The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-10-23
VENGEANCE FAILS
To DevaState London and Paris
on Same Night.
'sZep" Fleet on Mission To
Garry Out Kaiser's Threat.

Washington, Oct 23-Germany
probably lost one-half of her total eff
fective fleet of super-Zeppelins as a
result of the raid of October 20 over
England, according to official cable
grams received here. All France is
exultant over what the dispatches de-
clare to be the greatest defeat admin
istered to an air fleet since the begin
ming of the war. The qualification is
more intense because it is now known
that the German raid was an attempt
to carry out a fearful threat of ven
Egeance made four days before.
/ On that occasion the German gov
ternment sent out a warming to both
France and England of dire punish
ment to follow what the Germans de-
clared to be unwarranted and inhuman
attacks by British and French avia-
tors, upon peaceful German towns.
Reprisals were threatened in an Off
cial German communication which in
part reads:
Germany's Terrible Threat.
For every brick which falls from
peaceful German homes whole rows of
buildings will be overthrow in
Paris"
The official French report of the
attempted German raids follows:
The first Zeppelin was brought
down at St. Clement on the borders
of the forest of Mondon, ten kilo-
meters Sfrom Luneville. 1t was seen
at $40 a. m. journeying with two
other zeppelins. 1t was at once at
tackled by one of our army'S defense
sections. At first a series of shells
were fired at the Zeppelin when it
was distant 1000 meters. The Yep
peln promptly rose to a height of
$500 meters In fresh attack by
the aircraft guns the fourth shell
struck the outside envelope and the
| Zeppelin caught fire.
1T remained a mass of metal and
India rubber and broken propellers.
Five dead bodies horribly mutilated
were found near the Zeppelin. Others
must be buried under the ruins which
are still smoking. There could not
have been any bombs left in the Yep
penn as no explosions were heard.
The apparatus had four propellers.
About 2:20 p. m. Zeppelin No 40
was forced by our aviators to come to
earth near Bourbonne Les DANES
1t is intact. The commanding officer
and seventeen men We're made prison
ers; (Ihls is the airship referred to
at length in today's cable dispatch.)
Third Falls and Crew Captured.
"A little later the third Zeppelin,
the L-50, came down at Dammartin,
near Montigny Lerio and two officers
and fourteen men of her crew were
captured. Two of the crew were
slightly wounded.
/ THE Zeppelin's crew detached a
car which they entirely destroyed. The
! Zeppelin without ballast went off
with four men. From the declara-
ton of the prisoners this Zeppelin left
| Oldenburg for London, October 10
! but was unable to reach the English
I capital.
/ Two Zeppelins entirely destroyed
were attacked by our ayiators and BY
| our anti aircraft guns and came down
! in the valley of the Saonne, alight-
! ing in the region of Sisterton. The
/ crews after having burnt their Yep
| pelins, attempted to escape, but were
taken prisoners.
Two other machines were seen in
the south, one landed at Larange in
! the lower Alps. The other was seen
/ by the aviation center al Frejus drift
! ing towards the sea in vertical po-
sition and disabled.
Thus probably the Germans lost
/ five of their Zeppelins, which were all
/ of the new type from PA to PA
meters in length and carrying seven
and nine engines, with from 1900 to
| 1000 horse power"
! Half Her Zeps DESTROYED.
Summing up the extent of the dis
aster to the German airfleet the report
says that Germany altogether has con-
| structed probably 100 Zeppelins of
which sixteen were destroyed before
the war. The losses officially report
ed by the allies were six in 1914; six
teen in 1915: twenty-five for 1916 and
| three for 1917.
Thus the minimum O. the sixty-six
| Zeppelins have been destroyed, to
which must be added half dozen
more lost by accident and expert
| mental trials. Deducting machines
loaned to Bulgaria, Germany now has
on the western front only twenty-five
super-Zeppelins. The greatest air
| fleet concentrated against England in
Belgium and northern Germany has