News 70 Years Ago Today in St. Louis....

**gblowfish** · 08-01-2013, 12:16 PM

Their mayor and nine other guys did a serious Wyle E. Coyote in an aluminum glider at Lambert Field. Story is here:

August 1, 1943 - 70 years-ago today, ten people, including the Mayor of St. Louis and the president of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, were killed in a glider crash before an estimated 10,000 horrified spectators at Lambert-St. Louis municipal airport.

The 10 passengers were riding in the glider during the first public demonstration of the St. Louis-made cargo-type airplane.

The victims are Mayor WILLIAM DEE BECKER; THOMAS DYSART of the chamber of commerce; Major WILLIAM B. ROBERTSON, president of the ROBERTSON Aircraft corporation and cofounder of Lambert field; Lieutenant Colonel PAUL H. HAZELTON, miscellaneous area officer of the army air force; MAX DOYNE of the St. Louis public utilities department; CHARLES CUNNINGHAM, assistant city comptroller; St. Louis County Judge HENRY MUELLER; HAROLD A. KRUEGER, vice president and general manager of the ROBERTSON corporation; Captain MILTON C. KLUGH of the Seventy-first troop carrier command, Stout field, Indianapolis, Ind., pilot of the glider; and Private First Class J. M. DAVIS, also attached to the Seventy-first troop carrier command.

The demonstration was sponsored by the ROBERTSON corporation and the army air forces.The glider, flying directly over the field at a height of about 2,000 feet, began its death journey earthward immediately after being released from a Douglas C-47 cargo plane.

Immediately after the release, the right wing of the glider buckled and collapsed. The craft seemed to halt temporarily in the sky, observers said, and then the other wing began to fold and both fell free from the fuselage.The fuselage intact, the glider plummeted to the earth like a dart.

There was a dull crash as the craft hit the ground. Fragments flew several hundred feet into the air. Scores of women fainted and many wept as the crash siren at the field sounded.The glider had been lifted from the field shortly before its release by the Douglas plane and the two had circled the port only three or four times.

The craft had made a successful test flight shortly before the fatal accident. Reports said craft similar to the one that crashed will be grounded until an investigation of their structure is made.The glider, designed to carry 15 fully-equipped soldiers and one jeep, is manufactured by the ROBERTSON Aircraft corporation.The crash was the worst air disaster in the history of St. Louis.

Mayor BECKER, serving his first term as chief executive of the city, said at a press conference Saturday that he looked forward to his ride in the glider. It was his first in that type of plane. Questioned regarding his belief in the safety of air travel and the amount of danger in connection with his ill-fated ride Sunday he declared, "You can die only once and we must die sometime."

Major ROBERTSON was a pioneer in aviation and was the first man to land a plane on the St. Louis port in 1919. He was one of the first sponsors and a financial backer of CHARLES A. LINDBERGH, who formerly worked for ROBERTSON as an air mail pilot out of St. Louis. ROBERTSON also helped lay out and survey the China National Airways and made a complete aerial survey of the air facilities of Turkey. He was an organizer of the Transcontinental Air Lines.

DYSART, for years a St. Louis broker, was injured with four bankers in a plane crash at Atlantic City in 1928 during a convention of the Investment Bankers association. He headed the group in 1925.

Note: Here's a picture of the dead guys taken right before they went up for their joy ride:

**alpha_omega** · 08-01-2013, 12:17 PM

And St. Louis still sucks.

Frazod · 08-01-2013, 12:19 PM

If only they'd landed on an orphanage, right?

Rasputin · 08-01-2013, 12:22 PM

Story fail they didn't even use ACME

Rasputin · 08-01-2013, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

Story fail they didn't even use ACME

Oh wait I guess they did use ACME it crashed mid-air.

listopencil · 08-01-2013, 12:24 PM

Ban gliders.

**gblowfish** · 08-01-2013, 12:27 PM

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/08/...r-nine-others/

BlackHelicopters · 08-01-2013, 12:27 PM

Ban Mayors

**RealSNR** · 08-01-2013, 12:32 PM

I can't care about this unless Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about it

**ChiTown** · 08-01-2013, 12:34 PM

The Problem: They over-filled the anti-freeze tank. That, and they had a faulty Fetzer Valve.

**gblowfish** · 08-01-2013, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SNR

I can't care about this unless Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about it

"The legend lives on,
from Ferguson on down
To the Meramec River near Fenton;

The Glider, it's said
Gonna plummet like lead
And mash the good mayor's
Big head in...."

listopencil · 08-01-2013, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiTown

The Problem: They over-filled the anti-freeze tank. That, and they had a faulty Fetzer Valve.

It's all ball bearings these days.

**RealSNR** · 08-01-2013, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

"The legend lives on,
from Ferguson on down
To the Meramec River near Fenton;

The Glider, it's said
Gonna plummet like lead
And mash the good mayor's
Big head in...."

Love it

**ChiTown** · 08-01-2013, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblowfish

"The legend lives on,
from Ferguson on down
To the Meramec River near Fenton;

The Glider, it's said
Gonna plummet like lead
And mash the good mayor's
Big head in...."

