New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-09-25
TwelveAirshipsDealt
Destruction Through
Provinces.
TWO RAIDERS
SHOT DOWN
England's New Defences
Prove Their Worth in
First Battle.

London, Sept. 24.-Ihe twelve Lep'
pelins that raided London and the
eastern coasts of England last night
took the heaviest toll in lives and did
the greatest damage in months.
Thirty persons were killed and 1l6
wounded, four probably fatally, by
tombs hurled from the skies. OF this
number twenty-eight men, women
end children were killed and ninety.
nine wounded within the metropoli-
tan district of London.
For the first time since the great
airships began their unremitting
campaign against England they dealt
wholesale death and destruction with
in the boundaries of the capital city.
} But in their first straight battle
with Britain's newly perfected air.
craft defences the raiders paid dearly
for their daring swoop into the ene-
my's country. To-day two of the
dozen super-airships lie stark and
black masses of steel and aluminium
in the little village Of Mangold, Es-
sex County, victims of shells from
England's newest anti-aircraft guns.
Zeppelin Falls in Flames.
One came down a flaming torch, as
aid the Zeppelin L-2l, destroyed three
weeks ago. The second, disabled by
gunfre, effected landing, which
saved the lives of the crew, who to-
night are prisoners in England. The
crew of the first raider died in the
consuming flames of their own ship,
but they were not SO terribly charred
as their predecessors Of the LII.
The rest of the great flying squad
ron were driven homeward by the land
batteries and by focks o. aeroplanes,
bearing many marks attestingNto the
skill of the gunners, who have made
it perilous for any hostile raider to
fly within 10000 feet Of British soil.
Whatever the rate Of Zeppelin con-
struction, the loss Of :hree Of the
giant craft in three weeks cannot fail
to be a staggering blow TO the Ger
mans, whose dream Of dominating tho
British Isles through the medium Of
shese monsters has now been COM
pletely shattered
The latest raider TO light her own
funeral on English soil collapsed and
was consumed much more quickly
than the L-2l. 1t is possible, though,
that some OF the men were still liy-
ing when the great vessel struck tho
ground. The captains body was
Thousands Witness Raid.
The death and bufning Of the frs.
Zeppelin were witnessed by tens OF
thousands of LonGons residents. but
the wounding and descent of the Sec
til to-oay's Official statements were
given out. Few details are available
of this second raiders condition, but
it is reliably reported that the crew
surrendered 20 special coBstables.
Many who saw the shrapne burst.
ing like skyrockets about the inva-
der. which subsequently caught fire,
think sthere must have been several
direct hits. Many aeroplanes were
aloft and attacked the Zeppelins from
all sides.
The property damage. while widely
distributed, is confined for the most
part TO small suburban dwellings and
shops, although one railway station
was damaged, some empty cars being
destroyed and part of the tracks
torn up.
Two Raiders Reach London.
The roar of dropping bombs was
heard in many districts where tho
raiders we're invisible. IL is not be-
lieved that more than two or three in
vading Zeppelns which crossed the
East coast succeeded in reaching the
environs of London, and that two OF
these paid the death penalty gives the.
greatest satisfaction TO the military
authorities. Apart from the loss in
material, the casualties of the last
two raids, it is believed. will have
depressing effect on the morale Of
the Zeppelin crews in the future.
Londoners were jubilant to-day but
there was not the same exultant en-
thusiasm as three weeks ago, indi-
eating that the destruction of giant
sky raiders is already taken as an
ordinary incident in this unusual
world war.
The fact that the airships were
brought down well outside OF London,
both last night and on September 8,
shows the care with which the defences
haze been developed. The efficiency in
dealing with the raiders was further
evidenced BY the speed with which the
searchlights picked up the first raider
that appeared above the suburbs about
Lidnight. Suddenly searchlight beam
shot into the stsrlit sky. Three more
dazzling shafts follfsed and within