I WILL BE LISTING MANY RARE AVIATION LOTS ---- THIS IS AN AMAZING LOT, RELATED TO WILLIAM (BILL) P. ODOM, ROUND THE WORLD FLIGHT, 1947. (From: 04/12/47 To: 04/16/47 (New York to New York, NY) Miles Flown: 20,000 miles Flying Time: 78H 55M 56S Plane Type: Douglas A-26 Invader Plane Name: Reynold's Bombshell Pilot Names: William P. "Bill" Odom & T. Carroll "Tex" Sallee as co-pilot Comments: Set new Round-the-World record. ) ----------------- INCLUDES 4 PHOTOS, 1 IS SIGNED BY BILL ODOM, 2 SIGNED BY TEXT SALLEE (CO-PILOT), -- ALSO CARD SIGNED BY "W.P. ODOM" WITH ILLUSTRATED AIRPLANE, --- ALSO ENVELOPE / COVER WITH 5c AIR MAIL STAMP POSTMARKED NEW YORK NY 4/16/1947, ILLUSTRATED CACHET "MILTON REYNOLDS, NAVIGATOR OF HIS REYNOLDS (DOUGLAS A26 BOMBSHELL ..." HAS LABEL ON BACK REGARDING FLIGHT. ALSO FOLDOUT FLYER FROM THE POST OFFICE DEPARTMENT 3/26/1947 WITH GREAT ILLUSTRATIONS ----- AMAZING COLLECTION, SEE STORY OF WILLIAM / BILL ODON BELOW, RARE !!!!!! SEE PHOTOS, NO RESERVE, Shipping and Handling is $3.00 if in US, or $6.00 Foreign , Paypal, Bidpay, money order, and personal check accepted. No Euros accepted. Items not registered or insured, are sent at buyers risk. All items over $100.00 must be registered or insured at buyers cost. ----------- William P. Odom was one of those people who, early on, knew exactly what they wanted with life. As a young lad, Bill was impressed with Wiley Post's flight around the world and his adult life would revolve around world flight. It has been said by a close friend and associate, that Bill was: 1) a meteorologist; 2) a navigator; and 3) a pilot. In 1938, Bill went to work for TWA as a radio operator and was sent to Amarillo, Texas. While stationed in Texas, he took flying lessons and received his private pilot's license. In 1939, he was transferred to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he enrolled in a meteorology school and graduated first in his class. After that, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force to gain more knowledge of meteorology which was his favorite subject. Being one of the first Americans to join the RCAF, he was enrolled in the flight training program and received his wings. Even though he was a pilot, he chose to go into navigation and did not do much piloting - opting to gain navigation experience, with the round the world flight in mind. Early in 1942, he joined American Overseas Export Airlines which ferried aircraft overseas. He started as a navigator but switched over as a pilot flying Liberators, Bostons and Hudsons, gaining a lot of flying time. Later in 1942, Bill joined the Air Transport Command and was attached to the 10th Air Force where he would gain much more valuable experience. He started in China and flew the Hump 102 times. He kept on changing theaters of operation flying the Orient, South America, Africa, India, London-Cairo and finally Japan when the war ended. Some time later, he left the service with the rank of Captain and went to work for CNAC, China's national airline, where he became acquainted with Don Bussart and they became good friends. He later worked for Sperry Gyro Corporation as a test pilot flying B-25s, DC-3s and C-54s. Bill also worked for the Chrysler Corporation as an executive pilot on DC-3s. He also flew flying boats on a New England to Caribbean route. Bill started to look for sponsors to finance his round the world flight and a friend suggested he contact Milton Reynolds - the ball-point pen king. Reynolds, one of the first to mass produce the ball-point pen, was enjoying tremendous success and making very large sums of money. In February 1947, after a few minutes of phone conversation, Bill was asked how soon he could get to Chicago to discuss the round the world flight! The meeting produced an agreement, but not the one Bill had in mind. Reynolds agreed to sponsor the flight but, being interested in publicity for himself, he insisted on being on the flight. Odom left the meeting with a check for $11,500 to buy an airplane. Noted for doing his homework, he knew exactly what airplane he wanted: A Douglas A-26 Invader. This aircraft had a large bomb bay which could contain extra fuel tanks while the Pratt & Whitney R-2800s were extremely reliable. An A-26 normally carried 1000 gallons of fuel, but Bill wanted to add another 1000 gallons to increase the aircraft's range. The Douglas engineers he contacted said if he added another 1000 gallons the airplane would not lift off. However, Bill flew the plane to Teterboro, New Jersey, where three tanks were installed to hold the additional fuel. The name Reynolds Bombshell was painted on the nose of the aircraft along with Little Willy, possibly the name of his son. Bill considered this flight a shake-down for his planned solo round the world flight. Bill Odom was listed as pilot, Tex Salee was navigator, and Milton Reynolds was the passenger. The flight was launched on 12 April 1947, from LaGuardia Field at 5:31 pm. Bill had no trouble lifting off with his full load of fuel - he really wasn't concerned about it as he was planning his next flight with even more fuel. He flew to Gander for the first stop. Approaching