ROMANTIC SHIPS OF THE AIR.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume XXIV, 3 August 1925, Page 1

ROMANTIC SHIPS OF THE AIR.

The history of airships is crowded ,vith romance, adventure, and great disaster.

Could any death, be more terrible than that which befell the crew otf the British airship NS 11, when, in 1919, it was struck by lightning while cruisr ing off Norfolk, and fell into the sea a blazing wreck? An unofficial member of the crow who perished' with the ethers was a black cat, the airship’s mascot. The NS 11 was commanded by Captain Warnei’ord, cousin of Lieutenant Wameford, V.C., who brought down the first Zeppelin, in Belgium.

In the same year Air-Commodore Maitland Slew twice across the Atlantic in the R 34, but two years later the airship, when cruising over the East Yorkshire coast, came into violent contact with a hill, and was then carried out twenty miles to sea by a high wind. She was brought under control again, and landed at Howdeu several hours later in a much-damaged condition. During the night night and the next day, however, the wind increased in violence, and 1< 34 was eventually wrecked by the gale. A disaster which we, in England, can look hack on with gratification was that which befel the fleet of Zeppelins that bombed England in October, 1917, in what was known as the “silent raid.” Six or seven of these giant death-deal era toured for five hours over the north-eastern and eastern counties, dropping bombs on London and other places and killing twenty-seven people and wounding fifty-three. Early the next morning eight Zeppelins appeared over France and were scattered all over the country like frightened birds by the French Air Service. Four were destroyed or forced to descend, one was driven over the Mediterranean, and three others were ci'.uglit in a trap. There was practically no doubt that all of these had taken part in the previous night’s raid on this country and had lost their way on tire voyage home. America suffered a severe loss in 1922 when her airship Homa crashed toeaith in flames at the air base in Virginia. Thirty-four officers and men were killed and 11 injured in the disaster. Perhaps the greatest airship tragedy of all time, occurred in 1921, when th ■■ giant R3B was wrecked by an explosion while passing over Hull, and 44 officers and men were lost. Of the live survivors, one, Corporal Potter, is a member of the buffeted R 33. The vessel broke in two and burst into flames before the eyes of thousands of spectators, and it is certain that the commander, realising the situation when she was passing over Hull, made the utmost speed to get clear of the town, thus saving- others from tragedy. The speed of the R3B was GO miles an hour, and she cost £500,000 to build. The giant French airship Dixnmde provided a ten-day mystery two,years ago. She set out from Toulon, carrying 53 men; on December 18, 1923, and disappeared. On December 28 the dead body of her commander was picked up off the coast of Sicily, and it was subblown away in a gale, and then struck sequently established that the craft was by lightning and lost in the sea. E.B.