R38 DISASTER.
INQUEST LEAVES CAUSE STILL UNKNOWN,
TIRIK BAND ACCOUNTS.
In view of the London cable re- ceived to-day wating that the finding of the inquet on the victims of the K. 38 disaster aves the cause of the accident still unknown it's interest |
ing to read the descriptions of the who saw the giant airship explode printed in Home papers at the tim The disaster occurred shortly before!
BROKEN BACK.
AFRSHIP'S COLLALATHE TWO KOPLORIONI.
above, sent people rushing for the when she acknowledged the receipt of
nearest shelter.
six o'clock on the evening of August minute, a terrific explosion was portion, also baring fiercely, settled cided to make modifications to the Air Ministry, under whom most of the
24 when R38 was over the city of Hall R.38 left her mooring mast at Howden, Yorkshire, at 10 in the
maming after having been overhanted and proceeded on a test fight which was to last twenty-four hours.After the completion of these trials she was to go to the aerodrome at Pulham, Norio k,to undergo final preparation before start ing on ber dight across the Atlantic, The conditions in some respects were not very favourable, and during the weather having become loper, the
hexrd:
Hundreds of widows were blown out in the towh, and as I looked the
arst gondola. or what was left of it, blew in all directions over the river.
Almost immediately another ex plusion was heard and the airship split its back and broke in two. The envelope seemed to hang in the air and fell into the river about two minutes after the first explosion.
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gua was contained in only fourteen a rosisine signal from Howden." It was at about this terrible.
compartments, whereas in a ship of "The airship was built at the that size according to previous prac moment that several of the crew of Royal Airship Works, Cardington, tice, there would have been eighteen tha airship-one of them from Bedfork and affat undergoing hegd og nytte. They were many A graphic story of the accident was centre, gondola-wim seen to leap airbome and engine trials in theabed innovations, and certainly numerous given by the District Naval Lachutes, which opened as they fell and June 20. The first flight took place below. She was, after matisiactory from the inferno of flames with pars-was considered ready for flight about improvements, which are referred to talo gente Chiffer at Hat
"14"wha shartly after five o'clock bom them down to the earth below.
on the night of June the ship trials, to have been handed over to Meanwhile her outer covering of leaving Cardington at 9.55 pm, and the United States Naval Air Service. the rivel" he said. "It was rather fabric must have burned away, and landing at war and a bit fours and America was to pay $3,000,000 when the airship first appeared over miste at the time, but the airship, the central girder work having ap fight over the Home Countries at for her. Built originally for the British could be clearly discerned flying at parents broken entirely, the vast 4.20 am, June 24. It was anticipat- service as the R.35, she bore her new hull of the R. 38 actuar divided comed that owing to the airship being designation, ZR2, on her hull, at altitude of about 1,000ft.
The noise of its engiass could be pletely in the middle. One blazing the first of a new class, modifications and the American Air Service tricol- plainly heard and it seemed to be ass came down more quickly than would probably be necessary, add, as our star emblem on her rudder; going along quite, smoothly. I was the other, falling amid a hiss of fames previously announced, while
the
She was laid down in November, watching it, wondering which way it distance to the cast of the result of this
first trial Fier. Then the second considered satisfactory, it was de-1920, the works were taken over by the was 1918, by Messrs. Short Bros. In April, would tam, when, at 5.40 to the Victoria
down towards the water, where it control system. This was tone, and construction has been carried out. rested to the west of the Victoris further flight of about hours' The design was placed in the bands of Pier.
duration over the same ares took Mr. CE. I. Campbell, and decided Scenes which followed were almost place on the night of June 25-29 by the Admiralty in the spring of in iescribably strange. The disaster Careful tests ware carried out, as in 1915. had been a veritable cataclysm. the case of all new arships, and the alt of war experience up to People could not believe their eyes farther modifications were determined that date, and this taught, first The ship, indredi embodied While some were still rushing for upon. shelter, others came running Hatless
of all, the need for great height- from offices and shops, dazed by the third fight began about 7.30 p.m. on duration of voyage combined with under a certain pressure of gas and fill the cap of bitterness for the com- Following these alterations the attaining powers and also of long valves that opened automatically It only needed such a calamity to noise of the explosions and the tink-July 17, and the ship, after passing superior speed. Built for Britain prevented excessive inflation, which munity of eronautics. ling fall of glass from many windows over many of the most important and for co-operation with the Fleet, would otherwise occur during ascend takes the last bit of fight out of those tion Pier when the thing happened, have been so sudden or so terribly Howden Airship Base after a fight that presented to German airship en- ballast, and the tanks, like the control Government from its determination to No great disaster could possibly towns on the East Coast, landed at the problem was more difficult than ing movements The valves, the who have been trying to tum the vessel remained out over the North and it could be seen that several men complete. Sea awaiting a clearing of the atmos jumped into the ses. The back
A speed of gineers, for Germany is a land of com- surfaces, were all operated from the cease airship operations unless the phere, which would enable her to pro- gondols could not be seen. It was had floated the great airship-the ing upon the full engine power. Daring equable weather. Moreover, for the carried an engineer, instructions to Imperial airship line
the above 50 knots was obtained without all-paratively light winds, and has fairly control cabin. The engine cars each Dominions ceed to Fulham.
