Evening Star Newspaper, September 10, 1930, Page 10

JUMP Attack on Bomber Results| in Collision and Wrecked ¢ Two SE-5s. West Point Classmates i Saved by Parachutes as Staff Officers Look On. BY DON GLASSMAN. AJ. HORACE M. HICKAM of “the War Plans Division, Army General Staff, sat back in his swivel chair, sanguine-faced, |* and said with urbanity: “You want the whole story?” “All of it,” I replied. For a while he smoked in silence. In blue fumes he saw re-enacted the mem- orable events that intruded in his life on the afternoon of May 10, 1926, at the Tactical Training School, Langley Fleld, Va. “That day,” he began, “we were stag- ing our annual bombing and machine m matches and an air parade. About people—General Staff officers, field personnel and a few civillans—had come to see us perform. “The sky was clear blue and flying weather good. “Maj. Harold Geiger and I flew sepa- rate ships in & sham battle. Now, the typical nine-ship formation is made up of ‘attacks’ ‘supports’ and ‘reserves.’ We practiced on three Martin bombers, using an echelon formation, which is three ships arranged in a triangle. Playing to the Crowd. “ ‘Spike’—that's what we called Maj. Geiger—led the attack group. I was No. 2 in the support. We flew the old British pursuit planes, relics of war days, powered with 180-horsepower ‘Wright engines that drove a ship 110 miles per hour. “Each of the three elements was to fly 15 miles from the airdrome and re- assemble over the point of departure. “Spike's echelon intended to make the first attack. The supports were to protect his rear until he had ‘fired’ on the enemy bombers. We were also to rotect his group when it would turn il and attempt to escape. “My formation hopped off on sched- ule. We flew out of sight, then headed back for the airdrome. Coming over the fleld, our rendezvous, Spike's echelon was nowhere to be seen. We thought he was late in hopping off and hadn’t my echelon. spotted my' target, a great, lum- bomber. “There's one safe way to attack a bomber and that’s to sit right under Birth beneath my target’s uselage and my '8 an as peacefully as a b A Streaking Comet. From a corridor of clouds Spike’s over the horizon. In a : No.8—The H. M. Hickam, who survived the collision with THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON. D. Tales From the Caterpillar Club Bomber Attack. 's plane. Geiger’ Joined the Caterpillar Club when his plane —United States Army Air Corps Photos. rolling feet and zoom shead and away before the ungainly battleship could maneuver to fire her guns. Spike flew with the sun at his rudder, as every trained attacker flies. It is the best of the sky to come out of, because glare blinds observers and masks the approach of an echelon. His two com- panfons spread behind him, right and left and lagged while their leader ini- tiated battle. s Tt IS, 2 5 r eveilng out at. bottom of his dive. His air-speed point- er In the interim it required to travel several hundred yards, he first detected SE-5, sister to his own, couched beneath the bomber's hovering wing. The picture startled him; before the vision was ptTrly sensed, he would be directly upon . 8 sudden jar,” continued Maj. Hickam. “With the roar ‘bombers, the whirl of my moter, col- of wings and fuselage and clash of another ship behind, the noise was deafening. “My brain snapped into aétion like an exploding shell. Its operation was de- 1 ite; s0 cool, in fact, that I be- came exasperated, and tried to hurry it, to command faster action from my A I moved too slowly. The impression of myself as I unbuckled my safety belt and prepared for the Jumg was that of a slow motion film, I watched my hands do things with icy certainty. They didn’t make the least rush. “My sluggishness caused me much worry. I kept saying to myself, ‘Now! Move! Hurry! Don't stall’’ Despite this coaxing, they refused to hurry. Higher instinct guided them apparently. I must have lost voluntary control. I just sat back and watched myself. “Spike’s propeller chewed through elevators and rudder and then througl the rear end of the fuselage,” went on Hickam. “It was only 4 my head when his slipped & notch and sawed into my right lower wing. He had borne down hard on the stick, and his ship answered with a steep dive. ‘That was superb maneuvering on Spike's part. “Now, I tell you about mishaps on the rear end of my plane as if I had seen these things happen. As a matter Week-Enfd Specials o] Thrifty Housewives THURSDAY—FRIDAY—SATURDAY Marion Flip-Flop Toasters Proctor Automatic Irons $7.75. a wide heat range. Set the dial for Silk, ‘Wool, Cotton or Linen and the exact ironing heat is automatic- ally and constantly maintained. Regular $3.75 Value SPECIAL, $2.95 (Cash Only) Electric Heaters - $7 to $9 Just.the thing to take off the chill on the frosty mornings soon to come. 