Gander, the autopilot failed and the plane had to be flown manually for the balance of the flight. From Gander they flew to Europe and on to Cairo where he made the only mistake of the trip by landing at a military airport instead of the municipal airport. He also blew a tire on landing, which caused a several-hour delay. The trio was greeted by government officials at the airports. Milton Reynolds showered them with many ball-point pens. These officials, in return, showered many expensive gifts on the crew such as wrist watches, Persian rugs and other items which they were unable to carry in the airplane. Bill and Tex took turns flying the airplane. While Tex was listed as navigator, Bill had his sextant with him and actually did all the navigating. Bill reportedly carried very few charts as he was well acquainted with global navigation. The American public, tired of the years of war news, was eager to hear news of the round the world trip. Newspapers carried large headlines of the flight's progress and it was estimated that up to 100-million people knew Bill Odom's name and were following his progress. The flight arrived back at LaGuardia on 16 April to a very large crowd - Bill Odom was now an American hero. Soon after the flight, Odom, Reynolds and Salee were invited to the White House where President Truman awarded each a citation. While Bill was pleased with the flight, he still wanted to do it solo. So he approached Reynolds and asked to use the plane for a solo attempt on the world record. Much to his surprise, Reynolds agreed. Bill arrived at O'Hare Airport on 4 August 1947. The solo attempt would takeoff and return to Chicago's O'Hare Airport - the decision to use O'Hare was based on the field's longer runways which Bill would need due to the extra fuel he was going to carry. In addition to the extra 1000 gallons of fuel, this flight would carry an additional 460 gallons for a total 2460 gallons of fuel - weighing 15,000 pounds. Early Warbird collector Earl Reinert said, "the tires were so flat from the extra weight that it looked like the wheel rims were touching the runway." A few hours before his departure, Bill walked over to where Earl was preparing his P-38 for the Bendix Race. Bill introduced himself to Jane Page, the very attractive pilot of the P-38. Jane had been a World War Two ferry pilot and knew about almost any military aircraft or Air Force base. During this conversation, Bill said he had entered a Republic YP-47M Thunderbolt (see Air Classics March 2002) in the Bendix Race and would see them at Van Nuys - the Bendix was just 23 days away. Bill taxied out, turning very slowly, to keep the tires from coming off the rims. He used all 6000 feet of runway to become airborne and as he passed over the first few streets he was less than 150 feet high. He headed north for Gander but, as he approached Gander, he started losing aileron control. He felt the only choice was to return to O'Hare and by the time he arrived back at O'Hare there was almost no aileron control left. An inspection found one aileron cable tom loose. He also discovered a disengaged carburetor heat linkage. This could have spelled disaster later in the flight. The repairs were made and the second attempt was launched - this time there were no mechanical problems. Bill's goal on this trip was to knock ten hours off his first flight time. To do this, Bill refused to eat or sleep while on the ground. The only sleep he managed to get was some short naps while on autopilot. This practice was almost his undoing - while flying near Edmonton, Canada, he woke up at 4000 feet looking up at a mountain only a few miles away. This shock kept him awake the rest of the way to O'Hare. The solo flight was accomplished in 73 hours, 5 minutes - a record that still stands today for piston-engine aircraft. It was now almost time for the Bendix so Bill went to Dallas where his P-47M was being prepared. Why a P47M? Again, Bill had done his homework. Living near the Long Island Republic plant, Bill visited the factory to discuss flying a P-47 in the Bendix which was rather fitting considering its predecessor, the P-35, won the Bendix no less than three times (one when flown by Jackie Cochran). What came out of the meeting was the selection of the P-47M. The M was a sprint version of the D, designed for maximum speed. Bill learned there were only 130 of these built and they were all left in Germany where they were cut up for scrap. This did not stop Bill from looking and one of the places he found some P-47s was Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. They had a large number of Thunderbolts standing on their noses but they were all earlier razorbacks. A closer look found one with a bubble canopy and, after checking paper work, he discovered it was a YP-47M-1, one of the prototypes. While it had no engine, the airframe was in good shape so Bill bought the plane and had it hauled to Dallas where an engine and prop were installed. Republic Aircraft was very interested in the project and they sent a team of mechanics to assist, as did Pratt & Whitney, Hamilton Standard, and General Electric. The teams, along with Dallas