AIRSHIP COMEDY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 13092, 4 June 1913, Page 8

AIRSHIP COMEDY.

FRENCH EXPERTS EXAMINE THE

ZEPPELIN

"PRICELESS SECRETS LOST,

. ' LONDON, April 8. In the course of the trial trip of the German, Zeppelin Z IV. airship last week tael vessel lost her way, drifted over the Freiich. frontier and came down on the parade ground, of the great garrison of iiuheyille. ( c The airship was immediately surrounded by French, troops. Three officers of tho German ,;'ai-my, m uniform, we're on board, and they were detained by the French authorities. ', An inquiry held into tho matter showed that the' dirigible was a private nallobri belonging to the Zeppelin Company, and that the three officers aboard composed a trial commission. It also established tho fact that the officers, seeing that they were over a large French garrison town, decided to come down for reasons of propriety, and that they had I completely lost their bearings. The capj tain on board, .who was also president j of 1 the commission, gave his word of ! honor that neither he nor any .of his companions had taken any observations regarding France's national defence. The authorities informed .tvie officer m command of the Zeppelin that ho was free. The dirigible, with only the mftehatiics'on board, went up m a strong wind,'' and after- hovering about for an hour finally departed m a northerly direction. The officers subsequently left m a motor car, accompanied by a special commissioner, for Avricourt. The airship arrived safely at Frascaty, near Metz.

EXAMINED BY FRENCH EXPERTS

The French aeronautical experts naturally took advantage of the unexpected opportunity, to find out as much as possible! ;^b' out the aerial visitor. It appears that the ZIV. is the largest airship m existence,/ being 385 fet m length. She h^i /two 1 small cars. The foremost^ one— that of ;the comjnander — contairfs a motor of 160 h.p., .\vpj&Jing two screws at the stern. There are". 'fcvyo more motors, each of t'lio samo h.pV, "\vbrlung two other propellers. Any I of vie .rjrppelle.rs can be worked by one or.,, more' of the 'motors. The upper part of the car consists of a V-shaped corridor," while another narrow' gallery runs all round the balloon. Here ate arranged ih perfect order picks, shovels, spades, ropes, and spare parts. '. ... , In.th.c middle of the corridor is the commander's cabin, with barometers, thermometers, altimetres, and .other instruments. ' There are also a lavatory and dark room for develiping pbotqgraphs, with all necessary accessories, and a special cabin with complete wireless installation. v Every detail is perfect, but Live genoral impression is one of great fragility. The airship is not armed, but could easily be fitted with machine guns ooth m the cars and on the top. On the roof is a platform about 10 feet square where guns could be mounted. The airship bore away souvenirs of her brief sojourn on French soil m the shape of numerous inscriptions covering the car, among which Vive la France ; s prominent. - .. GERMAN PRESS COMMENTS. The Berlin press and public, with few exceptions, manifest a masterly composure' over tho fall of the Zeppelinj secrets into tho hands of the French, but m the ultrapatriotic quarters of the "Air Party" (says tho Berlin correspondent of the Daily Mail) the ZlV. 'a fate produces a state of mind bordering oji hysterics. The Taegliche Rundschau suggests Miat tho officers of the ship "can only be adequately dealt with m the way France dealt with Marshal Bazaine for the surrender of Metz — namely, by court-mar-tial." The journal agrees v.ith tho Die Post that it was the unquestionable duty ;of the senior German officer m ZIV. to 'blow up the airship, -IV itii all on board and let.it alight on the parade ground at Luneville a shapeless mass of smoking wreckage, rather than run the r : sk of permitting its "priceless secrets" to' fall into French hands. ]

When the Zeppelin Passenger Ai-ship Company's offices at Frankfort-on-Main sent word to the Kaiser at Hamburg of the events at. Luneville, . His Maiesty's first inquiry was for the names of tho officers on board.

It is declared that the French Intelligence Department has gained informatoin for which it would probably have been glad to pay an 'immense sum of money, .That is the point which strikes the Germans as by far the gravest aspect of the 1 affair. The Taegliche Rundschau even expresses the fear that the prize which has fallen into France's hands may be doemed by her of such enormous value that she will not much longer delay the "day of reckoning." Captain Hildebrandt, m tho Lokalanzeiger, however, says the French will not even now be able to imitate the Zeppelins.