Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-07-15
PILOT AND FOUR COMPANIONS
DIE IN PRUSSIAN DlRlGI-
BILE DISASTER.
FEW WITNESSES TO ACCIDENT
Oscar Erbsloeh, Winner Of 1907 st.
Louis Race, One of the Victims.
Explosion of Benzine Tank Re-
sponsbIe for Accident.


balloon Erbsloeh, recently refitted for
passenger service, was destroyed In
mid-air through the explosion of
benzine tank The inventor, Oscar
Erbsloeh, and his crew of four men,
dropped to their death.
The bodies of the aviators were
frightfully mangled. The gondola was
torn to bits and the motor buried it
self beneath the surface of the
ground.
The victims were men well-known
to all Germans interested in aerial
feats, and Erbsloeh gained an interna-
ton reputation when, in 1907, at ST.
Louis, he won the international cup in
the distance race for balloons. His
companions were Herr Toelle, manu-
facturer of Barmen two engineers,
Herr KranZ and Herr Hoeppe, and
Herr Spieke, the motorman.
Balloon Had Been in Other Mishaps.
The Erbsloeh was constructed last
wear and had dubious career, The
first time it descended it crashed into
a clump of trees and it's occupants mar
rowly escaped injury. few days
ago, during arial flight, a propeller
was broken.
The balloon which was of the non
rigid type, had just been made over
preparatory to the establishment of a
passenger service between Elberfeld
and nearby points. Wednesday it was
inflated for final test by the crew.
The ascent was made near Opladen
and during fog.
There were few eye-witnesses of the
accident According to these the start
was we'll made. The Erbsloeh rose
gracefully, pushing it's way through the
fog to a height estimated at several
hundred yards. At this altitude a
series of evolutions was begun. To
the onlookers the airship appeared to
obey her helm perfectly.
Suddenly there was a loud report
and at the moment the fore part of the
vessel crumbled up and the gondola
was twisted about until it appeared as
though standing on one end.
Arship Flutters Like Wounded Bird.
AS the gas escaped from the forward
compartment the prov swayed down
ward For flash the airship futtered
like a wounded bird and then fell
swiftly to earth.
Erbloeh and his companions were
killed the second that they struck the
ground. Their heads were battered in
and every limb was broken.
An examination of the wreckage
showed that the benzine tank had
burst, tearing to shreds the rubber en-
velope directly above it. The destruc-
ton of this envelope caused the bow
to collapse The stern compartment
was still filed with gas when it struck
the ground.
The death of Erbsloeh and his crew
with the destruction of the balloon for
which much had been hoped, following
closely upon the loss of Count Yep
pelins Deutschland, has caused great
gloom in aviation circles. The public
scarcely had recovered from the shock
caused by the accidental death of
Charles Stewart Rolls, the English
aviator, when they learned that Erb
sloeh had been added to the long list
of Germans who had lost their lives
while ballooning. The effect was de-
pressing.
ErbsIoeh Was a Daring Aviator.
Oscar Erbsloeh had made many dar
ing and successful balloon flights. In
the ST. Louis aerial races, when he
won the international cup which had
been taken the year before by Lieut..
Frank P Lain at Paris, he covered
distance of S76 miles. Starting at
ST. Louis he landed at Asbury Park,
NJ J., two miles farther from the
point of ascent than his nearest COM
petitor, M. lie Blanc of France, who
came down at Herbertsville, N. J.
Erbsloeh on that occasion piloted the
balloon Pommern.
In February, 1909, Erbsloeh made
remarkable balloon trip across the
Alps. His balloon, the Berlin, remain
ed in the air for thirty hours, reaching
maximum altitude of about $4,000
feet. An average temperature of about
IL degrees below zero was experienced.
!