The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-10-18
ZEPPELIN EXPL0DES
CONTINUED from First page.)

airship, members of an admiralty
board consisting among others. Lieu
tenant-Commander Behnish and
senior Lieutenant Freyer. both OF the
German naval flying corps. Lieuten-
ant Baron Won Rleuf, OF the Queen
Augusta Guards. undertook to make
tht Trip hs a guest, and he was the
only Iterson to come out Of the wreck
alive He died shortly after.
Not Hitch at start.
The dirigihle took to the air at the
beginning of the trip as If 1t were
living winged thing There was not
itch of any kind and the faces OF
those n board beamed down upon
those who had been left behind.
4 Eight breeze was blowing above
the Eerodrome as the airship started
In me direction of Berlin. 1t had
seeped through the air about /. 500
feet when a pillar of flame shot
through the middle of the dirigihle.
followed by an explosion OF terrific
force that shook the surrounding
countryside. Then II began to rain
pieces of the mechanism. whirling
bodies and huge pieces OF the craft it.
self
The main body Of the huge machine.
warped and twisted dropped bow
foremost and the heavy gondolas were
buried deep into the ground.
Immediately following the explosion
the balloon caught fire and the rush
to earth was not unlike that of giant
meteor blazing it's way to the earth.
Blown Through Car
AT least six members of the crew
were stationed in the central gondola
and they were blown through the
sides of the car. their bodies falling
1900 feet from the main wreck.
1t is believed that nearly every
man was killed in the air by the ex-
plosion and fire.
1t was said by some of those who
witnessed the accident that there
were two explosions in quick success
sion, the second and louder one oc-
curing when the great gasoline tank
blew up.
Todays flight was a test OF the al
tltude rudders preparatory to the off,
cial test flight to Hamburg and back
tomorrow. The ship carried more per-
sons than was expected though it is
not suggested that this had anything
TO do with the accident. One of the
motors was somewhat refractory be-
fore the start, but this was rectified
and the motor afterwards worked
perfectly.
Eye witnesses say that at least a
dozen persons fell out Of the LIZ when
VIC SAhP pidNeA up pSipAN WIG NNPfo~
sions. Their shrieks could be heard
above the roar of the motors
There were three different explo-
! sions. Hundreds of windows in
houses in Johannisthal were shattered
by the conclusion. The school chill
dren, who thought an earthquake was
prevailing, were panic-stricken and
fed in all directions.
Instantly Killed.
All those in the front car of the
ship were killed instantly. Three who
were in the stern car were taken out
alive from the wreckage, but two Of
these died soon afterwards, one muir
muring something about his wife and
child" The other, Lieutenant Baron
Won Bleuf. suffered awful agony from
burns on the face, legs and arms He
pitifully implored those nearby to
Kill him. His injuries were so shock
ing that it must have been regarded
with satisfaction that he died at $3.50
o'clock in the afternoon.
All the persons in the ship were
terribly burned and their bodies were
unacceptable except that of Senior
Lieutenant Freyer, of the German
naval flying corps. who had drawn
part of his leather suit over his head
with the evident purpose of avoiding
suffocation. He had also made a
vain attempt to save himself by cling
ing to the wire cable around which
his charred fingers were found clasped.