Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-17
Balloon Explosion Wipes Out
the Retiring Board of the
German Navy.
TWO FRIENDS OF KAISER
ARE AMONG THE VICTIMS
Disaster Attends Trial Trip Of Zep.
pelin Dirigible, Prospective Flag
ship of Aerial Navy.

:,
war airship, the LII, was de
stroyed in midair by an explosion
at IoI5 O'Clock this morning. All
but one OF the twenty-seven milf
tary men on board, including the
entire admiralty trial board, were
killed.
The disaster occurred just above the
main street of the city of Johannisthal
while the big dirigible, 500 feet long, was
making trial trip preliminary to its ac-
acceptance as flagship of the new German
aerial navy. The shattered hulk of the
airship. mass of blazing canvas and
crumpled aluminium, dropped 900 feet into
the public highway. Hundreds of people
who had been watching the flight from
parks and housetops rushed to the scene.
There was nothing to be done except to
take out the dead bodies OF the victims
of the disaster from the mass of twisted
wreckage. Lieut.. Baron Won Blul of the
Queen Augusta Grenadier Guards. who
was making the trip as Il guest, was the
only survivor of the wreck He was
badly injured and his condition is criti-
cal.
Many of the bodies were so burned and
mangled as to be Understandable.
The admiralty trial board consisted OF
seven officers. including Lieut.. Com
mander Behnisch and Senior Lieut..
Freyer of the German Naval Flying
Corps. The airship's pilot was Capt
Glund. veteran steersman in the em-
ploy of Count Zeppelin.
Naval Constructors Neumann and Pietz-
Ter and Naval Engineer Busch were
among those on board the LII.
Friends of the Emperor.
Lieut.. Commander Benisch was close
personal friend of the emperor He was
formerly navigating officer of the inn
periaI yacht Hohenzollern and later COM
rnander of the cruiser Panther.
Lieut. Freyer was also a favorite of
Emperor William. He was formerly per-
sonaI adjutant of Prince Adalbert, one OF
the sons of the emperor. He served with
the prince ON board a torpedo boat after
studying with him at the naval academy.
Spectators who had been watching the
impressive rnaneuvers of the LII from
below suddenly saw the great gas pas
burst into glarins fame and then fall.
y second or two later the reverberating
sound Of the terrific explosion reached
them. n
1t was impossible for some time to ap-
proach the flaming dirigible. beneath
which the members of the crew had been
crushed and burned
A director of one of the aviation COM
panies at the Johannisthal aerodrome was
an eye witness of the disaster. He de-
scribed il as follows;
''I was working in my office, about 500
yards from the scene of the accident, when
/ was startled by an explosion OF ex-
traordinary violence. My nrSt thought
was at an aeroplane had landed on the
roof OF my building and that the gaso-
line tank had exploded.
Blazing Mass Plunges to Earth.
II rushed to window and saw the new
dirigible in flames and plunging toward
the earth. The outer covering Of the air
craft had been already burned off and the
inner bailonets containing the gas had
disappeared.
.'Thc naked aluminium framework. with
It's long centerpieces. its interlaced ribs
and its 'apering ends, and the gondolas
containing the motors beneath, fell rapid
y. bow foremost.
''Waen the skeleton of the immense
craft struck tie earth the heavy gon-
dolas buried themselves in the ground.
Il rushed Immediately to the scene after
ordering out the fire department from the
aerodromc.
Coming 80 shortly after the destruction
of the III i'm hurricane in the North sea
September .. when fifteen men We're
killed. today's disaster gave rise to feel
lie had Within week been saddened by
the loss of many German passengers on
board the burned Nuiturno and by ac-
counts of the terrible mining catastrophe
in Wales.
Balloon Heads for Berlin.
The dirigible before she left the bal
loon hall at Johannsthal. took on board
her regular naval crew and a number of
officers. She headed for Berlin, a short
distance away, in light wind. About
dozen avators were circling the aero
drome at the time in aeroplanes. Every
thing was apparently in good order on
the airshp. She was gradually. getting
up speed when suddenly AN explosion
was heard by those on the ground. evil
IDENTIFY in one ef the motors in the center
gondoia- n flash shot out and the next
instant the whole ship was afire. Every
inch of the canvas covering and the bal
lonets disappeared I'm a moment A Sec
ond and more violent explosion was then
heard, the fire having reached the gaso-
line 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 Germany'S dirigibles
hay flaming mass on the ground.
The fire departments OF all the neigh.
boring suburbs, with detachments of the
balloon corps, the Pioneers and other
troops. We're soon the spot, but there
was nothing left to save
The balloon lay in a great curve IKE
a letter 5, mass of glowing wires
and tangled girders. The cylinders OF
the motors in the center gondola and one
of the after-propellers could be distin
guished Otherwise there was nothing tc
Indicate that the debris was that of Ger.
Inany's proudest airship
Caring for the Dead.
Pioneers armed with axes hacked a
the wreckage for two hours before the,
extricated the last of the bodies of th,
victims. The dead were borne M
stretchers to the balloon hall and a com
pany of solGiers roped Off the place te
keep back the crowd.
The six inmates of the center gondo,s
had been blown through the sides OF fh,
car by the first explosion, and thei
bodies fell a quarter of "A mile away from
the wreck of the balloon. which wa,
travelling at forty miles an hour when IN,
accident happened.
All the others except two We're anna r
entity killed by the explosion OF the Saso
line tank. and We're probably dead befor,
the wreckage reached the earth.
The commander and members Of tn,
Continued On Second Page) ;