FIERY FATE OF AIRSHIP

Cromwell Argus, Volume L, Issue 2648, 17 November 1919, Page 6

FIERY FATE OF AIRSHIP

STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. ci:i:w or nine perish. For tht! first time the British airship rleet litis suffered a disaster, .-ays a London correspondent, in dcscrib'ng the tragic fate of the airship NSII. In the early hj urs of the morning NSII. one of our nonrigid type of airships, wan struck by lightninu over the North Sea. She came down in flames, and her crew of two officers and seven men perished—nine in all. This fate overtook her off the Norf.dk toast, when, as a coastal airship, she was mi her way from her aerodrome at J'ulham (Norfolk) to help mine-sweepers at workin northern waters. It is supposed that -lie ran into a thunderstorm, anil in the midst •if it received a fatal shaft that scut, her down into the waves. Immediately news of the disaster reached Cromer a search was organised, hut no trace of NSII was found. Reports by eye-wit-nesses showed that all went well until the Norfolk coast was practically passed. NSII was seen travelling some miles out to sea. and later returning towards land. .\ peculiar noise made by her engines suggested that she had developed engine trouble.

While she was still some distance from land local residents were awakened by the sound of a tremendous explosion. Then NSII was seen to turn on end and crime down in a mass of flames. Just before she reached the sea there was a second explosion, which scattered fragments of her broadcast. Foi a long time her hull could he seen on the w.i'er blazing fiercely. Charred fragments of it were washed ashore at Sheringham and at Weybourne. They were laken over by the coastguards, and later they were shown to and identified by two officers, who came from Pnlhnni. As she burned i" the air the glare of her flames lit up the sky tor miles around, and the sound of the first explosion was heard far away in the distance, whetv it resembled a long-drawn-out rumble. Sheringham was the nearest lifeboat station, and the news first received there was that a boat was on fire and was sending up flares. At the time the weather wajs fine but threatening, and a motor boat 'irst hurried away to the spot. The lifeboat followed at '5 o'clock. Another motor boat put off at o.oO: but half tin hour later both were obliged to return, for the wind was then blowing a gale from the north. Though the lifeboat remained at sea until daybreak she failed to rind the body of the airship or any of her crew. Mrs Hudson, of St. Margaret's. Blakcney. tells a. most vivid story. li I could not get to sleep." she says. *" so when I heard the sound of an airship at 12.50 I went to my bedroom window and searched fhe sky with a pair- of field glasses. I soon picked up the airship, which was coming from tho s.nth. It was one of the big silver-colored type, and when 1 first saw it it was going along so splendidly and so gracefully that I turned to my husband and said "l should like to be in it, T watched it until it disappeared, and then went back to bed. Soon I heard the sound of the engines again in the distance, and it seemed to me that the ship was returning. For half an hour the noise went on, and the next tiling 1 heard was an awful explosion, and then there was a Hash, which brilliantly illuminated our room. I rushed to the window again, and saw the airship, which suddenly took a plunge and came down in flames, dost before it touched the sea there was a second explosion,' and flaming pieces burst from it. With my glasses I seemed to be ihle to see something black drop out of the ship. It was almost like a parachute. it. was 1.45 when 1 heard the first explosion, and a thunderstorm burst immediately afterwards. Haiti came down in torrents, but the airship continued to blaze for some time." As an airship of the non-rigid typo NSII was used dining the war for spotting enemy submarines and mines. In February and March she accomplished some lemarkablo long-distance flights. Dine she made a voyage of more than I.OCO miles over the North Sea. touching Denmark, the Heligoland Bight, and Holland. Tints she established a world's record for a non-rigid airship. She was in the air for 4QJ hours, and her voyage ended in a gale. She was equipped with two 260 h.p. Fiat engines, and had a gasbag capacity of 560.000 cubic feet. She was capable of a speed of over 50 miles an hour, and the crew were housed in a cabin about 50ft long. Com paied with K3 T > and R54, she was a very small craft, being scarcely one-fifth the size of these monsters. On one occasion when she remained in the air for 101 hours she covered a distance of 5,000 miles.