probably blown to atoms.
finest in the world Then, a few the fight it was found that sonde t Apparently the weather conditions
Terrible scenes were witnessed minutes later, after descending, so to the girdes amidships were weakened, darstion capacity sufficed and the pre. The bomb-sighter and the bomb re-six months will ruin moet of it, and Teman airship raids and patrols less whom were conveyed by the telegraph. laying up of the airship matanfor had improved sufficiently for this parthing could be observed. A great submerged and in barning, chapeless hours afterwards. The result of this that favoured a quick ran for harbour. Control cabin
when the say had cleared and every say, in fragments, she lay partially but the fight was continued for some vailing winds were from a direction lease gear were operated from the the time lost to experimenting and pose and at 3.40 p.m.
p.m. R.34 was majority of the crew were blown to masses of wreckage on the surface of trial was that reinforcements were Our sirships needed greater endurance sighted over Hall.
experience can never be recalled. Yes later she was seen to buckle and break pieces, and for hours afterwards parts the river, now covered with blazingonsidered necessary to the girders because the circumstances were al-į built, having a gas capacity 300,000 permitted to discourage sitship werk. She was the largest airship ever the disaster to the R.38 must not be in half. Two violent explosions felt their bodies could be seen floating petrol.
The fate of those on board became at Howden Airship Station, and was
specified. This work was carried out most the exact opposite. lowed, and the blazing remains of the in the river. Only three of the crew
cubic feet more than the surrendered The war record and the peace record sip fell into the river Humber are alive, it is reported.
became thronged by small craft which just before this date the unusually the total quantity of petrol being ship the next impelling thought. The river completed by July 30. Unfortunately holding 190 gallons (about 1,300th), R 33. She was oft longer than that pos
She carried fifty petrol tanks, each, and 700,000 more than the of airships are quite enough to go taking with them the majority of
shot out on their errands of rescuefine spell of weather was displaced by thirty tons. Interspersed with them characteristics of ZR. 2 were:
this disaster, when Small boats, two or three trawlers. extremely disturbed conditions, and were the water bags, some designed
The main dimensions and its cause is definitely known, must be turned to useful lessons and not and a couple of tramp steamers, ap- suficiently fine weather did not occur for instant emptying when it became proaching the still blazing wreckage, for further trials to take place:
Length..
be an occasion for accepting defeat. Diameter attempted to get alongside.
necessary to lighten the ship quickly. Capacity These contained a quarter of a ton each Then there were the ordinary water ballast bags, of which the flow could be turned off or on at will.
The fourteen gas bags had valves that could be operated, and also sasiety
The ship was just off the Corpora-
Shrieks could be heard, but and the general confusion and the sound of the windows falling out it was hard to tell wherce they were coming.
those on board,
Eye-witnesses state that the whole affair was over in a mute, So tre-
The engines fell into the river mendous were the explosions that
some distance from the pieces of the considerable damage was done to, buildings in the city. Had the gondolas. Within five minutes of the first explosion all that was left of the Proken great airship was tangled pieces of
dimater occurred 召 couple minutes sooner, the
ci
At
one moment
But the heat from the hydrogen fed fames was intense. The rescuers,
despite all they could do, were for the
of about nine hours.
DETAILS OF THE SHIP.
The design of the R.38 was a con-
and burning sirship would bave fallen envelope and wood and wires Boatingtime beaten off; and it seems that noderable departure from that of the There were ten tons of water ballast.
on to houses and crowded streets, instead of into the river.
about in oil-stained water.”
Butappily there were only tive sur- THEORIES OF THE CAUSE. vivors of the crew of the ill-fated air- ship, including Flight-Lieut. Wann, Reconstructing the statements of her commander, who is injured, aon expert eye-witnesses, it seems though not dangerously. R.38 had on clear that the enormously long hull board right British officers, five began most ominously to buckle-or civilian experts, and nineteen other "crinkle," as one onlooker puts it—¡ ranks, together with six American just about the middle. officers and eleven other ranke-- a total of forty-nine. Thus, the total death-roll amounted to forty-four.
