The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-09-20
ANOTHER ZEPPELIN DISASTER

ANOTHER ZEPPELIN DISASTER.
In the contest between the heavier.
thanair flying machines and the
balloon principle, the aviators in the
first named have in great numbers
paid tho forfeit OF their lives for the
benefit Of their science. and the dole
full toll that has thus been paid is
distressing to humanity But in the
matter of property loss in the aeroplane
or tho biplane, if there is loss, there
is no great value lost. On the other
hand, when the balloon airship of the
Zeppelin type is destroyed there is
great property loss; but more than
oompensating, there is usually no loss
of life. There has been in the long
list of Zeppelin disasters no loss Of
life from the Zeppelin air machines un-
til the dstruction Of his military
balloon in the North Sea within the
past week. That machine seems to
which dashed it into the North Sea,
and then after floating an hour it
crumpled in the middle and sunk with
the loss Of sixteen out Of crew Of
| twenty-three men. There appears to
| have been a studious effort to keep the
details Of this accident from the pub
| lie, and little has been published about
| it.
This Zeppelin machine was known as
LII, and was in the military ser
| vice She had few days before
weathered a heavy storm and come
safe to land; and so great confidence
was felt in the machine. She en-
countered bad weather on her way to
Heligoland from the main shore, was
struck by hurricane which cast her
into the North Sea, where she was de-
stroyed with the loss Of all but seven
of her crew.
It is stated that there was defect
in the construction of this machine,
| This, however, is probably a mere
guess, because the same machine had
| withstood a heavy hurricane On her
former voyage. 1t is, Of course, a diff
ferent thing to withstand storm in
the air from what it is to withstand
storm in the sea. Violent agitation
in the air may not be enough to break
the light fabric of Zeppelin airship.
but place the same airship in the
heavy waves Of the stormy sea, and
it is impossible for her to withstand
the heavy shocks The fact that the
ship rode the waves intact for an hour
in the sea is indeed wonderful tribute
to her strength and staunchness. If she
had not been of unusually sound con-
struction she would have gone to
pieces at once upon striking the water.
1T is not expected, however that an
airship of that description can with,
stand the buffetings Of the sea; it is
enough if she can withstand the buffet
ings Of the air, which are of much
lighter character; heavy enough, how
ever to drive this machine in the sea
and thus insure it's destruction.
Count Zeppelin is surely the most
uDlucley man in air navigation that the
world has ever produced; and yet he is
of perseverance unquencbable, and as
soon as one of his great airships is de-
stroyed, he sets to work to build an
other. In the thirteen years which
have passed since Count Zeppelin made
the flight in his first airsbip over Lake
Constance twelve Of these machines
have been destroyed; but the first to
entail loss of life is this last one. I'm
doubtedly Coune Zeppelin will proceed |
at once to build another airship TO take |
the place of this one Just destroyed, |
Just as he has built new ones to take
the place of those destroyed heretofore |
He is an indefatigable optimist in the
matter of air navigation, and is per.
sistent in his determination to master
the air, much to the admiration of the |
German court and the masses Of the
German people