots and
now superintendent of the New York
Chicago division Of the National Ali
Transport company, airmail contrac.
tors, ever had was when he fought
blazing gasoline fire 5000 feet ir
the air.
That was when he was plotting
one Of the famous Junkers metal
planes between Chicago and New
York. The planes, built in Germany
after the war. had been bought by
the airmail service. and were hailed
by the pilots as the first planes ir
which they felt safe from fire. But
they soon found they had misjudged
them. These planes became their
flaming coffins.
Smith left Chicago August 81
1920, and his co-pilot, E. M. Haight
now an inspector with the Depart
ment Of Commerce, riding as relief
in the cabin.
Attire 5000 Feet Up
I'VE were breezing along, with q
good tail wind at 5000 feet, when
suddenly the motor quit" Smith
says. "Those motors had caused
plenty Of trouble. They burned ben
zol, and as that fuel ate rubber hose
connections, metal connections were
necessary. These repeatedly had
broken under the strain of the mo.
tors vibration.
when the motor quit, I assumed
one OF the connections had burst
shut off the fuel supply.
"As ! did so a binding flash of
flame shot up through the floor.
boards Of the cockpit, beneath which
the motor was housed. It was the
first burst of burning oil and benzol
IN the chamber about the engine"
When the flames burst through
the flooring Smith had to do some
quick thinking. Two tanks lay be.
tween him and the flames, one OF
water, the other of oil. He knew
It the flames reached the oil supply
it meant the end for him and foI
Haight, too.
Dives at Terrific Speed
The plane had dual controls, with
two pilots seats in the cockpit
Smith was in the left seat. Hi!
salvation lay in throwing the flame:
away from the fuel tank, and letting
them burn out.
$50 ! threw the plane into a side.
slip to the right" he continued
THAT forced the flames away from
the fuel tank and against the waite,
tank in front Of me. They swept
over my hands, my face and m,
body, but l hung to the controls.
had to: or it was curtains for bott
Of US"
| The plane shot down like a plum.
met. The air speed indicator circlet
higher and higher. passed $50 mile.
m hour and then broke. The flam.
ing plane must have hit 200 miles n
hour in that fierce downward dive
Then after what seemed an etern
ity, the flames died down. Smith
glanced 1T the altimeter, saw he hat
fallen to 1000 feet and was still
diving straight toward earth.
Lands in Corn Field
4 tried the controls to bring tn.
plane out Of the dive, but to n,
avail" he went on. "They flappe.
helplessly in the vacuum created b,
the planes fall. Then ] tried tn,
ailerons. They responded and q
the plane turned into . spin tn,
other controls took hold. l the1
Strengthened the plane into stee1
glide.
"Close below me lay corn fields