The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1921-09-03
BIG DIRICIBLE
ZR-2 BLOWS UP
American Naval Officers and
Men Aboard Lose Their
Lives.

! - ne LR-G, the gigantic air.
snip constructed for the United States
navy, lies in the Humber River near
nun a colossal and appalling wreck
q what was the greatest dirigibIe the
world has ever seen.
Or its crew of forty-nine officers
ana men. only five survive to tell the
story OF the midair tragedy which
came toward the close Of the airships
maj test Wednesday before she was
70 SAL for America. OF these, four
are British and ore is an American.
iWehty-one out OF the forty-nine men
ABOARD the ship are believed to have
been Americans.
FOR thirty hours the ZR-2 had sail
ed the air lanes above England and the
North Sea. Wireless reports from her
olilcers told of her splendid work"
IN the air. The trip was coming to an
END and the ZR2 had reached a point
directly over the city of Hull, eagerly
Followed by the eyes of thousands who
gathered on Victoria Pier to see the
GUS explosion which rocked the entire
town, sweeping pedestrians from their
feet, crashing the plate glass from
windows of shops and sending the
shock OF its detonation fully fifty
miles
The stupefied spectators saw the
great bag, which had, just emerged
from the clouds, burst asunder and
SINK INTO the river. Two little white I
clouds separated themselves from the
railing ship. These were the para.
chutes which were to bring the sur.
vlvors safely to earth The other
men dropped with the seethng wreck.
age into the river.
The American officers who started
the trip included Commander Louis II
Maxfield, Lieutenant Commander
Emory Coil, Lieutenant Henry q. Hoyt
Lieutenant Marcus H. Esterly. Lieu
tenant Commander Valentine N Bieg
and Lieutenant Charles G. Little.
The American enlisted men who
went up with the craft from Howden
were: G. |. Aller Robert Coon, L. f.
Crowel, ]. T. Hancock, William julius
NJ. Lay, A. l.. Loftin, A. E. Petit, w
J. Steele, N. 0. Walker and George
Welsh.
The British losses include the ia,
nous air veteran Brigadier General E
NJ. Maitland and all the other officers
On board except Lieutenant Wann, the
of the ZR-2.
The ZR-2 waA the largest dirigible
aver built, the dimensions being az
ollows:
Length, 695 feet; diameter. So feet:
capacity, 100000 cubic feet; tota
fitting capacity, SO tons.
The aircraft was operated by siz
engines. She was estimated to have
! cruising radius OF. sixty miles pei
lour, giving a capacity to make an ag
'regate of 5000 miles of uninterrupted
light She had a capacity for officers
nd crew Of forty-two men The gaso
inc supply was 10000 gallons. 1t was
stimated that she would cross the
atlantic in seventy-two hours.
The huge aircraft had four gondoias
uspended from the framework
These provided sleeping accommo
atoms for the officers and crew and
n electrical apparatus for cooking
heals. Her wireless set was expected
D keep the monster craft in touch
nth both shores of the Atlantic and
, have radius exceeding $500 miles
Seen in flight the ZR-2 closely re.
embed her sister ship, the RIA, with
bewildering confusion of aluminium
riders, rows of gasoline and water
inks, acres of gas bags, and a mscel .
my of guy wires, control valves, pipes, !,
xivels and hinges.
A telephone system connected the ;
ntire airship so that the pilot at the !
heel was in direct communication :,
18th every part of the craft Electric q
ghts kept the craft brightly illumi /.
ated. /,