Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1921-08-25
a. men
ROAST IN
D|R|G|BLE
Giant Airship Breaks In Two and
ExFlodes In England just Be-
fore Starting Across Ocean
CBy Associa.cd Press)

tEy AssociatcG Press)
Howdcn, England, Aug. Is
Norman Walker, Of Commerce.
Texas, the sole American surviv-
or of the wrecked airship ZR-2
i'll the first circumstantial account
OF the disaster which yesterday
wrecked the great dirigible, said
the accident occurred alter the
seed trials were successfully COM
pleted and Il test of the ship
control was being made.
Il was at the lower ruddcr," he
said. proceeding back to the tail
and had just reached the cockpit
when there was tremendous
crash. The girders broke amid
ships and the ship split III halves
and started downward.
Il cannot describe my scnsa
tions but thought my time haa
come.
Among the six officers and 10
men of the American navy who
died. was Robert Nj. Coons, OF
Owensboro, Ky.
Hull, Eng. Aug 25-Scvcntcen
officers and men OF the United
States Navy and p officers and
men Of the British Navy met
death Wednesday in the collapse
OF the great drigible ZR-2 over
the city of Hull.
Every one of the Americans on
board the ill-fatcd craft. persisted,
as far as could be ascertained at
midnight. In addition to the six
American officers on the ZR-2
there were also II American en-
listed men.
Only five men of the 40 who
were making The trial trip in the
dirigible prior to the vessel being
turned over to the United States
Navy are known to have been
saved.
The American officers who
started this trip included Com
1uander Louis H. Maxheld. Lieu
tenant Commander Emory Coll,
Lieutenant Henry w. Hoyt. Lieu
tenant Marcus II. Esterly, Lieu
tenant Commander Valentine n.
Bing and Lieutenant Charles G.
Little.
The American enlisted men
. who went up with the craft from
Howden were {. l.. Aller. Robert
Coons. l.. L. Crowcl. ]. I. Han
cock, William Julius. NJ Lay. y.
J.. Loitin. A. l.. Petit. w. J.
Steele. n. O. Walker and George
Welsh. Coons is from Owensboro
and was the only Kentuckian
aboard.
The British losses inClu0, he
famous air veteran. Brigadier
General L. NJ. Maitland and all
the other officers on board except
Lieutenant Wann. the command
er of the ZR-2.
Starting from Howep Tuesday
morning on test flight to Pull
ham. the big aircraft had been
afloat for tilirty-four hours, al
times in bad weather and was re-
turning to the Pulham airdromc
at the time OF the disaster. which
constitutes the most terrible OF
its kind in peace times,
The ZR-2 which was sister
ship OF the famous R-34, the first
dirigible to cross the Atlantic
was on her final test trip prior tt
being accepted by the United
States Navy and taken across tn,
Atlantic by an American crew es
peSially trained for that purpose
She was COS feet long and wa
built to carry a crew of thirty
Her speed was estimated at u
miles an hour. The American
navy was to pay $2,O0O.0OO TO
the craft.
While flying at about LOCO fee
over Hull. spectators saw th
ZR-2 seemingly buckle amidship
and plunge downward over TIL
city and into the Humber river.
One theory of the cause OF tn
disaster is that while the ship
rudders were being tested tn
giant craft took sharp turn an
caused her framework to buckle
and that the explosion of a gaso
line tank completed the TRACED