Aerial Pullman Wrecked.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14274, 13 August 1910, Page 2 (Supplement)

Aerial Pullman Wrecked.

LATEST ZEVI'I'.US FALLS IN A 1-"0KI->T. LOXDOX, July 5. After a ten hours' flight with the elements on Tuesday the XepiK!:u ai>--hi'> Deiitsehlund was b-ater „„., :u ,],,.. ! end of the day lay a helphas wreck in the forests of Teutobm-g. on the herders m \Yestphaiia ami Hanover. it was anything but an ideal day f.-.r an aerial voyage, for the wind * was blowing strongly, and rain threatened Jt>ut-_iepresentatjves of the German and ■ foreign Press had Inpn invited, i■•, tek ■ . n trip, and the owners of the ve^le!. ; nut wishing unfavourable reo its <>i t'-.", . j Deutschhiiid's prowe.o to '-a abroad"' uecided that she should gu"tip. .| Aecordiiigiv at < i-h; i ; , the morning I • tiio l,eut-chian (l was tow.rd from j. e .. i ; shed at Jh.sseldnrf. and sent alor>. on j . what was v., have been a two hours" trip. I ne commander chos> a we-t-r- ' • ly course to .show that his vessel could make .headway against a strips he-id : wind and all went well at first o\- ; cept the speed was alow. beiV, a t tin-i-3 not more than six mil-? an "hour "" . 1 he continuous wmd overstrained the maohuie'rv. and .!»t no«,n one of the motors brake'dawn. ,tiom that moment things we„t fron' : had to worse. AVitK partiailv dis->bl-i ! ,: machinery the Pemsohiand .nlt.-rnr.telv*] ,'lmve beiere the -ale and made dos- : perat? anomnts to make hcadwav j , against the wind. . j >"'»; ami again in a moment of calm I ;thc airship would gain a mile or so. ! I hut- this advantage v.onld h.- V=t a ■ , moment later. The cancan, tried "ovorv I lnethod that suggested itself. He to.t- > 0(1 the currents at various altitude- in '■ Jiopes oi finding one xhat wonUi td.-e ; . nin back to iJusseh'ori. but in vain; i Hour arter hour she hauhd the S storm. I.nt uiwiicces-fiillv and wa= ' gradually driven eastwards. ' ~ 1 ' Harly in the afternoon th o connnan- ! >ler dropped weighted envelop,-' ;,.-'- i dressed to offirors in oharg- of „»rri- I sons at Dortmund and iMiiouster" re- I spoctively. asking rhor.i i., have troops j . Hi readmess To h<>!„ then, t , 1 ,„d -,t ! either of those places. The telcn-r.s ! were picked up "and despatched " and ' troops u-ere called out. but it i-.roved ' , inrou-sihie to land in either town j I The Deutsehhmd drifte<l ever them ! 'at the mercy of the wind, and .seen dis- ! appeared from the view of the waiting j I troops. A similar attemnt was made j '■ to laud at Tauernhorn. and this was : equally unsuccessful. I ; l'p there in the eiouds the passengers i wore going through a terrible expon- i ;ienee. The wind howled through the! t'.y-'gi'ig of the Oentschiand. the rain '. fell m torrents, saturating tb.e < uvel.,r.a '• and adding greatly, by 'the addiroe'-.l weight, to the cantain's difiicuite.s. ""' . i 'I Hue passed, and the greet airship was driven farther and farther awey from her goal. Tho ballast had all been thrown out : and. in order to oompen- I sate for the less of from the bal- i . lnanets .i-xtiiisinyliiTs «ere ih:-i;wi! I out of the ear. The petrol was now ! failiner. for Ihe lleutsehland had been • nearly ten hours in the air. instead of i , two. Suddenly dense black ram clouds i i loomed ahead. A moment later the' airship plunged into them and a white . fog closed round, .shuttiim out every- ! thinjr from the view of those on board. ' ■ This continued for hull" an hour. Then the petrol gave out and the wlurlins propellers faltered and stood still. Al~ j most simuhitenousk- the :>:rshii> drop- i . pod through the cloud, and theVe onlv .' ■ a. few feet be'tow, was a hill covered j i with a dense iir forest. ; In vain the commander tried to avoid the threatened catastrouhe. With petrol and ballast gone, tlie machinerv iise- : less, and the -as in the ballooncts ; steadily diminishing, the position was: \ hopeless. The prow of the diripih'e dip- j I ped downwards/ and the elevating ! planes were, brought into nlav. But .the ship had lest'all lit'tim/ power. ' As a last resource several of the passengers were removed into the stern , . car in an endeavour to restore the I ; equilibrium of the shin. One of the • mechanic, voluntarily leaned from a ■ I considerable height 'into "the trees in i ; order to lighten the forward ear. and * I hroke his thigh. His heroism was vain. I A downward eddy of the gale seized [the Deutschland and forced Iter earth- . j wards. I ! There was a slumping of srnvs and j [ a. crashing of glass ".and then the great . airship settled on the trees, the tens I ; of which forced their way through the I '. floors and sides of the saloons, the passengers being amazed and startled to j find themselves suddenly in a leafy ) . bower. " j In a moment the Tb-uhschbind was i wreck. The prow struck the around. : and the after >-.a>-f, was between ' two trees and held tightly. The halloon )\ n'as ripped alien bv the branches, nnd I

: the v.-inlows of ihr. saloon ears .tvliieE |1::-] been i ],::.;l to pn,t.,;t> the yawni -•'"-- _ I r"iri 'ho ram. and v.'ind JVOKJ ' Sl'ja-'e-d. |. ; f ,: ' i: ' ! '' ,''."' : 'i J -; '-" r "~ ovm-ants of the .'{'■}> down a rone ladder to '-' ie ground, borne were cut- by broken ,-4'.:i:-s. and • thrrs w t re hTUi=-?d" by conjtret with the trees. The- had a lono- : I, '"' !r ' trnmp over nmddy fields to the ■ "e'ir?.si t'.wn. i f-emt /.epiviin and his wife were at ji'iauKiort ui,o„ t],,. „o« s Rachel them !.'•• li; '' 'h-a-ter to tlic Deutschland. j ' !»■ i our,; was uneif..votl. but the Cotin|te>s our<t into tears. The- greater uart cf the material of I tiie Deutschland has been salved atid , loadetl on trucks for transnort to I-ricdru-hshafen. The aduminium mtme <,r the airship will be melted uown at the factorv and recast. the atrshin com;va:\v hinx- to be able i'o reb'.uld the ve-«d at tite cost of a. ! !■•;>'•• thousand -ranius l )y u.sin- the salv- '_';' mat.'rial The q;K=tioii of bringing }:'■'-' ; ':'', l '- ,ii I J f- which is ijow at , I'riedr.<!i>:iafon. xo Dusseldorf to rej pace_ the ])outse!i!a]id in i]\n passenger j service :s under consideration.