Evening journal., 1921-08-25
continued from nrst pase)

no one will, ever have a clear
idea of just what happened. l was
with two Britishers at the extreme
tail of the zR-2. when the explosion
shook the ship, and she broke in two,
our half fell tail downward
"The three Of us hung and we float
ed down toward mid-river, almost
like a bird settling onto the water. IT.
was almost like having parachute.
Il looked down and saw the water
rushing at us and. when we were
about thirty feet from the surface, 4
let go and dropped. 1 thought !
would never come up. but when l did
thore were tugs and boats already
speeding to rescue work. The airship
could scarcely have been in the water
thirty seconds before they were on
the job
Il feel fine, personally. I smoked
cigarette Immediately after they
pulled me out"
Thousands were gathered In the
river-front at dawn today, watching
the search for bodies of the victims.
The zR-2 was then invisible, both
halves being completely covered by
/ Aue tue tftllAiAlth9 WI ~ Va coAN"eN
was under way.
All night long, search parties
worked feverishly. lest there should
stii be some one left alive in the
wreckage of the dirigible which
showed above the surface.
Handicapped by darkness, they
succeeded in obtaining twelve Of the
American dead which will be em-
baimed and sent TO the United States.
Gnmpses OF other bodies were had
by the rescucrs, but they could not
be reached.
Among those who watched the res
cue work. pitiful figures in the early
morning. were the widows OF Com
mander Louis Maxfeld, OF Washing
ton and William julius and William
Steel. members OF the crew. all OF
whom perished in the greatest trag-
edy OF the air.
Until after the fullest investigation
bv experts. the exact cause OF the
disaster must remain mystery. Even
then. II is considered likely Il will
never be known.
Reconstructing statements OF eye
witnesses. il seems clear that the hull
first began to buckle about amid
ships. as the ship turned over the
river, and some air officers today said
that she may have encountered a
sudden air pocket. which wracked
the hull by subjecting it 20 a sudden
twist.
Graphically recounting the disas-
ter, a naval officer said today;
Terrible scenes we're witnessed
when the sky had cleared after the
explosion and everything could be
observed. I should say that a ma
jority OF the crew had been blown to
pieces For hours afterwards, parts
OF bodies could be seen floating in the
river.
Il could hear cries for help. but
; in the general confusion II was diff
hcult to tell where they came from.
THE rear gondola was apparently
blown TO atoms. for nothing could be
= seen OF II whatever, while its engines
fell into the river some distance from
r the pieces OF the dirigible.
= within FIVE minutes, all that wai
l. left OF the zR-2 was some tangled
d pieces OF envelope. wood and wires
q floating about on the oil-stained wa
y ters." a
Pilot Osborn. one OF the men en-
cnrcd In rescue work. said:
!. I'VE worked all night but were
Z unable to extricate any bodies
! "Our lamps threw weird shadows
, inside the half submerged wreckage.
: and often we thought we heard
rroans. or saw something move, but
we found no more survivors
} We saw the dead bodies OF two
J mon in American uniforms. one
! hung by it's coat swkwardly, like
scarccrows We tried hard to reach
them. but we're unable to do so. due
TO the swelling tide, which washed
us away"
The force OF the explosion when
the zR-2 burst in mid-air was felt
for twenty-five miles Thousands OF
pounds damage was done in HUI by
the breaking OF windows.
Charles W. Downe. OF the Amer
ican air service. one OF the heroes of
the rescue, interviewed by the United
Press, said:
Il was watching the IRA and no
ticed peculiar movement Of the
fore part Of the envelope 1t seemed
TO me that she was tilted nose down.
| In an instant She broke in two.
II went out In tug to wheue the
mass OF wreckage had fallen and,
| going overheard. swan through the
great 'oave-like envelope. which stll
was partly held up by girdcrs that
had not entirely collapsed
i secured one body. and hrpueh
IL out, but when I returned I c6uls
find no others" ~
An American naval party va
among those who worked during In
night TO recover bodies from the tan
gled wrctkage OF the IRA Btu
jackets dredged the river about tn
mud-iats upon which the stern par
OF the broken dirigible fell. bu
failed TO recover additional bodie,
At low tide. the wreck will again b
partially visible. they said. and II
hoped TO take out more bodies
British and American naval Off
GERS conferred here today as 10 IN
best means OF saivaging the rear poi
ton OF ZR-2. which fell into the mu
and this morning was submerged b
high tide
Divers we're ready to explore IN
wreckage at o'clock this Afternoon
when. unless the tide had material
shifted the shattered dirigible.
would again be visible
II was hoped to reach the contr,
car. from which Commander Wan
I leaped at the last moment Severi