European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 1, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday april 1, 1987 the stars and stripes i Page 3 bib s greatest probe jul nor congressmen " Isman washingt01 monday criticized the air Force aging production of the by b bomber which cannot fulfil us role of penetrating soviet airspace am will take an estimated s3 billion Over four Yean to fix the biggest problem confronting the in is not its weight growth its fuel leaks or its Uncertain electronic  rep los Apsis a Wii and rep. Samuel s. Stratton d-n.y., mid in a joint statement. The greatest problem is the air Force itself which exerts More Effort to obscure the by s or to Correct them. In the Blu test terms slates air Force has been a greater  of the by bomber than the soviet la Bithey said at a Capitol Hill news Confer Cnoc an air Force . Michelle Boyd said the service Wuhu have no immediate comment because the a i  not yet received the report Aspin  of the House armed serv ices comm Mcc and Stratton who Heads the commit l on procurement outlined tour main techno Van Gogh Art brings nearly $40 million London a a painting of Daz a Tang yellow sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh was sold monday for $39.85 Mil lion More than three times the highest Price overpaid fora painting at auction. The 98-year-old sunflowers still life by the dutch artist who never sold a paint ing before he shot himself to death at age 37 was bought by an Anonymous foreign collector said Peter Rose chief spokesman at Christle audion House the final bid was 22.5 million pounds j36.2 million and there was a commission of 10 percent of the bid Price charged to the buyer by the auctioneer boasting the total to 24.73million pounds $39.85 Mill Ion. There was scattered applause in the packed auction room As  up by increments of 500,000 pounds 800.000. Christie s had valued the impressionist masterpiece at More than $16 million. What was generally recognized in the Art world As the previous record Price for a painting was set two years ago when the j. Paul Getty museum in Malibu Calif paid 8.1 million pounds then �10.449 million a a London auction for adoration of the magi by Andrea Mantegna. Last december again at a London Sale a Paris Street scene by edouard Manet brought 7.7 million pounds then Worth ii  million. Van Gogh never knew riches no one bought the dutchman s pictures until years after he took his own lire in 1890. Always broke Van Gogh was supported by his brother Theo an Art dealer. The picture sold monday is one of six featuring sunflowers the sunflowers. Have contributed perhaps More than any other of Vincent s paintings to make his name known through out the world and. Are in some cases the Only works with which he is identified wrote an historian Jan Hulsker in 1980. Four Sunflower paintings arc in museums in Amsterdam Netherlands London Munich and Philadelphia one is privately owned and one was destroyed in Japan by world War ii bombing. Cal problems documented in congressional hearings earlier his year the aircraft docs not now provide the i manned penetrating boat Khz a uld  in Large Nic counter measures fact sends out a Ben same   package partially blinding the Plum Nuiji Lipnic systems stall warning systems on the bomber limit the in s Range and it cannot reach All the targets for which it was designed the exact Range is classified the air Force experienced about a year s delay in developing the bomber s terrain following radar which is designed to allow the Pilot to Fly More safely at altitudes below about 200 feet and thus Duck enemy radar. Cancellation of the program is not an option be cause 52 of the planned 100 Blel bombers have Al ready jjaijihtwlic1 statement said. J Stratton said that a part from the electro Nic  package we believe that the Odds arc Good that problems can be solved though when and at what Cost remain  "1 think that it is going to Cost $3 billion and four years to fix Aspin said in response to a question. That the by b faced problems was first known to the by program managers in october 1982," said Aspin. Yet they did not fully inform senior Pentagon or even air Force officials of the problems until tall Congress was not informed until january.  killed the by program in 1977, surprising Mariy my Ditol Hill but the bomber was resurrected As the a to the Reagan administration under a Deal that  interference from Congress. Congress thereby implicitly accepted Ami ii enl that it was part of the procurement mess " Alj Stratton said to their statement. Woman s death in Crocodile attack brings warning from Dundee Star Sydney Australia a the Star of the hit movie Crocodile Dun Dee monday cautioned tourists about crocodiles in Australia a Day after one of the reptiles killed an american woman. Ginger Faye Meadows a 24-year old Model from Aspen colo., was at tacked while swimming off a yacht anchored in a Remote River in Northern Australia. She is missing and is presumed dead. Meadows was the second person killed by crocodiles in Australia in the past two weeks and the seventh since 1985. Police say 12 other people have disappeared in Crocodile infested areas in the past 13 years As far Back As such records go. Paul Hogan who plays the title character in Crocodile Dundee said monday in an interview in los an Geles obviously we have to step up the warnings so tourists on yachts or Appow Ginger Faye Meadows relaxes on yacht from which she later took a fatal swim. Tourists travelling without guides arc aware of the  John King director of the austra Lian tourist commission said Ameri cans Are visiting Australia in record numbers and Hogan and his movie about a Crocodile Hunter who saves the film s heroine arc partly responsible. He said 230,000 americans visited Australia last year a 27 percent in crease from 1985. Two weeks ago a group of american tourists witnessed a fatal Crocodile at tack along the North coast. Meadows who was sailing with others around Australia in the 105-foot lady a was swimming in the Prince Regent River in an area of Northwestern Australia that is inaccessible by Road. Police said a Large Crocodile grabbed her As she swam from a rubber ran to the yacht. Crocodiles arc carnivores and authorities said there was Little Hope of finding her body. Sgt Alan Hall a police officer in Broome about 500 Miles Southwest of the Prince Regent said More than 100 crocodiles Are known to inhabit the River Estuary and there have been three Crocodile attacks there in the past live years. Anyone who swims in that area would be taking their lives in their own hands he said. A Crocodile expert meanwhile said the reptiles arc becoming an increasing danger to unwary tourists. Professor Gordan Grieg monday said More Crocodile attacks could be expected. He said the reptiles whose skin is made into valuable leathers have grown less wary of humans since they were declared a protected species in 1974 and Hunting of them was banned. But the answer is not to shoot them the University of Sydney zoo Logist said. They Only do what  catch Down value up for new England fishermen Woods Hole mass up new England fishermen caught fewer fish but made More Money in 1986, according to preliminary figures released by the National Marine fisheries service. A Survey conducted by the Agency s Northeast fisheries Center said the re Gion s fishermen landed 555.7 million pounds of fish and shellfish in i486, Down ,14.1 million pounds from 1985, however the catch netted fishermen $448.9 million up $29.4 million from 1985, the Center said. Center director Allen e. Peterson or. Said landings of traditionally important fish such As cod Haddock and Yellowtail flounder decreased by 26.4 million pounds in 1986. The lobster catch also was off slightly decreasing from 43.7 million pounds m i9s5 id 42.7 million pounds last year. Massachusetts fishermen accounted for the largest portion of the catch last year weighing in with 271.3 million pounds of fish Worth 1243.6 million. Maine was next with 168.2 million pounds Worth $108.4 million. Rhode Island accounted for 101.6 Mil lion pounds Worth s75.1 million new Hampshire 7.9 million pounds Worth $6,2 million and Connecticut 6.7 Mil lion pounds Worth is 5.6 million. The most productive fishing City in the six state Region was Gloucester mass which accounted for 109.6 Mil lion pounds of fish Worth 137.8 million. New Bedford i is. Fishermen brought in Only 65,8 million pounds but that accounted for si06 million in income. Maine produced the most lobster Dur ing the year accounting for 19.7 million pounds valued at 516.2 million Massachusetts was nil with 15 million pounds Worth s41 million