MISSING FRENCH DIRIGIBLE DIXMUDE

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LII, Issue 8479, 28 December 1923, Page 3

MISSING FRENCH DIRIGIBLE DIXMUDE

WORST FEARS NOW AROUSED

Pres- Assoc. By Tel Copyright

Aim. N./. Cable Roc. Dec. 2S, 8.5 a.m. L* mien, Ike. 27

The disappearance of the airship Dixmude, following the dramatic cessation of wholes* communication, is attracting the widest attention and deepest anxiety. Interest in air ship potentialities has been greatly increased lately, owing to the discmsioii cf possibilities of an airship service to the Dominions. The newspapers give prominence to lengthy despatches from their Paris correspondents, detailing the latest report. The speculations of avia! ion correspondents shew the keenest desire to learn any lessons obtainable from the misnap. The worst fears arc aroused by the discovery that some of the latter optimistic reports were aronndlcss and tl;e fact that the French. Ministry of Marino has issued a. full list of those aboard, after refusing to rive a list for several days. These include five officers of the French Navel general staff, eight other naval officers, Dr Veiwbseur anc, Biiity-six of the rank an 1 file. The Diyinnde left the aerodrome near Toulon at six o’clock on rhe morning of the 18th inst., with the* intention of making a. seventy-two hours non-stop voyage across the Mediterranean to the' sales in South Algeria and hack. She reached her destination and was signalled on Thursday morning on the' return voyage about fifty miles south of Biskra, travelling in the direction of A'gicrs. The commander, on hearing news l of had weather, hove to him eastwards towards the Tunisian border.