Evening star., 1941-09-02
.FerryPIane
.IsLost With
7 Americans
Six Passengers and
Four Crew Members
Feared Dead
BY the Associated Press.


LONDON, Sept. 1.-Two Amer
leans and Count Guy de Ballet
Latour. son of the chairman OF
the international Olympic Com
mittee. Count Henri de Ballet
Latour, were among 10 persons
aboard transport plane of the
r. A. F. ferry command given ur
for lost today by the Air Min
iStry.
The ferry command at first an
nounced that the Olympic officia
himself was aboard the plane, but
the Belgian Embassy later confirmed
that it was the son, who is assistant
military attache of the Belgian EN-.
bassy in London and son-in-law OF
James Clement Dunn, political ad-
visor to United States Secretary oi
State Cordell Hull.
On Mission In Washington.
Count Guy had been in Washing
ton on a mission as member OF the
staff of the minister of colonies OF
the emigre Belgian government. His
father still is in England.
The Americans were Capt. S. Pick
ing of the United States Navy, a
passenger, and Flight Engineer
Charles Alvan Spence of Little Neck
Long Island, member of the crew
The plane left North America
presumably Canada yesterday for
England. In announcing that the
craft was missing today the Air
Ministry said the next OF kin OF
those aboard had been informed.
One of the passengers on the plane
was DR.. Mark Benjamin of Wembley
England, of the Central Scientific
ONCE in Washington.
Others on Plane.
Others aboard were:
Passengers:
Prof. r. Mowst. Bristol, British
Library of Information.
E. Taylor. Marlborough. Hamp-
shire, England, principal technical
officer, British Air Ministry.
Col. L. H. Wrangham, Imperial
Army.
The crew:
Capt. Kenneth Garden, Google
Sydney, Australia.
First Officer Geoffrey L. Panes
Tonbridge, Kent, England.
Radio Offcer Samuel Walter Sy.
denham, Edmonton, Alberta.
Prof. Mowat had been in the
United States as visiting professor
at several colleges under a Carnegie
Institute plan, and had addressed
the Canadian Institute on Public
Affairs at Geneva Park, Lake
Ccuchiching. Ontario, just before
leaving for England.
Two Previous Fatal Crashes.
The ferry command, whose air.
men fly new American-made bomb.
ing planes to Britain and bring fly
ers to the American side of the ooear
for more. suffered two serious
crashes recently which took a tol
of A lives, including those of II
Americans.
On August 10 a plane taking of
from England for North America
returning pilots for new assign
ments. crashed and killed %, in.
cluding 7 Americans. Four days late
in an almost identical accident
second returning plane crashed ant
burned, killing another %, includ
ing II Americans.
Planes flying to England. such al
the one lost today, frequently carr,
important British and American
passengers, including Army ant
Navy officers, diplomats and distin
guiShed visitors to England.
Capt. Sherwood Picking. who hat
been ordered to London as assistan
naval attache, had been on duty IL
the office of the chief Of naval opera
tions, in Washington, since May IL
l94l. A resident of Falmouth Fore
side. Portland. Me, Capt. Picking
was born at Baltimore in 1890.
He is the son Of Rear Admira
Henry Forty Picking. After beinl
graduated from the Naval Academ!
in 1911, he served on the U. S. S
North Dakota until 1918. He com
manded several submarines in th'
Asiatic feet until 1917.
Awarded Navy Cross.
He was awarded the Navy Cros
with a citation during the Worlt
War when he served as commando
of the submarine O-10. In 1922 h,
returned to Washington, where n
was placed in command of the Aero
nautical Test Laboratory. The fol
lowing year he was on duty at thu
Portsmouth IN. HI Navy Yard.
After two years in the Bureau
of Ordnance here he was given com
mand of a destroyer in 1929, and II
(See FERRY, Page A-50