Los Angeles Times 5-19-1919
(C. Avis Catalog entry #693)

 

The Los Angeles Times Monday, May 19, 1919

Attracting a crowd estimated at 100,000 the air memorial circus given at De Mille Field yesterday afternoon stands without a parallel here as a spectacular and edifying exhibition. More than fifty battleplanes were employed, the crowd was handled in an easy and orderly manner by service men under Lieut.-Col. T. C. Turner, the spectators were enthusiastic, and the Rockwell, March and Arcadia Field aviators were generous with the thrills.

There were ten big events on the programme, and they were run off with clockwork precision. Just before the circus began, Capt. L. H. Smith left the field in a Le Pere battleplane, headed for Rockwell Field, San Diego, in a race against time. His progress was reported to the crowd by wireless. He covered the 125-mile air route in exactly forty-seven minutes, clipping six minutes from the previous record of fifty-three minutes.

Races between machines representing the army, navy and marine service; handicap races featuring all modern machines; stunt flying by dozens of aviators; wireless telephonic demonstrations, carrier pigeon communication; word block formations; observation balloon attacks and parachute jumping were some of the thrilling events of the afternoon. The entire performance was run off without a single accident, and the eight gray ambulances, which waited at the side of the field had their trip for nothing.

THE START

The circus opened with a flagship maneuver by Lieut. L. M. Crouch. His machine was closely followed by the hospital ship with D. E. Thompson driving. These battleplanes executed a few interesting preliminaries as Maj. Smith was leaving for Rockwell Field, and the the first event was called.

It was an aerial parade, featuring all the latest types of war planes. Among them were the Spad (French) driven by Lieut. G. A. McHenry, the SE-5 (British) driven by Lieut. Corey, the DH-4 (American) driven by Lieut. Wilbur Wright, the Fokker (German) driven by Lieut. F. W. Siefert, and the Le Pere (American) driven by Lieut. Charles Rudd. After these planes had flown past the vast crowd in parade review a dozen or more times the SE-5 and the Spad gave an exhibition of aerial combat, travelling part of the time at a speed as high as 150 miles an hour.

The second event employed sixteen airplanes from March Field. They gave the crowd a remarkable exemplification of the art of aerial squadron formation. Flying in three groups, with planes which had large letters painted on the underside of their wings, they spelled the West Point motto - Duty, Honor, Country - in almost unbroken lines. Then after a long flight to the west they broke formation, flew to the east, and again returned in perfect formation. It was a demonstration which brought wonderful outbursts of applause from the vast throng by which it was witnessed.

Lieut. Sharp, driving a Le Pere, and Lieut. McLean, with the DH-4, staged an altitude race which was a genuine thriller. This event was won by Lieut. Sharp, who succeeded in climbing to an altitude of 12,400 feet in fifteen minutes, while his opponent mounted to an altitude of 12,200 feet. The two fired smoke bombs when they reached their respective positions, both machines being entirely lost from view for at least five minutes, and finally being discerned as mere silvery specks far above the clouds.

A demonstration of wireless telephony won the eager attention of the crowd. Huge megaphones on posts at the side lines repeated the conversations of half a dozen aviators as they traveled at a speed of more than 100 miles an hour, and at an altitude of perhaps three-quarters of a mile. Their words could be plainly heard.

Five Hispano-Curtiss training planes, under the leadership of Lieut. Dayton, with Lieut. Bruce Johnson, Sturkin, F. B. Johnson and Doolittle, gave an exhibition of low flying in battle formation, showing how the airplanes are operated at low altitudes in liaison with the men in the trenches.

IN HANDICAP RACE

More genuine interest centered in the handicap race than in any other event, unless it was the parachute jump. The handicap was a modern version of an old-time "hoss" race at the county fair. Six of the fastest battleplanes in the country participated. They flew at comparatively low altitudes, so they were in plain view of the spectators at all times, and traveling around a one and one-half-mile course covered thirteen laps in nine minutes and twenty-five seconds. The event was won by Lieut. Charles Rudd in a Le Pere; Lieut. Corey, second, in a SE-5, and Lieut Wilbur Wright, third, in a DH-4. The race was over a well-defined course and the aviators drove at terrific speed.

Five Hispano-Curtiss machines flying in acrobatic formation, next regaled the throng with an exhibition of stunt flying which tops all previous exhibitions in this part of the country. They finished by doing the falling leaf in unison. Lieut. Crouch in the next event featured the use of carrier pigeons as messengers. He released them from his machine while passing the crowd. In several instances the birds flew alongside the battleplanes for a time, but were quickly outdistanced.

The army machine won an easy victory in a thrilling and spectacular race against machines representing the navy and the marines. It had more speed all the way and did some hair-raising banks in turning the corners along the course. The navy was in second place, and the marine was third.

The concluding feature, the destruction of an enemy's observation balloon by incendiary bombs, was somewhat of a disappointment, and yet the audience went home feeling that it had its money's worth, anyhow. The balloon in question was an old, worn-out affair, and it was to be used as a target for American aviators who were to attack it while German aviators rushed to its defense. The German Fokkers put up a beautiful dogfight with the Allied planes for about ten minutes, but the Allied aviators finally succeeded in getting their incendiary bombs across.

Unfortunately the old balloon had not been inflated quite enough, and the bombs bounced off the bag, then the balloon broke loose and floated far up among the clouds and over in the direction of Hollywood. The aviators were afraid to fire upon it then, for fear it would take fire and fall on a house, so the event was declared off.

Just at the moment, however, Lieut. Boxell and Sergt. Boland brought the crowd to its feet by leaping from another captive balloon, which was at anchor about 1000 feet above the audience. Their parachutes opened beautifully , and they landed unharmed at about the same moment. It was a beautiful climax to the greatest show of the kind perhaps ever seen in this county.

Preceding the flying events came the presentation by Miss Mary Pickford, the motion-picture star, of a service flag bearing a single gold star and the figures 841, representing the number of men who have died in the United States air service. This was accepted by Col. H. H. Arnold, himself one of the first flyers in this country, with appropriate remarks, and he then presented Miss Pickford with the silver wings of the air service and a silken sash, declaring her to be the "honorary ace of the American air service." The flags were lowered to half-mast while a bugler played taps and then raised to the top of the pole during the playing of the national anthem.

The programme of flying was in charge of Lieut.-Col. J. E. Carberry and Capt. H. R. Kelly of Rockwell Field, and was remarkably well executed. The announcing by a corps of officers acting under Capt. H. C. Balsley, who was the first American aviator to be seriously wounded in France, was clear and accurate, so that the audience understood at all times what was going on. Lieut.-Col. T. C. Turner's soldiers and sailors kept the crowd well in hand. The whole affair was handled for the National Aeronautic Committee by Lieut. R. F. Benham, who was sent to Los Angeles from Washington to stage the show.

Transcribed from
	a photocopy of
	the microfilm of
	the original paper --- Charles Avis   12/89