TERRIBLE AIR TRAGEDY

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 285, 26 August 1921, Page 5

TERRIBLE AIR TRAGEDY

DESTRUCTION OF R3B BREAKS ASUNDER ON TRIAL TRIP FORTY-FOUR LIVES LOST l NAVIGATING OFFICER SAVES HULL FROM DISASTER / By Telegraph—Pres, Association— Cocycle!** London, August 24. Tile biggest airship in the world, R3S, which was built in Britain for the United States Navy, and was about to be flown across tho Atlantic, broke in halves and caught fire this afternoon while making a trial trip over Hull. There Were forty-nine people on board, and only five-were saved. Three parachutes were seen to leave the airship. Thousands of people watched the airship cruising over the city at 5.40 p.m. A few minutes later the Occident occurred, and the craft fell into tho Humber River, belching a dense column of flames and blue smoke. The effect of, the explosion wrecked .shop windows in. the centre of the city. Two dead bodies have been landed and a number of the injured are In hospital. Lieutenant Wann was in command of R3B, Flight-Lieutenant .Little was second in command, and Flight-Lieutenant Monr tague was the navigator; Among those - oil board were Commodore Maitland, the officer commanding all the British air-\ ships, Major Thomas, and twenty-one Americans,’ including Commander Maxfield and Lieutenant Coil, commander and second in command of tho American crew for the/Atlantic flight. Bateman,' one of the survivors, states that the airship took a sharp turn to the right when over the centre of Hull, and another survivor says'that one of the main girders failed to take the strain. Bateman hung on to tho rear portion, and alighted in the water safely. Those saved were tho commander (Flight-Lieutenant A. H. Wann), Bateman, and three Americans. The loss of the craft will fall on Brit-ain.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

EYE-WITNESSES’ ACCOUNTS

SKILFUL NAVIGATING

PREVENTED SHIP FALLING IN CITY. August 25, 8.15 p.m.) i / London, August 24. R3B, with her silver coat glistening: in the sun, was sailing above Hull, apparently in perfect’safety, at a height of 1000 feet, -the whole city looking on. fhe spectators commented on the beautiful appearance of the airship, engineers observing that tho engines were firing very evenly. The airship then disappeared in. a cloud. When it emerged, the spectators were horrified to see it break in two portions. Both descended slowly, the nose portion, which was the largest, coming down first. As it did so a mass, believed to be an engine and ono of the gondolas, fell from the.airship. Two terrific reports followed. The foremost portion of the craft landed on a sandbank in the rear, half a- mile away in tho Humber.

Thousands of people rushed to a pier near the spot where the wreckage lay. Tugs and small boats hurried to assistance, despite the fact that fragments of the airship wore burning on the sand-bank and floating in the water, but they were only ablo to pick up two survivors—Flight-Lieutenant Wann, who is reported to be seriously injured, and Bateman, a youth, who was, able to walk to an ambulance after a tug had landed him.

R3B developed certain structural weaknesses' a few weeks back,, and the frame was strengthened. Sho went for an extended trial from Howden last . night, and sent a wireless message that the trial was - most successful.

Tho airship intended to land at Pulham, Norfolk, but a thunderstorm raged there for two hours, and a wireless message was sent ordering her to wait, owing to the heavy clouds. At 7 o'clock this morning R3B was reported flying oVer Howden. and at 1.50 p.m. she was. east qf the Wash, proceeding to Pulham. The vessel had been in the air thirty-five hours when she approached Hull. Rudder tests were being carried out at the time of the disaster. Bateman, who was saved, was in the tail of the ship taking photographs of the rudder tests. An eye-witness on .the ground says that when it was apparent that the ship was .cracking up in the middle, her- engines ‘were working at a' terrific speed. He believes that Lieutenant Wann, realising tho danger, put. on the utmost speed in order to get clear of tho city. The general opinion is that the commander’s skilful navigation- alone prevented the ship falling in the centre of the city. At it was, the force of the explosion wrecked windows and shops fronts in tho main streets. Many people on the quays were .thrown to the ground. Apart from Lieutenant AVann and Bateman, Americans, who took to the parachutes, werej-escued from the Humber. They are: I. Davies, W. Porter, and O. Walker./ . Tho two latter were uninjured. Davies wns sent to hospital. Lieutenant Little was taken from the debris alive, but succumbed whilq. being' conveyed to hospital. It is just possible that some bodies are inside the envelope floating jn the liver, but there is no chance of their being alive. —Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. -

