Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1921-08-26
BRITISH BUILT air
ship BLOWS UP
so KILLED WHEN ZR-2 EXPLODES
HIGH IN AIR OVER
ENGLISH CITY


final trial flight, a report to the navy
department from london said. The
report, fled at 1880 p. M, said at that
time there appeared to be only six sur
vivors from the entire complement.
London, Aug. 24.-Fifty men were
believed 70 have perished in wreck Of
the ZR2. Waters of the Humber were
being searched for traces of the crew.
London, Aug. 24.--The giant airship
ZR2, purchased by the United States
from Great Britain, exploded over the
city of Hull late today. ~
More than so persons were on board
including the crew: of 49, and Of these
it is known definitely that several were
killed and many hurt.
Norman Walker, Of Commerce, Tex
as, was the only American survivor Of
the ZR2 disaster, according to reports
at late hour today. Walker jumped
from the wreck as it hit the water. He
was picked up by a tug and was unhurt.
The airship is wreck in the Hum
ber river and two bodies and number
of injured men were taken from the
water Immediately after the catas-
trophe. --
The airship was passing over Hull in
fine style when suddenly it was seen
to break in two. Instantly there was
terrific explosions and the airship burst
into flames and commenced to descend.
Three parachutes at once left the
ZR2.
On board the exploding airship was
Commander L. H. Maxfeld, of the
United States navy, a st. Paul man,
who had been assigned to command
the giant craft on her voyage across
the Atlantic to America. Commander
Maxfeld had not yet taken over the
command and the dirigible was still in
charge of the British at the time she
blew up. Maxfeld 8 fate is unknown.
Hull reports that five men were saved
from the crew of 49. :.
A Hull message announces that the
badly burned body of Ensign Marcus
Easterley was taken to the = mortuary
but later message says Easterley was
saved. It added that Captain Swean,
the British officer who caahmanded the
ZR2, was unharmed.
AS the explosion occurred, spectators
dashed panicstricken in all directions
for fear Of being enveloped by the
wreckage, which fell just over the Vic
toria pier. The explosion occurred at
$40 p. m. -,
Burning fragments sof the airship
belched dense columIe of smoke and
fame which extenaet hundreds of
feet along the surface of the water.
Eye witnesses saw at s least four
men descend from the burning airship
by parachutes. Three men were seen
hanging from one parachute.
Tugs and other craft of all kinds put
off from the shore for rescue work i'm
mediately the disaster was witnessed.
simultaneously corps of ambulances
dashed to the pier and took injured
members Of the crew to the infrmary
as they wer4 landed.
Shortly before Z p. m, it became
known that the airships' captain had
been rescued. Several bodies had been
recovered at that time.
The explosions in the big dirigible
were of such force as to wreck many
of the windows of store fronts in the
center of Hull.
At p. M, at least six survivors had
been picked up, one of them with a
broken leg and one severely burned.
It was while the ZR2 was crush,,
over Hull that she was seen to emerge
from the clouds and suddenly break
in two. One portion appeared to rise
in the air. The other descended slow
ly and fell into the Humber. One ex-
plosion occurred as the ship was falling
and another after it touched the water.
The ,wreckage hoated on the water
about 200 yards from the Riverside
quay and continued to burn.
One Of the survivors named Bateman
Of Halifax, said he was in the tail Of
the ship making photographs when the
rudder was turned sharply to the right,
bringing the airship from the center of
Hull toward the Humber. One Of the
main girders failed to stand the strain,
it appeared, and the disaster resulted.
The turn of the ship carried it over the
Hull pier, where it descended, burn
ing mass, the crowds running for safe
ty in fear that the burning monster
would fall in the streets.
RED CROSS WILL NOT ENGAGE