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His lier might have bored into my ad and I wouldn't have known it. “His right upper wing hitting my r:ght lower wing made a tremendous jar, and on first glance out of the ship I saw my right wing fold up like a plece of l;‘::deregr HEen. . “The controls were X “ talked to myself: ‘This ship isn't safe any more.” Then 1/began to ad- vise myself what to do: ‘Don't pull the ring until you're out'—I was afraid of | hitting the tail group, as I didn't realize it had been sliced off. Reading my altimeter, Ijknew I had plenty of time for a safe jump. “The ship was dead to everything I could do. She continued ahead on an even keel, almost without change in course. But she couldn’t continue fiy- without a tail. | g Yitle less than 3000 feet she | whipstalled—changed course -bruptlyi and nosed down almost at right angles | to the ground. That made her (:0(.:k|:ilhl horizontal.” | Maj. Hickam shifted his limbs and held them flexed, ready to eject his body. He had sensed that the only possibility of leaving the cockpit was to dive. Already his upper half leaned | into space. It should be easy to drop off. Caught by the 'Chute. Meanwhile, hundreds of spectators looked up, invoking prayers for the pilots. They were too absorbed to move or cry out. They heard an explosive thud, followed by“a rain of white linen. And they saw one plane whipstall. “I shut my eyes and pushed my toes | against the footboard” went on Maj. Hickam. “A moment later, coming to, | I was amazed to find myself still in the cockpit. I hadn't budged. The fuse- | lage had been crushed and I was im- prisoned in it. “The tank spouted gasoline like a park fountain and made me fear a fire. I primed myself for a second attempt to get out. With all my might I tried to spting. Again something gripped me fast. It was the time to take quick stock. I kept saying to myself, ‘Don’t touch the ring until you are clear of the tail group.’ “T got one foot on the seat, and with all the strength I could collect I strained and pulled. I spared nothing. I threw every atom into that effort. At last! Something gave. Dropping off after that was simple. “I found later what had happened. Some projection had caught my para- chute ripcord housing and imprisoned me. When I strained it stretched the cable, which is wound in a spiral. My last heave pulled it out three feet | longer than its ordinary length. The First Deep Breath. “Just as I cleared the plane some- thing gave me a terrific jolt. I took this to be a gentle salute from the tail group, and I cussed myself roundly for doing what I warned myself not to do. I thought I was going down with my ¢, . Unconsciously I kicked, trying myself from the wreckage, which was only imaginary. “My wrist pained where it had been burned by the exhaust pipe. I tised myself for having made a con- founded mess of everything. I hadn't followed my own advice. “When I looked up a sudden lump choked' my throat. “The ’chute was open! “I couldn't believe it. Then I re- called—the supposed whack from the tail zrour had been merely a jerk of my opening umbrella. How it opened I didn’t know. I took no pains about it then. I hadn't pulled the ring—it wds still in the pocket. And I was sitting in' my parachute swing, vaguely curious as to how it had happened. “Between my knees I watched my plane sink in & whirlwind of spins, then crash with a big thud. The motor buried itself five feet in the ground. “I took my first deep breath since the collision. I began to look at the earth. Removing my goggles, I prepared for landing. “When 1 heard Spike's plane crash and located the wreck I was sure I had |been in a collision. Failing to see the other pilot, I surmised he had been unable to get out and had been killed. Man-Slicing Blades. “I felt sad, despite my own success in | coming out alive.” Had Maj. Hickam peered through the | vent in the parachute dome, he would | have seen Geiger floating complacently above him. But an event more startling commanded his attention. The rollision had occurred directly above the port. About a dozen ships were in flight, avhile three bombers stood on the fleld with propeller, spinning in readiness for a take-off, “Here I was,” recalled the Caterpillar, “heading directly for those man-killing blades! “I heard hundreds of throats yelling and crying at me. I couldn’t make out what they said because I couldn't give them attention. “Those propellers terrorized me. How I hated to side-slip the shrouds. My chute was floating beautifully and I wanted to leave well enough alone. But I knew it was a case of