Aero's people, worked round the clock for 60 days to get the aircraft ready for the Bendix. The major modification was the loading of extra fuel. Normal gas capacity was a 270-gallon main tank and a 100-gallon reserve tank. The crew now puttied up the gun bays in the wings and squeezed in 125 gallons on each side. They also removed some of the structure back by the turbocharger and oxygen bottle area and fitted another 100-gallon tank. With over 700 gallons internally, Bill decided to add two 300-gallon drop tanks for a total fuel load of over 1300 gallons. All this work was done with an average daytime temperature of 108 deg to 115 deg Fahrenheit. When the work was completed, Bill tested the plane with a full load of fuel. It was 105 deg F that day and bets were being made that he wouldn't get it off the ground. To everyone's amazement he did - the Thunderbolt was a little sluggish, but it flew. Time was now running out and he had to get to Van Nuys, California. With about five minutes left before impounding time, Bill landed and all the pilots and crews rushed over to examine the first P-47 to enter the Bendix. Bill and Tex Salee were out early the next morning as Jane Page had special permission to leave early due to her entry in the Halle Race. When Bill and Tex went over to the P-47 they found it sitting in a 20-foot puddle of gas - the gun bay tanks in the wings leaked. In almost any other fighter he could have taken off with a fuel leak but not in a P-47, so he had to withdraw from the race. After some work the plane was flown back to Dallas Aero where it sat for some time. Earl Reinert was very interested in the Thunderbolt and found out Bill still owed $7000 for some of the modification work. Earl worked out a deal and purchased the P-47 to enter in the 1948 Bendix Race. Back in January 1947, Bill Odom was aware that the Boston Museum was going to mount a expedition to China to look for a lost mountain. This was based on the findings of British Brigadier General George Pereira, who probed the area in the Adanitcha Range. He told of a tremendous mountain that "towers over everything around." There was also a report filed by some P38 fighter pilots who said this mountain was higher than Mount Everest. Early in 1948, Odom approached the museum and worked out a deal with Milton Reynolds's help to carry out the expedition to China. With his knowledge of military aircraft, Odom found the ideal ship for the trip. It was the cargo version of the B-24 Liberator known as the C-87 Express. Three special versions of the basic C-87 were built: One for President Roosevelt, one for General Harmon who was lost in the Pacific Theater, and the other was at Enid Air Base, Oklahoma. The aircraft did not have a bomb bay but did have a lounge with Pullman seats and refrigeration plus many other comforts. Original cost of this aircraft was reported to be close to $100,000 and Odom was able to purchase it through a broker in Dallas for $4500. The C-87 Express was flown to Wright Patterson AFB and remained there for a month while cameras and other scientific instrumentation was put aboard. On the sides of the fuselage was painted Reynolds China Boston Museum Expedition. The US and Chinese flags were painted on the rudders. In early March, Odom, Salee, and Reynolds flew to Midway to pick up the scientists for the expedition. They then made their way to Lanchow, China, but by this time the aircraft developed some very serious gas leaks - leaking directly into the lounge area. The decision was made to return to the States for repairs. Leaving the scientists there, Odom flew the Express back to Los Angeles without radio. Because all electrical power had to be turned off, he used his sextant to navigate. The repairs were made in very short order with several crews working round the clock. The cost to re-putty the tanks was $11,000. Convinced all leaks were repaired, they flew back to Shanghi, China. Now this was April 1948, about the time the communists were moving rapidly from the north and taking over China. On several flights they were joined by Chinese P-63 Kingcobras. The Chinese Government now insisted the flight carry a Chinese navigator to ensure they did not fly where they did not have permission. More and more Chinese scientists wanted to be part of this expedition. Only years later, in a book written by Leonard Clark, was it revealed that the Chinese Government and other scientists felt there was radioactive ore in the mountains being sought and that some of the instruments on board the aircraft were, in fact, Geiger counters. Finally, the day came when all equipment and personnel were loaded aboard and the plane rolled down the runway at Peking. About 300 feet down the runway, the right landing gear collapsed and the ship ground to a halt. At this time, Reynolds said, "That's it! This expedition is over." This made the Chinese Government rather unhappy, to say nothing of the scientists. Odom also thought it was the end of the Liberator Express, but Tex Salee, who was one of those individuals who could do just about anything, recruited a large group of Chinese. In a few hours, with the aid of some