A ZEPPELIN

Otago Witness, Issue 3333, 30 January 1918, Page 55

A ZEPPELIN

INSPECTED BY EXPERT. The air expert of the Chicago Daily News, who lately visited the Zeppelin which recently was wrecked at Bourbonne-les-Bains, France, communicated the following account of his impressions to Reuter's correspondent: "Having just visited Zeppelin L 49, which fell five kilometres (tliree miles) from here, I have been struck by several facts. In the tanks there was still a large amount of petrol; the alcoholised water (used for fluid ballast) was frozen in the reservoirs; and in the 19 balloons of goldbeaters' skin there was a great lack of gas. The only conclusion to be drawn from these facts was that the Zeppelin'3 descent was caused by want of gas, and the impossibility of dropping ballast owing to the freezing of the water. Two meteorological authorities have informed me that 'the Zeppelin's commander was in all probability deceived by the heavy wind, like a mistral, which was more violent at the higher than at the lower altitudes. The highest altitude shown by 'the barometer was 7000 metres, and rising to this height no doubt 'resulted in loss of hydrogen, and caused the fluid ballast to freeze. After descending to a lower altitude, the commander was unable to reduce his ballast, but went on in the hope of reaching Germany. The French fighting machines, however, forced him to land. "I went all over the captive airship from the turret platform to the cars. In the wireless telegraphy compartment I found some dry biscuits marked ' Hannover,' but was afraid to taste them for fear of poison. After all I had hear,d of Zeppelin comforts, I was surprised not to find much: on the contrary, I should not care to pass a night in one even for the pleasure of bombing Berlin. The means of communication in tho interior of the envelope conwire here and there to assist' the passenger sisted of an aluminium bridge four and a half inches wide of very fragile construction, made of small pieces of aluminium and thin wood with wire here and there to assist tho passenger in keeping his balance. The sides of tho bridge were merely waterproofed cloth —nothing else between the passenger and the ground beneath. All perhaps that was necessary, but still MAKESHIFT WORKMANSHIP.

" I confess to being somewhat surprised at the makeshift appearance of the construction and workmanship, of which any English or French workman would have been ashamed. One notable exception, however, was tho wireless room and installation, which closely resembled that of a Transatlantic liner of the latest type. According to a French expert who was sent to examine the appartus, it included several new features of some importance. He assured me that, in spite of tho operator's attempts to destroy the machinery before abandoning the ship, it would bo possible to reconstruct tho apparatus completely. " Forward of the wireless room the roomy bridge on the control station was furnished with a fibre mat and with thick glass wind shields on all sides. On the right and in the centro were two wheels for the elevating and directing rudders respectively, like those on a small motor yacht. A chart table stood on tho right. Square stools with rounded corners made of thin wood were used here as elsewhere. They wero so lightly made that when a French officer stood on one in order to reach the envelope it collapsed. Aft of the wireless room stands the engine room, where the largest of the five motors actuates the direct drive propeller. This is reached by a ladder, which leads to a narrow path sOoft or 600 ft long, within the envelope. On the engine-room floor there was a folded parachute, which looked as though tho engineer wore it attached to his shoulders until the moment when the commander decided to surrender. From this main motorroom, where the engine is twice the power of the others. I walked insido tho envelcpo along a frail narrow path of little sticks mounted on aluminium to a point where two diverging paths led to the nacelles. On the way I passed a tube of balloon cloth enclosing an extremely light aluminium ladder, with rungs as far apart a<? possible, and leading to this was a wooden ladder reminiscent of those used for toy dog performances, but probably much less strong."