The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1935-02-13
TWO MEMBERS OF
CREW ARE missing;
81 OTHERS SAVED
One or Two Of Gas Cells Burst
While Craft Was Nearing
California Base
FLEET COMES TO RESCUE
Commander Makes Futile At.
tempt to Save Ship; Exact
Cause Still Unknown
FLEET COMES TO RESCUE
Copyright, 1885, BY the Associated
PpAaRl

Copyright, 1885, BY the Associated
Press)
San Francisco, Feb. l3.-R-Ad-
ditional explanation Of why tho giant
navy dirigible Macon crashed into
the ocean off Point Sur, central Cal.
ifornia. was eagerly awaited Wednes-
day as three cruisers threaded
through the golden gate bearing the
81 survivors Of the airsl1ip disaster.
Two men are missing.
The last Of the navy's great dirigi-
bles, about which rumors Of sabotage
gathered at the time Of her coustruc-
ton, was beneath the waves Of the
Pacific. which was true to It's name
as Lieut.. Commander Herbert v.
Wiley and his men took to their rub
Der lifeboats by the light Of the Ma
cons last sunset Tuesday.
San Franciscos waterfront took on
new feeling Of excitement - the
cruisers Richmond, Concord, and Gin
cinnati with the survivors. entered
the bay.
Buses waited at pier II to take TIA
Macon's men back to 0unnyvale. her
base south Of here.
The tragic fate Of every Americana
made giant dirigible the navy has
possessed, overlook the queen 81 tho
skies as she neared her sunnyvalQ
base 1t sunset Tuesday night.
One or two OF her Il gas cells sudS
denly burst as she sped through
squally air and fog Ito miles south
Of San Francisco.
Crew In Rubber Lifeboats
The delicately balanced craft nosed
abruptly skyward and the immediate
efforts Of Lieut.. Commander Herbert
v. Wiley, skipper Of the Macon and
survivor Of the Akron disaster, to
balance the ship proved futile.
Under his orders the unmanAge.
able dirigible landed, stern first On
the water 10 miles off Point Sur. She
sank almost Immediately but her
crew had taken to rubber lifeboats
and all but two men were picked IN
by the cruisers Richmond, Conru0
and Cincinnati.
The exact fate Of the two missing
men-Radioman Ernest DALEY. North
Bend. Ore, and Florentino Edqdba,
Filipino mess sergeant-like the Gauss
Of the bursting cells, was not deter
mined. Daley presumably broke his
back in l25-foot leap from the ship
before it landed. Edquiba was last
seen aboard.
In the faint hope Of finding their
alive, cruiser division and the crui-
ser Milwaukee were directed to con-
tinue searching the waters off Point
Sur until noon. II they are not found
by then the hunt will be abandoned.
Two Of Crew Injured
Two injured men will b taken OF
the rescue cruisers by ambulances, Il.
! though their hurts are not serious.
The message requesting ambulances -
precautionary measure did not
identify the pair but previously Boat
swain,s Mate p. NJ. jackson was re-
ported internally injured.
Sunk IN $50 fathoms the wrecked
dirigible was total loss. The navy
contemplated no salvage plans.
It was the third. though least tragic
disaster to overtake great air5hips Of
the United States fleet. The Akron
crashed with . loss Of y lives April
I, 1888, and the Shenandoah eight
years earlier with . loss Of II Of her
crew.
II the two missing men are noa
found, the Macon crash will bring tc
$50 the number Of lives lost Ii tho IS
major dirigible crashes in the world
in the past q years.
The remarkably small loss Of Life
was attributed to naval discipline and
the presence OF ! score Of fighting
craft with which the Macon had
Unanswered off the California coast
for q day and half.
Continued on Page TWo)