SURVIVOR'S STORY.
·
movement or cry came from the
wreckage after it had fallen. The ex-R.36, or from the Zeppelin series an plosions and the fierceness of the exemplified in the R.33 and R.34. Its flammes seem to have done their work all too well.
w
AIR MINISTRY ACCOUNT.
The Air Ministry issued the follow- ing account of the tragic flight which led up to the disaster:
The kink, to the terrified eyes of the spectators, grew rapidly more proncancel It may be that the "The airship left Hoden base at vessel, while inclined a little steeply, 7.10 a.m, on Tuesday for her fourth was assuming too downward an angle trial, under the command of Flight- to satisfy the officer in control in the Lieutenant A. E. Wann. She reported fore-car. The order may have been her position at various times through- given to move over the elevators and out the day, and proceeded to carry Bring up her bow. And while in this out different tests which had been Mr. Hany Bateman, of Gordon-position it may be that some sudden arranged for. At eight o'clock last avenue, St. Margaret's, Middlesex, current of air, flowing at high speed night she signalled the following who was one of the five survivors, up the river, subject the long message: Will remain out to-night said to a newspaper representative:
Blender hull-built of an intricate to complete necessary trials. Several
ON TEN TAIL OF THE AIRSHIP.
"I am a scientific assistant to the lattice work of duralumin--ta a have already been successfully accom-
National Physical Laboratory at violent and quite abnormal strain.
Teddington, and about 10 am. Be this as it may-or even asum.
ウユ
plished. Will and tomorrow.
"The cruise therefore Tontinued the Tuesday I went a board the airing that the breaking strain was during the night, and at seven o'clock hip at Howden, accompanied by caused by the moving of the arship this (Wednesday) morning the R. 38 two others in the same capacity, into some unusual air pocket" which reported that she was flying in the Messrs. C. R Burnett and C. W. would subject her hull to a sudden neighbourhood of Howden. from Guffield. They also belong to Mid-twist the happenings of the next few which place she had started. She dlesex. We joined 47 others, English seconds were all too plain. Still continued firing over the area between. aud American. The crew included watched by the horrified crowds on Howden and Palhan during the day, 45 officers and inen.
the earth, some of whom began to run and at 1.15 this afternoon she signal- "I was seated on the tail of the hare tad there in panic, the huge lizer led, Will not land at Pulham until ship. She first flew over the North of the air broke completely in two cloud height increases.
Trials pro- Sea and towards Pulham. Norfolk with a rending crash of her interior ceeding satisfactorily,'" The ship was in perfect flying condi-metal work. Text instant tragedy! "Later she requested Howden to tion until 5.55 to-day. At that time following upon terror-there was the fly a kite balloon at 3000it, and to the controls were being tested at high sound of several thunderous explosions, give probable winds at that height, as speed when I assumed that the girder following which a huge sheet of Barne she was going to carry out full speed broke amidehips.
was seen to emerge from the part of trials, which were expected to take After a few short shocks the ship the hull where the breakage had about an hour. This signal was sent began to fall and a petrol tank ex-occurred. Petrol fires had been out at 15.50 (3.50 p.m.), and was ploded. I saw smoke aft: rwards for-started no doubt as a result of the followed by a further inessage timed ward about the ship. The ship then aterier fractures; and then some of at 16.30, saying, Carrying out began to fall into the Humber nose.f
the millions of cubic feet of hydrogen full-speed trials."
Half 82 downward.
za began to bura.
later, at 17.00, a signal was sent both to the Air Ministry and to Fulham, saying 'Landing Howden, 18.30.
"Earlier in the day the airship had requested both Fulham and Howden explosions, one in the fore-part and to keep a landing party standing by, then another in the rear section, that as the captain wished to be in a glass was blown from the windows of position to land at the station which warehouses on the Hull quayside, and he considered most favourable from sent hurtling in fragments into the the meteorological point of view. The streets. This fact, and the terrible last wireless transmission heard from menace of the blazing mass in the sky the ship was at 17.34 (6.34 p.m.),
*Immediately after the explosion I- : was thrown into the cockpit at the tail of the ship. I then attached may-
HURTLING GLASS.
self to a parachute and jumped over. So tremendous were the mid-air
board, but the rope of it had caught in some of the wires and I was unable to extricate myself. I was shortly afterwards with two others picked up from the sea by a barge called "Kion dyke of Ramsgate" and taken to the Hull police station.”
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