slip shrouds or be sliced into a thousand bits. I tried it once, gingerly. She responded. I eased the lines to one side just a wee bit more, and they began wafting me away from danger. I felt delighted. I had dis- turbed the status quo, yet the chute had stuck with me, “I remembered instructions I had re- ceived about landing, and calmly pre- pared to put them into effect, when the ground welled up, burst into my face, struck me on the back and knocked me flat. I turned over completely. My heels landed first, and I sprained both ankles equally. Weighing 180 pounds, 1 came down a good deal faster than Spike. The landing shock strained my clothing. I found a lot of buttons in my shoes, where they had fallen after being torn off. “An enlisted man was standing by, waiting for me to strike. He immedi~ ately ced me up. S ed about and was overjoyed to see Spike swinging overhead, sitting in the shade of his umprella. Up to that moment I didn't know he was the other fellow in the collision. “What a welcome they gave us! Both jumps, they said, were perfect. On the ground, they had an excellent view of the whole collision. When they saw my chute open, everybody held his breath, pending the other man’s apj They waited in gloom and silence. | When Spike's chute opened, soon after mine, they burst into a huge cheer. Coming down, I heard lots of yelling. “Spike and T were classmates at West Point. Isn't it odd that we should be thrown together in the Caterpillar Club? forgot himself completely, and we hi grounded before he reymcmbered }:g |camera. Then he asked whether I wouldn't go up and do another para- rhut]e jump. He got my diplomatic re- came down about one-third faster than Spike. The two SE-5s dug crater- lets into the ground about 300 feet apart. Spike hit about 100 yards from me. I never had a more hearty laugh than when he doubled up and rolled back- ward. He looked awfully funny. Geiger Jarred by Impact. “Up to that time I was a lukewarm | parachute enthuslast—like most Army fiyers. I remember the first time I wore one in 1922. Maj. Herbert Dargue and I flew up to Mitchel Field. Gen. Patrick asked us to wear the pack and we couldn't very well avoid it. As a matter of fact, we considered it a huge nuisance. The harness was too small— didn't fit—and I had to be huddled up in a cockpit, not built to hold para- chutes. Since then“we have changed our minds. |a plane breaking into fire, the’chute | might be of use. We doubted whether it would work in case of collision. At | any rate, we thought it better to remain | with any but a wrecked ship. “I believe the Caterpillar order has done more toward popularizing the parachute with aviators than any other agency.” “Maj. Geiger is now dead, the victim {o( another accident at Middletown, Pa., on Mcy 17, 1927. But he left the order, a document which diagnoses the ills of a Caterpillar. {until the instant before their' crash. | He was jarred by the impact, but not enough to upset him for more than a fleeting moment. “Upon_recovering from the shock,” the diary discloses, “I glanced left and was broken. Before the collision I had noted my altitude, about 2,800 feet. I remembered this, and I knew I would not_be hurried in making a jump. “I was able to right the ship. Almost immediately she turned two complete circles, “The nose shot down, and she dived in a fast spin. I saw my lower left wing was broken in two or more places, pearance. | bel “A newsreel man on the field said he | J “Most. fiyers belleved that in case of | | Ha2 did not see Maj. Hickman's plane | w saw that the end of the lower left wing | # WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1930. - and parts of it were falling away. An instant later it left entirely. Struts were ripped out of the top wing, which erumpled like soft paper. b “I couldn't glimpse further happen- ings, nor did I attempt that the ship was wrecked and I must jump. Severe Landing Shock. “My brain was perfectly clear, and I thoroughly appreciated what to do. I had no trouble in throwing off my safety ‘Standing up in my seat, we whirled in & swift left spin. Head first, I dived out the left side. It was easy to leave, but I took precaution to jump out as far as possible. “I felt no particular sensations other thari the realization that a parachute jump was necessary, and that I must do three things: Unfasten my belt; | dive cut as far as possible, and pull the | parachute ring. n jumping, I felt for the ring. I made sure I was holding the ring and not one of the D-buckles. - “It seemed an appreetable time—al: though, of course, no more than an instant—before the chute opened. I| | was not aware of any sudden jerk. 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