telephone poles and some shoring, the Chinese lifted the wing, Tex lowered the gear and drove the down lock in with a sledge hammer. Odom was called back to the aircraft where Tex Salee suggested they fly it to a field in Shanghai on three engines. This field had been used during the war and there were a number of Liberators there that were not flying which had good props, so it was no problem getting another prop. About the time they finished installing the prop and repairing the gear, the aircraft was surrounded with military police vehicles with machine guns. The Chinese Government decided they were not to leave the country until the situation was resolved. Being convinced the landing gear incident was sabotage, they felt it was a good idea to get out of the country. Knowing that even if they did takeoff they could not get far on the aboard fuel, so they convinced the police the airplane had to be refueled while the decision process was going on. Luckily, Reynolds had a good supply of ball-point pens left and he was able to trade pens for gas. Several days later, the airplane was still under armed guard but Reynolds talked the police into leaving for a short while to pick up a large supply of pens (anyone with a ball-point pen in China in 1948 had to be considered important). As soon as the military vehicles left, Odom started the Liberator and went roaring down the runway with the police shooting in their general direction but the plane was not hit. The Chinese Air Force was sent out to intercept them but Odom flew at 200 feet or less over the water and managed to elude the fighters. They made it to Okinawa and then flew on to Honolulu. In Honolulu, Odom, who had not been paid for any part of this trip, asked Reynolds for what was owed him. Reynolds responded by signing the Liberator Express over to Odom. Reynolds was now in a lot of trouble for abandoning the expedition and the Chinese Government was after him, our government was after him for passport violations, plus some discrepancies in his pen company surfaced. As a consequence, Reynolds went to Mexico where he stayed for years. Odom went back to the States and later sold the Liberator to Johns Manville. In January 1949, Odom went to work for Beech Aircraft Company in the sales department. Beech Bonanzas were not selling too well in the post-war recession and the company was looking for a promotion to stimulate sales. Bill Odom came up with the idea of a long distance flight in a Bonanza: Honolulu to Teterboro, New Jersey, non-stop. The Model 35 Bonanza assigned to Bill for the flight was the fourth one built. Flown by the engineering department for three years, it had been equipped with a remote control system to do dive and other engineering tests. The modifications for the trip were to add a 126-gallon fuel tank in the cabin and two 62-gallon wing tip tanks. The airplane, registered N80040. was named Waikiki Beach. On 12 January, Bill took off from Hickam Field, Hawaii, bound for Teterboro Airport. Bill made it as far as Reno, Nevada, but ran into bad weather and elected to land in Oakland, California. Bill, being one not to give up, returned to Hawaii and started his second attempt on 7 March. Takeoff weight was 3850 pounds, which was 50 percent more than the 35's maximum gross weight. Weather was not a factor and 36 hours later Bill landed at Teterboro and set a new world record. Fuel consumption was only 7.5 gallons per hour and total cost of gasoline and oil was $75. Bill was welcomed at Teterboro by the media and a large crowd of admirers. All his records were official, as listed by the National Aeronautic Association. Bill Odom, at age 29, held six post-war speed and distance records. He later flew the Bonanza on a nationwide tour and it was later on display, at the 1949 Cleveland National Air Races. Waikiki Beach was then donated to the Smithsonian, where it is currently on display. THE RACE Having arrived in Cleveland, newsmen wasted no time in seeking out Jackie and Odom for comments. Jackie said the new plane was streamlined and altered especially for racing, but did not have sufficient range for the Bendix, "Consequently we decided to enter it in the Thompson." She said she could not fly it as the Thompson was restricted to men only but Jackie indicated the plane's fuel capacity would be increased to permit her to reenter the Bendix next year. Cochran came in third in the 1948 Bendix, only two minutes behind Paul Mantz. Bill Odom told newsmen he planned on winning both the Bendix and the Thompson Trophies. He stated he would fly one of Paul Mantz's P-51s in the Bendix. However, that agreement had not yet been finalized. Odom also told newsmen he tried to buy Beguine but Jackie had been successful. He went on to tell newsmen "all" the race pilots were complaining about the change in the race course and they should have been given a year's notice before changing the course. Odom stated his aircraft was designed for a four-pylon, 90-degree turn circuit. "High-speed turns at any angle are tiring and the more pylons there are, the greater the chance to miss one." It is interesting to note: That after Ben McKillen won the 