New Britain herald., 1921-08-25
STORY OF zR-2
 TOLD BY WALKER
Continued from First Page).

me dlfShlp where glrder was l when she was first brought ] to HoWden. The girder had been i however, and the ship found to be perfectly airworthy, it was said
 None of the authorities here would venture any opinion regarding the cause of the break.
 Diver, Working.
 Hull England, Aug. 25.-(By Asso- ciatede Press) s)-Divers began at dawn this morning to explore the fire twist ed wreck of the dirigible ZR-2 which last evening exploded above this city and tell into the Humber, carrying with her more than 40 of her crew. Only one American, Norman o. Wal ker, rigger and four British, Flight Lieut.. A. H. Wann, Ernest Davies, air man; $. H. Batenan, scientific assist ant and Walter Potter, mechanic, sur vived the disaster that ir a twinkling, changed the trial cruise of the airship irto a ghastly tragedy.
 During the hours of darkness that followed the collapse and destruction of the ~ZR-2 tugs stood by the wreck age and keen eyes scanned. the water for any bodies that might have been ulSlCuStu Dy the tue lHdl HON eu ON Sl all that remained of what was yester- day, Great Britain's S mightiest dirig- ible, which officials expected to turn over to the United States Navy today It was believed that the ruins of the aerial dreadnouSht held the bodies of 5 American and 26 British officers and enlisted men who were engaged in the final test of the machine.
 All Hope Lost.
 All hope that there might be other survivors of the disaster was dissi- pated during the night. The wreck age fell only 200 yards from the sAore, and the six gondolas in which most of the airship's personnel was riding sank immediately to the bot tom of the Humber. The men in the gcndolas, it was believed would have little chance to escape after the dir iglble struck the water, as the weight of the engines and machinery quick lv carried the ruined structure be- heath the water.
 Experts here were at a loss to ac- count for this greatest of peace time air disasters. Residents of Hull who were watch ing the ZR-2 when her cruise came | to it's sudden and tragic end, declared that it seemed when the craft attempt Cd make sharp turn during ed to make some of her girders backled and broke, probably because If strain too heavy for the struc- ture to bear. Some members of the crew appear to have this same idea of the cause of the accident
 r Charles Harrison Brown, of the United States army flying force, was an eyewitness of the disaster
 Browns Story. T roticed,'' he saAd today, "tl1at the ZR-2 was moving in a peculiar man. ner, the nose of the dirigible showing an unusual tendency to drop down. l knew at once that something was wrong and watched the machine care fully. In less than two minutes the huge envelope broke in two and fell in flames I ran to the riverside where | l secured tug and went to the place | where the wreck had fallen. I put
 out small boat and went into the I gun cockpit in the aft section of the
 alrshlp and then swam along the keel. 1 I secured the body of one man q d
 turned it over to the boatman, but could find nothing else'' 1 Lieutenant Little Dies. l The body of Lieut.. Charles G. Lit
 tie, one of the American officers, was 1 today at the Hull infirmary, where he died after being removed from the wreckase of the ZR-2. The body of
 Lieut.. Marcus H. Easter1y, another | A mi.
 and both being held, pending an in-
 quest, which probably will not be held
 until attempts to take other bodies | from the ruins have Been made. Lieut.. Little was identified by fellow off, ] cer who arrived from Howden, while l identification of Lieut. Esterly's body
 was effected through a wallet found in ] the clothing.
 l Harbor officials today expressed
 doubt that many bodies would be re- 1 covered unless they were held fast l in the wreckage or were imprisoned in the gondo1as. They said they feared the tide and the swift current of the l Humher would carry them away Large quantities of wreckage were | found this morning to have been float ed up the river by the lIde and little ] was visible outside of the hull of the airshiD. A diver who went down early
 this morning failed to locate anything | material.
 1 May Be Maxfield's Body.
 | Men engaged in the work of sal ! wage reported at the American con-
 sulate here this morning that they | had found body believed to be that | of Commander Louis H. Maxfield ir , charge of the American contingent
 aboard the ZR-2, several miles be-
 low the city.
 1 Immediately after the disaster Johr
 H. Grout, the American consul; Lieut. Pennoyer, who becomes senior officer
 of the American detachment, and
 Naval Physician Taylor assumed con | tro1 of the situation for the American government. They are co-operatins in the work of recovering and iden
 tifying the bodies and are preparing