The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-05-07
GERMAN ZEPPLINS HAVE BEEN "a
ONE OF THE CREATESTSUCCESSES
OF THE WAR;" SAYS ENGLISllNlAN

lars for refuge during a raid. An ov-
erwhelming percentage, even in the
most raided cities. prefer to gamble
on the risk, and as. up to the present,
the odds work out at about 5000 TO
one against, the chance seems worth
taking, simply to avoid the trouble OF
all these preparations, or II may be
sheer laxiness, or 1t may be the high
moral courage of the British people,
but certainly the German alrships have
not caused the agitation they deserve
to have caused after all the. trouble
they have taken; which only shows
that hard work alone does not bring
success.
Airship Projectiles.
So much for the cause and effects
Of the various air raids. One may now
say something OF the projectiles that
are used and their effects before pass
I ing on to a description of the airships
themselves.
The bombs are OF two kinds. The
high explosive bombs are commonly
known as H b. or as T. \. T., owing
to their being made of tri-nitro-toluol,
an explosive OF the nitro-glycerine
species, but far more powerful than
the nitro-glycerine itself. The T. N.
T. bomb is intended soelly to shatter
and II such a bomb causes a fire, 1t is
by accident. Used against houses they
are fairly deadly, and 200-pound t.
n, 7. Bomb would probably demolish
a good-sized hotel or a large block OF
fats II 1t hit fairly in the middle. +,
The other bombs used are incendi-
aries. These have very low explosive
powers, but contain a deadly mixture
which, when the bombs. burst, spread
over everything in the vicinity and
effectively set fire, to anything COM
bustible. The stun inside is called
''thernit," and is of the nature of the
stun inside the fireworks known as
Bengal lights" but burns much more
fercely; in fact its burning tempera-
ture Is about the hotties hing known
apart from such as furnace heats or
oxy-cetyiene flames. The result is that
"thermit' will set fire to damp mater
ials, such as wet woodwork, when
an ordinary petrol bomb would mere
ly dry the outside.
The "thermit" bombs are generally
cone-shaped things with a handle at
the apex and the fuse q the base.
The casing is OF thin metal bound
round with tarred rope. which in
creases the burst of the bomb. ap-
parenly, by its elasticity, like those
string-wound fireworks, known as
maroons. and also acts as an addi-
tional fire lighter. Occasionally, how
ever, the bombs never burst at all, but
merely combust internally, so that
one picks up metal cone full OF a
kind OF clinker or Stag and surrounded
by burnt rope.
Most of these bombs are big enough
and heavy enough to knock a hole
through the roof of an ordinary "eligi-
BILE villa residence" as the house
agents call them, but would hardly
smash a heavily built public building
and they have no SCATTERING power
sideways; consequently, unless they
land sauarely in the middle OF roof
they are harmless. for If they hit on
a slant they merely glance off and
II they burst on street they do NO
damage unless someone happens to be
standing close by where they burst
and is sprinkled with the burning
'thermit."
Very Disappointing.
| That is doubtless why the German
airship people keep pretty closely to
the system OF dropping big T. "
II. bomb or two and following 1t i'm
mediately by some incendiaries, so
that IL the high explosives falling in
the street blow out the side of house
the incendiaries may stand a chance
Of setting fire to the wreckage
AS a rule 1t does not work out il
practice, though good enough in theory
and the most successful fires caused
by bombs have been when incendiar-
les have fallen on cheap match box"
dwelling houses, or in storage places
such as timber yards. Occasionally
houses have set themselves alight af-
ter being smashed by H. E. bombs, but
taking It as whole the actual effects
have been-from the German point OF
view, and even from the enthusiastic
bomb designers point of view very dis
| appointing. There have been some
desperately narrow escapes, though
l know of one case where they missed
an important aero engine factory by
a matter OF feet. In another they
bombed without hitting, a waysido
farm alongside a straight white road,
evidently under the impression that
1t was station on somewhat I'M
portant strategic railway. They new
er seem to hit the right thing. Which
may be some consolation to any read
er who is hit by a bomb for he. or
she may rest assured that the bomb
was aimed at something else and not
at him, or her, as the case may be, so
that there is no personal animosity
about 1t. as ittwere. Having now
dealt briefly with the bombs, we, may
/ proceed to the ships themselves. !
Three Types OF Airships. .
In these days IL one says "airship"
everyone thinks Zeppelin" AS a
matter Of fact, Zeppelin is only one
type of airship among many, but as
1t is by far the most successful, 1t
gets the credit for everything. There
are. in effect, three types of airships
the non-rigid. the semi-rigid and
the rigid. SCOT
The non-rigids are simply gas bags
of gold-beaters skin or OF special fab
ric, shaped to the approved cigar form.
with car slung below. The gas bag
or envelope has to be kept in shape
y by internal nresSlire To insure this