Town became Morse beacon to lost plane

1934 The Albury DC2 Uiver Rescue: In the early hours of the morning, the town of Albury, NSW, Australia switched on and off its street lights, spelling out the town's name in Morse Code, to aid a lost Dutch plane flying in a fierce electrical storm with torrential rain.

The KLM aircraft DC2 Uiver, part of the 1934 MacRobertson England-Australia Air Race, was thus able to make a successful landing on the town's boggy racecourse, which was lit by the headlights of some 70 vehicles called to the location by the local radio station. The next day 300 Albury citizens put their muscles to the next part of the rescue mission, by pulling the stranded DC2 out of the mud so the aircraft could complete its flight in the pioneering aviation race ...

Tagged: aviation, history, australia