The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-08-31
German Aircraft
5000 Fl. Up Can
Set London Attire
DR.. Armgaare Karl Graves Tells Of Mar
vellous New Zeppehns---Secrets
Known Only to Staff

Eve men and twelve toms of dead
weight. 1t travelled under severe
weather conditions, the month being
March, and snow storms, hail and
rain occurred throughout the voyage.
The significance of this hight can
be easily understood If you consider !
that the distance from Strassburg or
Duesseidorf to Paris ct other strate-
gical points in France is apprixo-
mately $50 kilometres. A ship like tha
Zeppelin X could sail over the French
border. dynamite the Notifications
around Paris and return, the journey
being roughly about 1000 kilometres
less than the actual trip made by the
Zeppelin y.
Moreover. the German military
trials have shown the possibility of an
aerial fleet leaving its home ports and
cruising to foreign lands and returning
without tha necessity of landing to
replenish its gas tanks or fuel.
"The operating sphere Of the new
balloons has extended from 100 to L.
400 Kilometres. Secret trial trips OF
fully equipped Zeppelin like x Is,
carrying crew Of twenty-four men,
six quick-firing guns and seven tons
Of explosives have extended from
Stettin, over the Baltic. over the
Swedish coast, recr0ssuE the Baltic
and landing at Swinemunde with
enough gas. fuel and provisions left
to keep aloft another thirty-six hours.
THE distance. all told, covered on
one OF these trips was 1,is0 kiio-
metres. This fact speaks for itself
The return distance from Hellgoiand
to London or any midland towns in
England corresponds 10 the mileage
covered on recent trips. In the event
OF hostilities between England and
Germany this statement needs no ex-
PLANTATION.
+ seven Tons OF Explosives.
4 THE capacity Of seven tons of ex-
! plosEves does not exhause the re-
sources Of this type Of weapon. ] have
/ 1t on good authority that the new Zep-g
peiins can carry double that quantity
Of explosives IL necessary AS the size
I Of these vessels increases so does the
ratio of their carrying capacity. foio-
ture the havoc IA dozen such vuitnres
could create attacking a city like Lon.
don or Paris. Present day defense
against these ships Is totally mad
equate
! In attacking large places the Yep
peiins would rise to An height of from
5000 TO 5000 feet. at which distance
these huge cigar shaped engines OF
death, 700 feet iongh would appear tina
size of a football ard no bigger,
know that Zeppelins have suceessfullv
H
feet Picture them q that elevation.
everybody aboard in warm, comforts
able quarters. ready to drop explosives
to the gound.
AT 5000 feet the small target
Zeppelin affords would move at a rate
Of speed Of from t1irty-five to sixty
miles an hour. The possible chances
OF being hit By terrestrial gun fire are
Enthusiastically small.
sHThfs docs "a fftH account
the vast opportunities that n dfigibls
has for nigh attacks, or the possible
!ity of hidin among the clouds. Tne
Y Is. sailing over Londoc could drop
explosives down and create terrible
havoc They don't have 10 aim, They
simply dump overheard some of thu
new explosives Of the German govern
ment. this new chemical having the
property OF setting on fire anything
that II hits, and sail on And remem-
Der that wherever the new German ex-
'plosive strikes coufagration begins.