SALONIKA ZEPPELIN.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 14128, 3 July 1916, Page 2

SALONIKA ZEPPELIN.

BRITISH BATTLESHIP'S TROPHY

In their examination the crew of the Zeppelin brought, down at the mouth of the Vardar recently stated to the French Headquarters that the airship came from Temesvar, in Hungary. This would be a very long journey (390 miles in a straight line to Salonika), especially over so many mountain ranges. Till lately at least they had one at Sofia—much nearer. It would foe natural that the crew should attempt to conceal their point of. departure (wrote G. Ward Price, "Daily Mail" Salonika correspondent, on May 6th). It seems certain that it was a shell from an anti-aircraft 12-pounder on the fore bridge of a British battleship lying in the gulf that actually brought her. down.. The shell was clearly, seen to strike her, and she drifted gradually down on to the marshes, the fall taking over ia quarter of an hour. The prisoners have been lodged in a building that was formerly the German school at Salonika. Paying a second visit to-day to tho wreck of the airship, I noticed written in pencil on the aluminium boss that forms, the prow of the ship and- links up all girders of the frame an address scrawled in pencil in German characters. Tt read "Potsdam," then the name of a street and .i number which were iliegible, and then the date August 13th, 1915. This aay possibly be the date when the airship's framework was finished. Tt is any rate an indication of the approximate pei-iod of her construction. Traces of a number on her side look like L 55 or LBS. CANADIAN NURSES AT WRECK. One of the big petrol tanks was still binning this afternoon, 36 hours after the ship was set alight. The French have mounted guard over the ruins and in spite of the fact that the water alongside the wreck is 2ft deep and that to get to it you have to wado much deeper still, a party of Canadian nurses were among the sightseers who struggled through the swamp to it this afternoon. Nothing has been done yet towards moving the wreckage, which, would be very difficult over such a morass of tangled weeds and spongy mud. This desolate swamp may well bo the grave of tho sinister air monster. Its gauat skeleton rears itself up 50ft above the marsh ia-nd is a most conspicxious land-! mark for vessels entering the gulf. All round the framework are the semicircular 'brackets in which bombs were carried. Wo found one weighing 1501b still in position to-day. The propellers are of polished walnut wood built in layers and edged with copper. They bear the words "Lorenzen Propeller Partrax,' Original."

The Gorman naval Avar pennant which the ship carried now decoiates General SarraiFs room at the .- French Headquarters. The- Agamemnon (British battleship) wardroom will bavo a urachvalued trophy in the. form of one of hs< propellers

The only ; unfortunate event connected with this success is that a Canadian medical officer, trying to leach the wreck on horseback through the swamps, was drowned yesterday. He sank together -with his horse- in the' soft nuid while trying to ford a swiftly flowin": river. <***

[Reuter says the airship's flag was secured by a British, midshipman who was first'on'the scene, j