The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, July 1959 - April, 1960 Page: 27
684 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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"The Dallas Spirit"
5:28 P.M.-Just passed a destroyer going toward San Francisco-
the destroyer was, not usl We are bound for Honolulul The destroyer
was too far away for us to make out his number. Nothing else in sight.
At 5:36 P.M.-At 5:30 we are passing a vessel that has the appear-
ance of an oil tanker on the north of us and two minutes later we see
another craft south of us. We can see smoke from still another steamer
south of us.
At 5:45 P.M.-Just saw a rum runner on the left and had a hell of
a time keeping Ike in-Bill.
5:57 P.M.-We are now about to have supper. Will call you again
after supper.
6:05 P.M.-Please tell the gentleman who furnished our lunch that
it is fine, but we can't find the toothpicks. BILL.
6:54 P.M.-Just had a sandwich apiece and a cup of coffee and it
sure went good. We changed course at 6:40 P.M. [Pacific time] to
2441/2 true. Position at that time latitude 35 degrees 3o minutes north;
130 west.
7:0o P.M.-The weather is part cloudy with a smooth sea. Visibility
about thirty miles.
Have seen no wreckage or anything that might be either of the ones
we are looking for. The visibility is still very good. Everything with
us O.K. We are flying at 9oo feet.
8:oo P.M.-It is now getting dark and we apparently will not be
able to see much until morning.20
During the next hour it was evident to radio engineers and
"hams" ashore that the "Dallas Spirit" was fighting a storm. This
deduction was reached by studying the increased and decreased
pitch of the radio waves sent out. The radio was wind-driven,
so that when the key was down and the plane was flying near its
regular cruising speed of 100oo miles an hour there was a steady
hum. When the plane hit bumpy air the variability of the signal
pitch became more marked as a result of fighting wind currents.
When the plane was climbing the frequency decreased.
According to J. O. Watkins, radio engineer of the federal tele-
graph ship at Daly City near San Francisco, this is what was
happening between 8:oo and 9:oo P.M.:
At 8:20o P.M. I noticed that the variability of the signal pitch be-
came more marked than usual, which gave me the impression that the
air was becoming bumpy. This continued for twenty minutes. At
8:40 the frequency decreased. At first I interpreted this as engine
trouble, but after it continued without any signals from the operator,
20Ibid.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 63, July 1959 - April, 1960, periodical, 1960; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101186/m1/49/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.