A ZEPPELIN VOYAGE.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 8, Issue 88, 12 April 1916, Page 2

A ZEPPELIN VOYAGE.

FROM GERMANY TO LONDON, A COMMANDER TELLS HIS experiences. The air raids last week over England and Scotland have set people talking of the power of the Zeppelins and the damage they can do. What is it like to be in a Zeppelin? The German Commander Mathy gives some interesting particulars in his talk to Karl von Wiegand (correspom dent of the “New York World”) about his Zeppelin raid on London. GLIDING THROUGH THE AIR.

“As the sun sank in the west we were still a considerable distance out ove rthe North Sea. Below us it was rapidly getting dark, but it was still light up where we were. On one side another Zeppelin, in grey warpaint like that of my craft, was visible in the waning light against the clear sky, gliding majestically through the air.

“A low mist hung in the distance where England was. The stars came out, and it grew colder. We took another pull at our thermos bottles and ate something. As we neared the coast I set the elevating planes so as to go still higher, in order that our motors should not disclose our presence too soon. “I cannot tell you the exact time or place we crossed the coastline, as that might be to the advantage of the enemy. The men went to the guns which fight off aeroplanes, and the others were each at their posts. My lieutenant took his place at the firing apparatus which releases the bombs and controls the speed or rapidity with which they are dropped according to my orders from the bridge or the front of the gondola. It is a cold, clear, starlit night, and 'there is no moon —one of those nights when the distance of objects in the sky is illusive, and difficult to get the range of, but our instruments tell us exactly how high we are..” A FAIRY-LIKE PICTURE.

Commander Mathy pointed out how the Thames was an excellent guide to their Zeppelin, however dark the city might be. He adds; —• “I headed straight for the glow in the sky, and then for a point on the Thames to get bearings for my attacks. Scon the city was outlined in the distance. There were dark spots which stood out from the blur of lights in the well-lit portions. The residential sections were not much darkened. It was the dark spots I was after, and I bore on them, as they marked the city. “London seen at night from a great height is a fairy-like picture. We were too high to see th e people in the streets. There was no sign of life except in the distance the moving of lights of what were probably trains. All seemed still and quiet, and no noise ascends from below amid the spluttering of the motors and the whirring of the propellers.

“Our motors and propellers soon revealed our presence. First one and then another and another of those ribbons shooting out from glaring eyelike searchlights pick us up. Now from below comes an ominous sound that pentrates the noise of the motors ami the propellers. There are little red dashes and short bursts of fire which stand out prominently against the black back-ground.

THE SOUND OF GUNS. “From north and south, from right and left, they appear, and following the flashes rolls up from below the sound of the guns. It is a beautiful and impressive but fleeting picture as seen from above, and is probably no less interesting from below —the greyish dim outlines of the Zeppelins gliding through the waving ribbons of light and shrapnel cloudlets which hang thickly. “But we have no time to admire; our eyes and minds must be concentrated on our work; for any moment we may be plunged below, a shapeless mass of wreckage and human bodies dashed into the unrecognisable. You saw it at Johannistal (the aerodrome near Berlin) two years ago. I had so little time to register my impressions that I had to think back to give you a descriptive word picture of the scene.”

The commander next spoke of the shock your nerves get when the London searchlights pick you up, and you see the first flash of the guns that are taking aim at you. Pulling yourself together however, you pick out such places as the Bank of England, St. Paul’s, etc., and so get your bear-

ings. You then give the order “Fire slowly” and |b flowing that, t!iere mingles with the noise of the engines the thunder of the explosives caused by the bombs you are dropping. FLAMES FROM THE' CITY. “I soon observed flames bursting forth in several places. Over Holborn Viaduct and the vicinity of Holborn Station we dropped several bombs. Prom the Bank of England to the Tower, a short distance, I tried to hit the Tower Bridge, and I believe I was successful, but what was the extent of the damage I could not dete/rminq. Flashes jfrom the Tower showed that guns were placed there,

which I had already observed during a previous attack. They were keeping up a lively fire. “Arriving directly over Liverpool Street Station, I shouted ‘Rapid fire’ through the tube, and the bombs rained down. There was a succession of ‘■-•nations and bursts of' fire and T could gee that they had hit well and caused apparently great damage, which has been confirmed by reliable reports we have since received.

“Flames burst forth in several places in that vicinity Having dropped all my bombs I turned my airship for home My orders had been carried cut quickly. Despite the bombardment of the sky we had not been hit. i “In point of damage and hitting the object which I was instructed to attack it was my most successful trip over the vicinity Ascending or des- I cending until w e found a favourable wind we made a quick return.” '

The above extracts will give readers some idea of what it is like to be in a raiding Zeppelin; what the sights and sensation? are to be in an aircraft »ent on mischief, sailing over a hes*i'io —Fee and the Uvri’lmsr p"'* v >R T ‘ :<v r>. "os that come to one engaged in ba*-

ties in the ain JWhen Ccmman'’°r Mathy published these experiences they were passed by the censor in England, but it was pointed out that many of tb e statements were entirely untrue.