The story of their fight from Shanghai {0 the spot_where they crashed Is told by Domei telegrams Which poured into Shanghai from Kagoshima, "Tokyo and Kochi (throughout the evening. First fears for their safely was felt at 3:30 pin. When" they asked the Kagoshima Wireless Station for radio bearings. They witelessed:—"Plying at a height of twenty metres above the sea, almost touch ing the waves. Visibility zero. Please advise where we are fying.
Kagoshima immediately said, that oilier radio stations. would be asked {o send out signals so that the French aviators could determine their posi tion. These efforts, however, were unsuccessful, and an hour later contact with the plane ended. For two hours, Japanese radio stations along the Kyushu Const and even as far west as the southern coast of Korea tried in vain to re-establish contact.
At 5.50 pin. the Nagasakai Tadio Station sent out a general alarm to all stations andyships at sea in the vicinity of Tsushima Straits, An unconfirmed message from the Nanahhatsu Tsland Lighthouse reported the plane in the neighbourhood of Futago Island, off the Korean coast, shortly atlerward Ten minutes later, the Fukuoka Airways" Radio Station established contact with the aviators once more and they were able to obtain radio beacon signals.. The machine was be-Neved to" be heading safely for Fukuoka, when at 620 pin, it sent out SES, signals.
Bayard.
They Anally tock off from Fort Bayard at 348 am. on May 26, determined to get through to Shanghai no matter how bad the Weather was. Conditions grew worse Jand worse after Foochow, but "we Dressed on despite all dificultios." Asked if, despite the reports of bad weather: ahead, they would go on, hho said they would, "Only two things would stop them, the knowledge that they could not reach 'Tokyo within the' time-limit, or—and he shrugged hig. shoulders.
By nine o'clock. a large crowd had already gathered at the Lunghwa Aerodrome, and grew larger with every passing minute, as car after ear drew up to deposit its load of passengers, mostly members of the Tocal French community. As the minutes ticked near to 10 o'clock, the excitement grew keener, until even kite going up on the horizon was heralded as M, Doret's plane.
'A shout wont up as a minute two before 10 oclock, the speedy monoplane appeared over the air~ field. It circled once, Tanded, and taxied up into the thick of the crowd which, although very orderly and "chaperoned" by a large body of Chinese police, almost threatened to mob the flyers at times as they got Out of the cockpit.
Practically everyone wanted to shake hands with them, but this was fan honour reserved only to such high officials ax Admiral Lo Bigot, M. M-Baudez, " French Consul-General, Lieut-Col, L. Perretier, Commandant L, Fabre, and Father Lejay, general director of Zikawei " Observatory. farmed with a whole batch of weather reports and charts.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.