The American Nurse (aircraft)

A replica of NR796W as it appeared when known as Miss Veedol. As The American Nurse the aircraft was painted white, with yellow wings.

The American Nurse was the name given to an aircraft (NR796W) for an attempted New York to Rome flight in September 1932 by Dr. Leon Martocci-Pisculli, William Ulbrich (pilot) and Edna Newcomer (copilot). The aircraft, a 1931 Bellanca Skyrocket J-400 Long-Distance Special had, under the name Miss Veedol, previously completed the first non-stop trans-Pacific flight (2–5 October 1931), piloted by Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon. On its final flight, The American Nurse was last sighted by an ocean liner in the eastern Atlantic, after which it disappeared without trace.

The aircraft

Main article: Miss Veedol

The aircraft, a 1931 Bellanca Skyrocket J-400 Long-Distance Special, registration NR796W, was built at Bellanca Airfield in New Castle, Delaware. Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon named it Miss Veedol for their (abandoned) attempt to break the record for the fastest round-the-world flight and then for the first non-stop trans-Pacific flight. The aircraft was sold after the latter flight and subsequently came into the ownership of a group including Dr Leon Martocci-Pisculli who intended to use it for a New York to Rome flight which would contribute to the advancement of aviation medicine. As this flight was sponsored by the American Nurses' Aviation Service, Inc, the aircraft was renamed The American Nurse.

Pisculli's plan

Dr. Pisculli's intention for the flight was to study the effects of fatigue in long-distance aviation and to test his theory that the loss of many previous long-distance flights had been due to the build-up of carbon monoxide in the crew compartment.

For the purpose of the first study, the three crew members underwent pre-flight physical examinations, basal metabolism tests, electrocardiograms and blood chemistry examinations. Pisculli was to take blood samples during the flight, and the basal metabolism tests would have been repeated on arrival in Rome. In respect of his second concern, Pisculli brought a woodchuck named "Tail Wind" on the flight, as a carbon monoxide detector, due to these animals' sensitivity to the gas. Another component of the flight was to be a parachute jump over Florence by the female co-pilot (initially planned to be Gladys Bramhall Wilner (a nurse), whom Edna Newcomer later replaced). This parachute jump was intended as a tribute to Florence Nightingale. Pisculli's more general objective was to encourage physicians and nurses to learn to fly and parachute jump, so that they might put these skills to use in emergency medicine.

The flight took the "southern" route across the North Atlantic and the pilot, William Ulbrich, planned to make landfall in Europe in the vicinity of Cape Finisterre, Spain. Ulbrich estimated that the 6,884-kilometre (4,278 mi) flight should take 25 to 26 hours.

After arriving in Rome, Pisculli planned a tour of several European cities and that The American Nurse would return to the United States via Ireland in the spring of 1933.

The crew

Pisculli was the commander of the flight. Leon Martocci-Pisculli, MD, was a gynaecologist and held at least three patents for medical devices (a formaldehyde thermometer-holder, a medicated pessary and a form of tampon) and a patent for a toy operating on the same principle as a ouija board. He was born in Italy and was naturalised as a US citizen at some time between 25 June 1917 and 8 October 1919 (as revealed by comparing his two earliest patent applications). Pisculli was 53 years of age at the time of the flight and resided in Yonkers, New York. He was the founder and Director of the American Nurses' Aviation Service, Inc, which sought to promote the provision of medical care in aviation and through aviation to others.

The pilot, William Ulbrich, was born in Denmark and was a resident of Mineola, New York. He was 31 years old at the time of the flight. A barnstormer and flight instructor in earlier years, in September 1932 Ulbrich held a transport pilot's licence and had 3,800 hours' flying experience.

The third member of the crew was originally intended to be Gladys Bramhall Wilner (13 August 1910—3 July 2009) who was ideally suited to the role intended for her, being a qualified nurse, a licensed pilot and an experienced parachute jumper. However, she declined to take part in the flight. She was replaced by Edna Newcomer (aged 28) from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, who was also a nurse, pilot and parachute jumper.

Pisculli had found "Tail Wind" the woodchuck with a broken leg on a road in Westchester County, New York, and had nursed it back to health.

The final flight

Carrying fuel for a 32-hour flight, The American Nurse took off from Floyd Bennett Field at 6.16am EST on 13 September 1932. Clyde Pangborn was present to see his former aircraft depart. The weather in the North Atlantic was reported to be ideal for the flight.

The aircraft was subsequently sighted over Cape Cod, Massachusetts, by the American Oil Co. tanker Winnebago in mid-Atlantic at 5.50pm EST, and by the liner SS France, 640 kilometres (400 mi) from its intended landfall in Europe. No further trace of The American Nurse and its crew was ever found.

Reports that the aircraft had been sighted over Sardinia could not be confirmed, nor did a search of the central Italian mountains reveal any sign of it.

External links

• Allan Janus (2011). "The Groundhog and the Nurse". Retrieved 2011-08-02.
• ""AMERICAN NURSE" FLIGHT CREW DISAPPEARS - 1932 Clip ID: 55551". 1932. Retrieved 2011-08-02. (Video - duration 1:06:00)