105-mile Tinnerman Race, he stated he felt 60-years-old. The Cleveland News aviation editor had this to say: "COURSES AT AIR RACES DESIGNED TO PLEASE ALL." He went on to write that race course layouts for the 1949 NAR would bring joy to the hearts of pilots, spectators, and the thousands of residents within several miles of Cleveland airport. Instead of the customary quadrangular layout, the 15-mile course would be a seven-sided affair, each side about 2.7 miles long. "Spectators will see more, and residents in the outlying communities will like it because they will not be harassed by the thundering roar of engines overhead. This new course passes over open territory and misses completely all populated areas." The CAA inspector said after flying the course: "It's the best looking race course I ever saw." The newspapers reported all pilots praising the new course while Bill Odom predicted the winning speed of the Thompson to be 440 to 450 mph. Anson Johnson predicted a winning speed of 405 mph. Odom went on to say, "it would be necessary only to dip the left wing a little to make the turns which are much less sharp than last year." Anson Johnson's comment about the course was, "the speed of the aircraft went down about 40 mph at each turn last year, the loss on the turns should be only half as much on the new course." At this point, Odom stated he definitely would not fly the Bendix Race. When Odom arrived in Cleveland, he was asked what he knew about pylon racing and his reply was, "Not a darn thing, but I intend to learn a lot between now and Labor Day." He also reportedly told pilot Nick Jones and other pilots that he had never been inverted in an aircraft. Jackie must have been aware of his lack of racing experience as she asked Benny Howard to develop the race strategy. Benny and Maxine Howard spent considerable time recuperating from their Mr. Mulligan crash injures at Jackie's ranch and perhaps Benny was repaying the favor. Mike Murphy, the starter of the Thompson Trophy Race, stated there was talk that the airplane was not cornering correctly. This may be supported by the fact that Bill asked Murphy's advice on several occasions. He wanted to know what was he doing wrong in the pylon turns. Bill talked to Mike a lot that week and Mike was convinced Bill was under considerable pressure. He wanted to make good for Jackie and other people as opposed to making a name for himself. The Sohio Trophy Race was run on Saturday and Bill won it at 388.4 mph After the race, J.D. Reed and Walter Beech spoke to Odom and reported he seemed visibly shaken although he said he was okay! Monday was Labor Day, the day of the Thompson and some people reported Bill as very nervous if not, in fact, very frightened. Just before the big race, the Harrington DC-3 was towed out to runway 36 to enable Benny Howard to talk to Bill by radio during the race. The plan was for Odom to move into third place and not turn on the radio till the ninth lap. At the end of the tenth lap, he was to move into first place and Benny would give him the position of the other racers. The racers were lined up and the engines were started. Mike Murphy reported Odom missed the pilot's briefing, but Mike was able to give him instructions while he was removing his shoes and donning his slippers and parachute. Murphy said he was too nervous to talk. Bill was certainly not the only one nervous before the start of the big race. Murphy held the flag for about 30 seconds but that was the best he could do as the race was being carried by the radio network. Steve Seville in the Galloping Ghost stated he was off third or fourth and Odom was right behind him. As they flew the first lap, Odom tried to pass Beville early on but with the seven-pylon course they were turning almost constantly and Odom was in "tight formation" on Steve's right side but not able to get around him. This went on for a couple of pylons and then Steve lost sight of Bill and wondered where he was. To his amazement, Bill came up in front of Steve. He had gone under him. As they turned home pylon ending lap one, Steve was right behind Bill and they flew to the number two pylon close together. Steve made the turn at number two, and rolled out looking to his left he saw Odom still in the turn. His first thought was that he was lining up for pylon number four. He was now inside the race course, then he made a sharp right bank but, instead of leveling out, Beguine continued to roll till it was inverted. By now the nose was down and the airplane went right into the roof of a house. Steve then saw the fire. Back in the DC-3, Benny Howard saw the leaders approaching home pylon for lap number three and shouted, "Where the hell is Odom?" A few seconds later he saw the smoke billowing up south of the airport and surmised what had happened. He left the DC-3 and went to the race office. The house the airplane crashed into was located in the suburb of Berea. This was a brand-new house, the Bradley Laird family had moved in the preceding Wednesday. Bradley Laird had been promoted by the paper company he worked for and was offered a new position in the Cleveland area. He and his wife Jennie