PRESS CORRESPONDENTS’ DESCRfPTIONS ** SPECTATORS STUPEFIED BY ACCIDENT XIOR-E TERRIBLE DISASTER AVERTED. (Rec. August 25, 9 p.m.) « London, August 24. The "Daily Telegraph's" correspondent nt Hull states that as he watched the giant airship ho thought her sylph-like appearance suggested a visitor from some fairy world. He said to a. friend: ‘‘lt make’s one want to cheer.” A few moments later the airship's nose pointed down, and clouds of green-coloured vapour poured . from her ‘ side. As the volume of vapour increased the airship appeared to bend or break in the middle. The rear portion detached itself and began to fall. As it fell bright red flames appeared. “I realised that the airship that rode so proudly a moment earlier was on fire. Two loud reports in quick succession told tho amazed spectators that R3S had come to her doom. T-lio stricken monster crumpled up. Some of her crew wore to be seen descending in parachutes. It was all over in less than a minute. Tho effect on the spectators z was stupefying. Many women burst ip to tears. When I reached the pier the vessel which had been the aerial pride of the world lay in the water a twisted mass of flthrlc and framework, with portions of its length burning for hundreds of feet along the top of the water. The only part bearing a.uy resemblance of an airship was the stem. which,, ballooned to a considerable height.” Tho "Daily Chronicle’s” correspondent says he was watching tho airship as her long graceful shape came out from I a light summer cloud, when suddenly it i buckled and broke in two, and flames I shot from the ship's side with a loud i explosion. AVhen the mass fell headlong into tho river many spectators were I panic-stricken. But it seemed that the

navigating officer had had a few seconds’ warning, and by a supreme effort got clear of the city. This last thought of a num facing death averted an even more terrible disaster. Sergeant Busby, a member of tho American Air Force, who was a spectator, told me: "I consider there was some fire amidships. The airship collapsed in the 'centre when turning. It was God’s mercy the disaster did not occur over the town.” The "Daily Express’s" Hull correspond-. ent describes the explosions as like immense rockets. When the material touched the water n. huge column of flames and smoko went up. It seemed that nothing on earth could live in this inferno. River pilots ’.’ho first reached the sinking airship say the fore end broke away forty scctonde before the after part. They saw beds and blankets dropping front lier, but they fell into tho other portion of tho wreck, which was a mass of'flames. "We had to cut sections of the envelope,open with jackknives to get the survivors out, but were unable to extricate the dead.” Tho correspondent continues: “The first man brought ashore was unconscious, but a second was smoking a cigarette none tho worse except for a ducking. Ha said: "I saved myself by climbing with the officers on to the rudder of the airship." This man was Davies, an American, who was picked up swimming in the river. When landed lie walked through a thousand people, who cheered him to the echo for his pluck. Interviewed later, Davies said: "We had a terrible time. It was all over in a minute. Many of tho poor fellows had not a cat’s chance. Some jumped overboard. I was one of the lucky ones.” — Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. ‘‘RUNNING IN FINE CONDITION” MESSAGE SENT JUST BEFORE ACCIDENT (Rcc. August 25, 9 p.m.) London, August 24. An official communique states that the time of the accident was 5.45 The cause is unknown. There is difficulty in obtaining information, as no member of tho Air Force personnel was near tho scene.

Tho newspapers point out that the loss of life was greater than in any previous airship disaster. R3B was G 95 feet long. Her cruising speed averaged a mile a minute, but her fastest speed was sdv-enty-five miles an hour, and her cruising range was 6500 miles. There has been rumours regarding her airworthiness in circulation last week serious enough ,to warrant a denial by the American authorities.

