Monument to Lithuanian pilots unveiled in Punske: Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas (video)

This year, 2018 The 15th and 17th of July marked the 85th anniversary of the theft and death of Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas. 85 years ago, Darius and S. Girėnas sent a message to the world about Lithuania to bring the entire Lithuanian nation together for a struggle, a new life. Lakūnai intended to fly to Atlanta and return to his native Lithuania by plane "Lituanica". Unfortunately, the Lithuanian pilot-in-command did not reach the Kaunas airfield. They began their flight on July 15, 1933, but the pilots failed to reach the destination. On July 17, the plane fell in Germany.

This year, July 6 Punske, Sigismund III and March 11, a monument to Lithuanian drivers Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas was unveiled. The author of the monument is Zenonas Knyzas

About the flight of "Lituanica"

When the weather is better, 1933 July 15 6 hours 24 minutes The Lithuanian pilots Steponas Darius and Stasys Girenas went from Floyd Bennet Field (19459011), New York to Floyd Benet (19459010). With the arrival of a heavy aircraft weighing 3668 kg doubled almost twice the runway and pulled off the ground just in the end.

The news about the "Lituanica" flight spread worldwide by telegram agencies. That same day, he was learned from Lithuania. July 16 In the evening, the lighthouses of the Kaunas radio station were on. In the air, a military plane patrolled through the air, a crowd of about 25,000 people was waiting at Aleksotas airport as heroes appear. In Kaunas, the plane had to take off about 2-3 hours of the night. July 17, "Lituanica" did not appear, people began to distribute for the breakthrough.

After the Atlantic Ocean was defected due to bad weather, Ireland turned to Darius and S. Girėnas to the north and reached Scotland and the North Sea in Germany. While flying through the city of Berlin, "Lituanica" was illuminated by spotlights. The plane grabbed the treetops, hacked several trees, and on July 17. 0 hours 36 minutes (Berlin time) squeezed near the village of Kuhdam, Soldin (the present territory of Poland, village of Pchelnik).

S. Darius and S. Girėnas say goodbye to Chicago, 1933 05.07. The album Lituanica Flight, a photo of the plineparnai.lt

Lithuania reported the tragedy to the representative of ELTA in Berlin on 17 July. About 11:30 pm news came that a plane crashed near Soldin, which was recognized by the German Air Force as "Lituanica". The Germans showed their respect for the lost locusts: they kept the honor, covered the flames of Germany and Lithuania with flags, decorated with wreaths and flowers, said speeches of Farewell and representatives of the government and the army. July 19 The bodies of the pilots with hot dogs were transported to Stettin, and from there – by the company "Deruluft" – to Kaunas.

9 Lithuanian aircraft accompanied the German plane from the wall to Aleksotas. 16 hours 10 minutes An aircraft with hotspots of Darius and Girėnas, three times around the city, landed at Aleksotas airport. About 50,000 people were waiting for the dead soldiers. The church bells and the procession of the factory sirens went to the Basilica of the Cathedral, where all the people of the night went to bid farewell to the heroes of the nation. Sold letters were also brought from Soldino to Kaunas. 14 hours 30 minutes They are marked with a special stamp in the central post: "The victory of Atlantis was lost in the honor of Lithuania."

The Lithuanian government has decided to save the pilots' bodies. The mausoleum was built in 1959 in the old Kaunas cemetery on Vytautas Avenue, as part of the V. Landsbergis-Žemkalnis project, and in 1937, November 1, carried away the remains of the flight. At the end of the war and at the approach of the Lithuanian Front, in 1944, bodies hidden in the basement of the Faculty of Medicine VMU. 1964 The sarcophagi were discovered by the daughter of the daughter of S. Darius, Nijolė Dariūtė-Maštarienė and redeemed at the cemetery of Kaunas, after receiving permission from Vilnius. 1968 The tombstone created by the sculptor V. Mačičiška was built on the site of the burial.

Importance of theft

The history of global aviation, S. Darius and S. Girėnas, is significant. 11 min, departure (on the site of the accident) 6411 kilometers.

In bad weather, without radio, without flying, he flew without a parachute more accurately than the pilots of other nations, equipped with all the latest means of navigation. Their flight is the second most accurate aircraft history. This flight opened a route by plane between the Americas and the European continents. The years 1968, 1966, 1964, 1964, 19659004, 19659004].