Aeronautics: Lithuanica

The Lithuanian flyers Stephan Darius and Stanley Girenas, who flashed across public consciousness so briefly that few people could repeat their names, were nearly forgotten last week when a horrid rumor grew about their crash at Soldin, Germany, near the Polish border. Everyone had accepted the theory that their fuel supply had run out while they were trying to complete their flight from New York to Kovno, Lithuania. But a Lithuanian newspaper hinted that the airplane Lithuanica had been downed by a “death ray” aimed from German soil.

Germany promptly denied it. Then the Dernieres Nouvelles of Strasbourg brought a report from Riga that the plane had been shot down by machine guns. Finally the London Daily Herald’s Kovno correspondent boldly stated that the Lithuanian Government was convinced, was awaiting only final proof before demanding apology and indemnity from Germany. His story: When the Lithuanica flew through the darkness over a concentration camp near Soldin, searchlights were turned on the machine. Believing it to be a Communist airplane which they suspected of an attempt to rescue some prisoners, the guards cut loose with machine guns, brought the plane down in flames. Hardly was the Herald’s story in print when the Lithuanian Government’s investigating committee formally declared the crash accidental.