Some spectators state that they observed! a diagonal crack at the moment of tho disaster, which rapidly developed, until the ship broke in two. A- wireless message dispatched two minutes before the accident, however, and received in Howden, said: "Running in fine condition,” and added that tho vessel would reach Pulham at 6.30 p.m. ’ > •' A pathetic fact is that no fewer than nine of the American naval airmen stationed at* Howden had married English girls during tho months of waiting for completion of R3B. The last ceremony took place at Howden on Sunday. The bodies of the victims will be embalmed and sent to America. Lieutenant-Com-mander Byrd, who'came from America to command tho airship during tho Atlantic crossing, arrived at Howden too lato to take part in this cruise, though he watched the ascent, and was going to Pulliam to board the vessel when he heard of the disaster. Mr. Bateman was tho representative of the National Physiological Laboratory’. Mr. Turnbull-, the designer of the airship, and Mr. Warren,, the superintendent of the ( Air Force Works, were also on board.' Commodore Maitland held tho world’s records for balloog flights and parachute descents. He once left London and landed in a Russian forest. Ho was on board R 34 when she flew the Atlantic. Commodore Maitland was the firmest believer in tho possibilities of flight to Australia, and was looking forward' to taking part in it.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.(

USE OF HELIUM ADVOCATED INSTEAD OF INFLAMMABLE GAS. (Rec. August[ls, 11.50 p.m.) _ \ ' 1 Now York, August 25. The “'New York Times” AVashlngton correspondent reports! that aviation experts agree that if helium instead of inflammable gas had been used, tho R3B accident would not have resulted in the destruction of the airship and such a loss of life. The Aero Club of America has 'issued a statement, suggesting that hereafter only helium should be used in American dirigibles. A hangar costing three millions dollars, and taking two ■ years in construction, had been erected at Lakehurst, New Jersey, by the Navy Department to house the ditigible upon arrival in America. Tho Government has built a largo plant for tho production of helium at Fort Worth, Texas, near the oil fields, ■ tho only natural source of supply of helium. , Mr. Edwin Denby (Secretary of tho Navy) cabled to the American Nava!) attache in London: "Tho Navy Department of the United States extends to the Air Ministry and the British Navy flio deepest sympathy in the appalling disaster to ZR3 (tho American nomenclature for R3S). AVe hope our; earlier reports will prove exaggerated concerning the loss of lifo." Admiral Moffett, head of the American naval air service, commenting on the accident, ,'regrott>ed -that so many good aviation officers and men should have lost their lives. » Ho added: "AVe will carry on and build and operate as many big rigid dirigibles as necessary, in order that those brave men shall not have given their lives in vain." Commander Maxfield was 38 years old, and? like Maitland, was one of the pioneers, having received a 4ieavier-than-air license before the war. Ho saw service during the war. It is understood that an agreement exists between the United States and Britain, under wliiich the United States paid two million dollars for the dirigible, provided that if tho airship were lost on its trans-Atlantic flight the loss should be borne by Britain.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

R3B, which made her first trial flight successfully in June, travelling for over six hours with 48T people on board, was larger than any German airship, her gas-containing capacity being almut 300.000 cubic feel: more than that of tho ex-German airship L7l, which was surrendered to Great Britain under Hie terms of the Peace Treaty, and that of tho L 59, which flow, in November, 1917, from Bulgaria to a point near Khartoum and back. She wns the first airship of purely British design, and not merely a cony of previous German shins. She was laid down in 1919 as the pioneer of a class which' wa* to comprise four airships, the other three of which were cancelled after the Armistice. The main dimensions and characteristics of tho vessel were as follow:—Length, 695 ft.; diameter, 85ft. 4in.; capacity, 2,700,000 cubic feet; total lift under normal conditions, 83 tons; total horsepower, 2100; engines, 6 Sunbeam Cossack,' of 350 horse-power each: normal crew (officers and men), 28 to'3o. The disposable lift, i.e., the useful lifting power available for petrol and oil. crew, stores, armaments, ballast, etc., as originally designed was 50 tons —approximately twice that of the R 33 and R 34 —but some reduction of this figure followed from various alterations, such as bow mooring gear, to enable the airship to be moored to a mast. R3B would have carried, wlion fully equipped for service, about 32 tons of petrol, sufficient for a flight at full speed’ of 5000 miles, or at cruising speed (60 miles Jier hour) of 6506 miles. An airship of the R3B class, adapted for transport, could carry forty passengers and two tons of freight in a non-stop flight from England to Egypt in about forty-eight hours.