DAY BY DAY

Waikato Times, Volume 94, Issue 14776, 15 October 1921, Page 4

DAY BY DAY

The story of the disaster to the great

The Disaster to Airship R3B.

airship R3B, as told at the official enquiry (the finding of which is now announced), by Harry Bateman, one of

the very few survivors of the catastrophe, suggests that those experts were right who expressed the opinion that it was caused by the explosion of the airship's gas-bags. But it does not agree with his earlier statement. Bateman, who was one of the physical laboratory assistants on board, was making scientific observations from the rear cockpit, at the extreme tail of the ship, when the accident happened, lie attached himself at once to a parachute and leaped overboard, but the parachute caught in some wires and he fell with the latter part of the wrecked ship into the river, whence he was speedily rescued. Speaking shortly afterwards to an interviewer, he said that the rudder had been thrown over for a sharp turn to test the controls, "and suddenly her back broke, and she split in two." His belief that a girder had broken was confirmed by Commander Mann, who was steering the ship at Ihe time. He said he heard a crash, and saw the airship break in two at the tenth frame, in the previous test, a tendency of the ship to "hump" had led to the discovery that certain girders had bfint, and some lattice work had buckled unfter the strain. Four girders were therefore strengthened, but the reinforced area ended at the ninth girder, and some experts believe that this reinforcement really weakened the ship, as it caused unequal distribution of the stress throughout the structure. There was a tendency at first to regard the disaster as dealing a deathblow to airship navigation, but the Americans intend to go on steadily with the construction of a sister airship, and England will no doubt not be discouraged frmn aeain attempting to solve the problems of "Ihrhlrr-lhan-air" aviation. "From such disasters," as the Times remarked, "all human enterprises have risen, more fully equipped for success."