Love the Ballad of the Edmund Fitgerald

Chief_For_Life58 · 08-01-2013, 01:18 PM

**** the cardinals

08-01-2013, 12:16 PM
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $17686178 VARSITY	70 Years Ago Today in St. Louis.... Their mayor and nine other guys did a serious Wyle E. Coyote in an aluminum glider at Lambert Field. Story is here: August 1, 1943 - 70 years-ago today, ten people, including the Mayor of St. Louis and the president of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, were killed in a glider crash before an estimated 10,000 horrified spectators at Lambert-St. Louis municipal airport. The 10 passengers were riding in the glider during the first public demonstration of the St. Louis-made cargo-type airplane. The victims are Mayor WILLIAM DEE BECKER; THOMAS DYSART of the chamber of commerce; Major WILLIAM B. ROBERTSON, president of the ROBERTSON Aircraft corporation and cofounder of Lambert field; Lieutenant Colonel PAUL H. HAZELTON, miscellaneous area officer of the army air force; MAX DOYNE of the St. Louis public utilities department; CHARLES CUNNINGHAM, assistant city comptroller; St. Louis County Judge HENRY MUELLER; HAROLD A. KRUEGER, vice president and general manager of the ROBERTSON corporation; Captain MILTON C. KLUGH of the Seventy-first troop carrier command, Stout field, Indianapolis, Ind., pilot of the glider; and Private First Class J. M. DAVIS, also attached to the Seventy-first troop carrier command. The demonstration was sponsored by the ROBERTSON corporation and the army air forces.The glider, flying directly over the field at a height of about 2,000 feet, began its death journey earthward immediately after being released from a Douglas C-47 cargo plane. Immediately after the release, the right wing of the glider buckled and collapsed. The craft seemed to halt temporarily in the sky, observers said, and then the other wing began to fold and both fell free from the fuselage.The fuselage intact, the glider plummeted to the earth like a dart. There was a dull crash as the craft hit the ground. Fragments flew several hundred feet into the air. Scores of women fainted and many wept as the crash siren at the field sounded.The glider had been lifted from the field shortly before its release by the Douglas plane and the two had circled the port only three or four times. The craft had made a successful test flight shortly before the fatal accident. Reports said craft similar to the one that crashed will be grounded until an investigation of their structure is made.The glider, designed to carry 15 fully-equipped soldiers and one jeep, is manufactured by the ROBERTSON Aircraft corporation.The crash was the worst air disaster in the history of St. Louis. Mayor BECKER, serving his first term as chief executive of the city, said at a press conference Saturday that he looked forward to his ride in the glider. It was his first in that type of plane. Questioned regarding his belief in the safety of air travel and the amount of danger in connection with his ill-fated ride Sunday he declared, "You can die only once and we must die sometime." Major ROBERTSON was a pioneer in aviation and was the first man to land a plane on the St. Louis port in 1919. He was one of the first sponsors and a financial backer of CHARLES A. LINDBERGH, who formerly worked for ROBERTSON as an air mail pilot out of St. Louis. ROBERTSON also helped lay out and survey the China National Airways and made a complete aerial survey of the air facilities of Turkey. He was an organizer of the Transcontinental Air Lines. DYSART, for years a St. Louis broker, was injured with four bankers in a plane crash at Atlantic City in 1928 during a convention of the Investment Bankers association. He headed the group in 1925. Note: Here's a picture of the dead guys taken right before they went up for their joy ride: Attached Thumbnails
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08-01-2013, 12:17 PM	#2
alpha_omega Supporter Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Liberty Casino cash: $1681251	And St. Louis still sucks.
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08-01-2013, 12:19 PM	#3
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08-01-2013, 12:22 PM	#4
Rasputin Tip of the hat LIV Champs Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: ks Casino cash: $3515421	Story fail they didn't even use ACME __________________ A Brave Man Once Requested Me To Answer Questions That Are Key 'Is It To Be Or Not To Be' And I Replied Oh Why Ask Me
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08-01-2013, 12:24 PM	#6
listopencil Immanentize The Eschaton Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: In Partibus Infidelium Casino cash: $2265880	Ban gliders. __________________ Everything the State says is a lie, and everything it has...it has stolen.
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08-01-2013, 12:27 PM	#7
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $17686178 VARSITY	http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/08/...r-nine-others/
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08-01-2013, 12:27 PM	#8
BlackHelicopters Spiraling down the Drain Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Dante's Ninth Circle Casino cash: $2750588	Ban Mayors __________________ "We're both part of the same hypocrisy, Senator, but never think it applies to my family." "Fredo. You are my brother, and I love you. But never take sides against the Family again. Ever." 2019 Adopt a Chief - Travis Kelce #87
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08-01-2013, 12:32 PM	#9
RealSNR Special Teams ACE!!! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Where the hell is SNR Casino cash: $2400208	I can't care about this unless Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about it
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08-01-2013, 12:34 PM	#10
ChiTown Stroking to the SB Champs! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Flatlands of Kansas Casino cash: $3333962	The Problem: They over-filled the anti-freeze tank. That, and they had a faulty Fetzer Valve. __________________
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08-01-2013, 01:18 PM	#15
Chief_For_Life58 Veteran Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: KC Casino cash: $9925938	**** the cardinals
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