picked out the house on a visit to the area on 4 July. The Lairds had two children, David 5 and Greg 13 months. Bradley, Jennie and David moved in on Wednesday and Jeanne's dad Benjamin, who had been keeping little Greg during the move, arrived with the baby on Saturday. Ray Novak, who lived across the street from the crash scene told the author that Bradley was outside the house watering some newly planted flowers while David was riding his bike, little Greg was in his play pen in front of the garage and Benjamin was close by. Jeanne was working in the house as she was more interested in her new home than the air race. Ray had invited a friend and family to watch the race from his yard. The friend and his wife had a young child and just before the race started they put the child on the couch in the living room for a nap. The adults went outside to watch the race. Ray had a good-sized barn at the rear of his property and he climbed on top to get a better view, as the course was not directly over their house. From Ray's vantage point he saw the racers approaching for the second lap and noticed Odom's plane round number two pylon and come farthey east of the other racers. Then Ray saw the airplane roll over on its back and then, when it was a couple of houses behind the Laird house, he saw the nose come down and the airplane dove into the garage. Remembering his wife and guests were somewhere in his yard, he quickly came down and ran to the front yard. What he saw was a landing gear with the tire on fire on his front porch (this porch was only a few feet from where the child was sleeping inside the house). He was able to push the gear off the porch and put the fire out with a garden hose. While he was doing this, he saw a woman's shoe and a lot of debris on the lawn and thought his wife had been killed. Mrs. Novak was in the neighbor's yard, both her legs were cut by flying debris but she was otherwise unhurt. Across the street, an off-duty Berea policeman, Jerome Kobie, was watching the race from the lot next to the Laird's. Several cars stopped in the street and he asked them to keep moving. As he turned to go back, he saw the racer impact the garage. A few seconds later, he saw Mrs. Laird's father carrying the infant Greg, trying to remove the child's burning clothing. He rushed over to help, removed his shirt and wrapped up the child. Kobie immediately ran into the street, stopped the next car and asked the driver to rush them to Memorial Hospital. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain as the child died later that evening. The grandfather, who was also burned, survived. Jeanne Laird, who was not interested in the race, was inside the house. Her body was found in the bathroom. Although not burned, she was killed instantly. Bradley Laird and his son David were not injured. Within a short time, the crowd grew to an estimated 7500 and would remain there till about 3 am. The Berea police were pressed to handle such a large crowd and the Ohio National Guard was brought in to assist. Fred Crawford was shocked by the Odom tragedy and could not discuss the matter. The Berea Fire Department did a remarkable job of putting out the fire in a short time. Bill Odom's body was taken to Columbus, Mississippi, where he was buried with full military honors. Don Bussart who flew a de Havilland Mosquito in the 1949 Bendix Race later revealed plans that he and Bill planned to race the Mosquito against the Reynolds Bombshell around the world sometime soon after the 1949 National Air Races. After the funeral of his wife and son, Bradley Laird had his company transfer him to Indianapolis, Indiana. There were many eyewitnesses to the crash and here is what a few of them had to say: CAA observers at number two pylon reported Odom banked his plane 60 degrees when he should have banked only 35 to 40 degrees at most. When he rolled the racer back on course the ship flipped over on its back and dove into the ground. The Cleveland News travel editor lived a long block from the crash scene. While watching the race, someone said to him, "Look! There's one of the planes off its course and it's coming right here!" The editor wrote, "I saw a streak of silver light, the plane was zig-zagging and seemed to be trying to make a sharp right-hand turn. It appeared to be just above the housetop. As I watched, the plane went completely sideways, one wing was pointed toward earth and the other toward the sky. There was a convulsive jerk as though the pilot was trying to right his craft; then it turned completely over and was upside down. By this time it seemed only a few feet away. So near the earth was the plane that it disappeared in sort of a passage-way between houses on Beiler and Franklin Street. Then I heard a soft ploosh that sounded as though someone had dropped a huge stack of water on the pavement. I felt the earth shake, almost immediately over the houses I saw the smoke and flame. I waited for an explosion; I guess the ploosh I heard was the noise I expected." It is interesting to note that only one shingle was torn off the house next to the Lairds.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
