The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-10-18
A DIM ir atty Board of
Seven and Twenty
Others Killed..
MANY OF BODIES
UNRECOGNIZABLE
Disaster Occurs Above Main
Street Of Johannisthal. and Is
Witnessed by Hundreds-Only
Survivor, Who Is Desper-
ately Injured, Begs Res
cucrs to Kill Him.

Berlin, October 17.-The entire Ger
man admiralty trial board OF seven
and twenty other military men were
killed to-day by the explosion in mid
air OF the largest and newest of the
Zeppelin war airshps, the IL H."
upon which the party was making
trial flight. Only one person on board
escaped.
The disaster occurred just above the
main street Of Johannisthal. The
shattered hulk of the 500 foot airship.
q mass OF blazing canvas and crumpled
aluminium, dropped 600 feet into the
public highway. Hundreds OF people
who had been watching the flight
rushed to the scene. There was moth
ing to be done except TO take out the
bodies of the victims from tho wreck
age.
Lieutenant Won Blued OF the Queen
Augusta Grenadier Guards. who was
making the trip as a guest. was the
only survivor of the wreck. He was
badly injured
Many OF the bodies were so burned
and mangled rs TO be unrecogni2abic.
Members of Admiralty Bonrd.
The Admiralty Board consisted of
seven officers. including Lieutenant
Commander Bchnisch aud Senior Lieu
tenant Freyer. of the German naval
lying corps. the airship's pilot was
Captain Gluth. veteran steersman In
the employ of Count Zeppelin
Naval Constructors Neumain and
Pietzler and Naval Engineer Busch
were among the victims
Spectators who had been watching
the expressive manoeuvres of the IL.
IL saw the great gas-bag suddenly
burst into glarins flame and then
fail a second later, the reverberating
sound OF the terrific explosion reached
them.
1t was impossible for sometime to
approach the flaming dirigible, be-
meath which the members of the crew
had been crushed and burned
Coming SO shortly after the destruc-
tion of the Il. L. in hurricane in
the North Sea on September Q, when
hftecn were killed, to-days disaster
gave rise to feeling of consterna-
ton in Berlin.
loon-hall at Johannisthal took on
board her regular naval crew and n
number Of officers She headed for
Berlin. a short distance away. in q
light wind.
Everything was apparently in good
order on the airship. She was gradu-
ally getting up speed when suddenly
an explosion was heard by those on
the ground. evidently in one of the
motors in the centre of the gondola.
Every inch OF the canvas covering and
the ba!loonets disappeared in q mo-
mcnt
Second Violent Explosion.
second and more violent explosion
was then heard, the fire having reached
the gasolene tanks filled with about a
ton OF liquid fuel. Before the echoes
OF the explosion had died down, the
wreck of the most modern Of Ger
many's dirisibles lay a flaming mass
on the ground.
The fire departments OF all the
neiGhboring suburbs. with detachments
of the balloon corps, the pioneers and
other troops were soon on the spot,
but there was nothing left to save.
Pioneers armed with axes hacked at
the wreckage for two hours before
they extricated the last of the bodies.
The six inmates of the centre gon-
OF the car by the first explosion. and
their bodies fell n quarter of a mile
away from the wreck.
All the others. except two, were ap-
parently killed by the explosion of the
gasolcne tank
Two of the crew were still alive
when rescuers reached the wreckage.
One Of them, however, died before
he was extricated. The other Lieu
tenant Baron Won Bluel was desper-
ately injured. Both his eyes were
burned out. He urged the rescuers TO
kill him.
Engineering experts. after studying
the wreckage OF the wreck all after
noon, were unable to establish any
thing definite as to the cause OF the
catas trophe.
Deliberately Planned.