AIRSHIP EXPLODES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1483, 4 July 1912, Page 5

AIRSHIP EXPLODES.

VANIMAN PARTY KILLED. By Telegraph—Pross Association—Copyright' New York, July .1. The big dirigible Akron, containing Mr. Melvin Vmiinian, his brother (Calvin Vnniinnn), ami three others, exploded when at an altitude of a thousand feet, near Atlantic City, New Jersey. All wero instantly killed in the prcsenco of three thousand spectators. Tho airship burst into (lames and fell liko a plummet. The bodies being en(aagled in tho wreckage (ell into the sea. Tho airship was intended for a transAtlantic flight. WIVES WITNESS TRAGEDY. New York, July :l. A pathetic feature of tho destruction of tho Akron was that the wives of throe men, who wero companions of Mr. Vanimau, saw their husbands killed in tho fall. Mrs. Vanimari fainted when sho saw her husband and brother-in-law fall into tho sea. Divers nro searching for tlio bodies, which wero entangled in the balloon. The origin of the firo causing the explosion is unknown. ME. VANIMAN'S PLANS. Mr. Melvin Vauiman's new dirigiblo balloon, m which tho disaster occurred, was only recently completed at Akron, Ohio, tor ii second attempt to fly across tho Atlantic Ocean. Mr. Frank A. Seiberling, president of tho Chamber of Commerce of Akron, was bearing tho tntire expense of the expedition, which, it was estimated, would be between .£25,000 and .C 30.000. Mr. Vnninian recently gave somo details of his proposed attempt. "Crossing the Atlantic in a dirigible," ho said, "is not a question of winds or navigation any longer. As far as gas is concerned, the present perfection of rubber-coated fabrics for dirigibles will enablo a balloon to stay in the air for thirty days. No special typo of balloon is necessary, but it must be non-rigid. Tho dirigible will be equipped with two motors, each of 105 horse power. It will bo 2GS feet long, ■171 feet in diameter, and will have a capacity of 350,000 cubic foot, and a lifting power of 25,0001b. The gas bag nlono weighs 40001b. The ciw will include, in addition to myself, a wireless operator, a navigator, two mechanics, a cook, and a eat named 'Trent,' which was tho mascot of our last trip." Mr. Vanimau, who was about 15 years of age, was a.member of Mr. Wcllnian's unsuccessful Arctic airship expedition. In 1010 he was a\sq a moniber cf Mr. Wollman's party in tho airship America, which made an unsuccessful attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Tho big dirigible, with a crow of five on board, left Atlantic City on October 15, 1910, and travelled in the air continuously for threo days, when Wellman and his four companions and a kitten we're picked up by the steamer Trent, off the North Carolina coast, about 375 miles cast of Norfolk, Virginia. After cutting loose tho boat-car, the gas envelope and its' trailing "stabilizer' wero abandoned. Although Wellman failed in his attempt, ho established new records for the dirigible, making 100S miles, as compared with a. former record of SSO miles, and remaining in the air 71-} hours, as compared with 3" hours, tho previous record of Count Zeppelin. Tho airship used was constructed in Paris under the direct supervision of Mr. Melvin Vanimau, who was responsible for most of the design and construction details. No ballast was carried, but attached to a cable about 330 ft. long was a "stabilizer," consisting of 30 steel tanks filled with gasolene, and 6ome 10 wooden blocks. These trailed along in the water. . New' Zealand was visited by tho late Mr. Melvin Vanimah about twelvo years ago, when he arrived from Amoricn— working for a San Francisco photographic firm. With a specially constructed camera ho took a series of wonderfully niio' panoramic views of the four centres, of Rotorun, Lake Wakatipu, and other places, setting a new standard in panoramic photography. To get one section of Auckland he rigged up a huge mast at the foot of Ouccn Street, and took the view he wanted from tho top.