Newspaper Page Text
Mechanic told him: ‘Here! Paris! Bourget!
Sarrazin was first
to greet Lindbergh
By Rosette Hargrove
PARIS - (NEA) - For 79-
year old Fernand Sarrazin,
retired chief mechanics of
ficer after 44 years of service
with Air France, the night of
May 21,1927 is still fresh in his
memory.
TTiat was the night when
Charles A. Lindbergh made a
perfect landing at the Paris
airport of Le Bourget. He had
just accomplished the most
spectacular, heroic nonstop
solo flight New York-Paris in
33.5 hours. Up in the sky,
without any contact with any
human voice, with what are
now considered the most
rudimentary controls for such
an achievement, he made it.
All over France, radios
were keeping the French in
formed on Lindbergh’s
progress and, soon after 8
p.m. when it was known he
had been spotted over Cher
bourg (Normandy), Parisians
started to wend their way to
the airfield.
“There was a beautiful
starry sky,’’ commented
Sarrazin. “I was on night duty
and, naturally, my ears were
attuned to the sound of
anything overhead. It was dif
ficult to gauge how long it
would take the “flying fool”
(as he was eventually affec
tionately known) to reach Le
Bourget. He had no radio on
board. I figured something
like 45 minutes. And where
and how would he land?"
As an old hand, Sarrazin
gathered he would land “nose
in the wind.” “So at 10 p.m.,”
he continued, “I began walk
ing slowly from my hangar
which was across from the
airport structure, where
someone had switched on the
lights. Remember, the terrain
was all grass, no runways
then, no projectors on the
ground. At 10:15 I heard
Lindbergh overhead and slow-
Giscard to lay wreath
on Lindbergh landing site
Officially France will
commemorate the 50th an
niversary of Lindbergh’s
flight starting with a 75-
minute TV film entitled
“Lindbergh and the Atlan
tic” on May 17. Nothiitg is
planned for May 21 as it
coincides with one of
France’s religious holiday
which, as usual, turns into a
long weekend.
However June 2 heralds
the opening of the Inter
national Aeronautics Exhibi
tion at Le Bourget. Presi
dent Giscard will formally
open the exhibition and place
a wreath on the plaque
which marks the spot where
Lindbergh landed. The ex
hibition’s American display
will provide a replica of the
“Spirit of Saint Louis.”
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breaking off of the Moscow talks. Soviet participation in
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SARRAZIN (in cap) was the first man to greet Lindbergh
after his plane touched down at Le Bourget. Here the
mechanic talks to Lindbergh (inside plane) via an inter
preter at left.
ly continued to walk across
the field. Seconds later the
plane passed on my right
about 50 meters above.
“I started running as hard
as I could, guided by the
sparks flying out of the ex
haust. The plane made a
perfectly smooth landing.
“Lindbergh had opened the
window opposite the pilot’s
seat and I saw him, complete
ly numbed after those 33 hours
of flying and deafened by the
motor’s backfire.”
With a whimsical smile,
Sarrazin said: “I spoke no
English and he spoke no
French. We shook hands. To
reassure him I said: Here.
Paris. Le Bourget.”
“His smile relaxed com
pletely, happy to have achiev
ed his transatlantic flight. For
a few moments we were the
Mayor Jacques Chirac
also plans a reception in
honor of the American at the
Town Hall. The U.S. Am
bassador has been invited,
as well as a group of
Americans including C.
Dale, president of Air and
Space Committee and presi
dent of the Early Fliers’
Club of America, who was a
friend of Lindbergh’s.
June 4 will also mark the
day of the first issue of a
Lindbergh Stamp portraying
the Spirit of St. Louis.
Receptions will follow one
another, culminating in a
gala, attended by President
Giscard d’Estaing at the
Grand Palais on the Champs
Elysees. The President will
give a short address on the
“History of Aviation”.
only two people on the field.”
After that events moved
quickly. “The airport’s chief
electrician, Andre Bracon
nier, put on the lights and I
saw coming along at high
speed a string of large
automobiles which revealed a
great deal of “brass” (higher
officers) from an aviation
regiment stationed nearby. In
the twinkling of an eye they
kidnapped Lindbergh as I was
about to steer him and his
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plane to a nearby hangar for
safety.”
Just then an immense
clamor arose. The crowd, for
cing the police barrier, was
rushing across the field to see
this shining hero and tear off
pieces of the fuselage of the
Spirit of Saint Louis as
souvenirs. The frightened
Sarrazin tried to fight the
vanguard off, even punched a
few of his compatriots in the
nose, when luckily the police
appeared in numbers and
Sarrazin, with his mechanics,
towed the Spirit of St. Louis to
safety.
How large a crowd was
there at Le Bourget on that
unforgettable night May 21
waiting for the arrival of the
young American in his little
monoplane? They had come in
automobiles, on bicycles, by
tramcars, on foot. The next
day the newspaper “Figaro”
estimated the crowd at 100,000
people.
The following four days
Sarrazin, who had been put in
charge of the overhauling of
the Spirit of St. Louis, was
hard at work with his crew
checking the motor and
repairing the torn fuselage.
Meantime Charles
Lindbergh was being feted,
lauded by the whole world as
the hero of aviation. The day
before he was due to fly to
Brussels on the first of a
European tour he went over to
Le Bourget and, with the aid
of an interpreter, went over
all the repairs.
The work had revealed that
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Aviator Charles A. Lindbergh
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keep it this summer.
— Griffin Daily News Thursday, May 12,1977
what was to go down in
history as the most glorious
exploit of all time by a single
man might instead have turn
ed into a catastrophe.
Sarrazin had discovered a
leak in the oil tank —a slit of
some 20 centimeters long —
luckily at the top. Had this
happened at the bottom, it is
certain Lindbergh would
never have reached Le
Bourget.
The tall, handsome
American, often called a Vik
ing, and recognized
everywhere he went, struck
the French as extremely
“sympathique.”
After being greeted by U.S.
Ambassador Myron T.
Herrick and other American
notables, Lindbergh was then
driven to the newly-opened
American-style Hotel Am
bassador, a stone’s throw
from the Opera. There was a
reception at the Palace of the
Elysee where President
Gaston Doumergue pined the
Legion of Honour on his lapel,
and kissed him on both cheeks
according to French custom.
This was followed by a
reception at the Town Hall
where crowds jammed the
square, the windows around
and even climbed the trees in
order to get a glimpse of him.
A visit to the Citroen
automobile works brought
thousands of workers outside
to cheer him. Lindbergh also
paid a visit to the mother of a
French flier who, with his co
pilot, lost his life the same
year in a round-the-world
attempt.
Today Lindbergh still
remains a hero to aviators the
world over. Commandant Fer
nand Andreana, a 53-year-old
Concorde pilot, who has logg
ed over 21,000 flying hours,
says: “Even after 50 years,
Lindbergh’s flight remains
the greatest exploit in the
history of aviation. He has
often been in my thoughts in
the course of my career, even
in these days of supersonic
airplanes. His memory will
always live on.”
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