Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-09-04
ON MAIN SECTION
Continued from Page one)

aft, the nose of the craft was man
euvered to a safe altitude after
brushing trees and at least one farm
house. Lieutenant Commander c. E.
Rosendahl and Lieutenant J. B. An
derson directed the release of the
helium gas and gasoline and effected
a safe landing.
The dead were taken to Bell Valley,
nearby village, where they were
placed in an improvised morgue. An
American Legion guard of honor is
on watch there tonight.
The men, it appeared, were in
stantly killed. At least one man was
torn in two. Others had broken
bones and skulls. The bodies will be
kept at Bell Valley until tomorrow,
when board of inquiry will officially
establish the cause of death.
This board will be headed by Com
mander J. H. Klein, executive officer
of the Lakehurst station, who is en-
route here tonight. Another board is
expected to investigate the cause of
the accident and to determine what
disposition, If any, will be made of
the wrecked airship.
Hit Storm in Ohio
The Shenandoah started from
Lakehurst, N. j., late yesterday af-
ternoon and had an uneventful trip
until it crossed the Ohio River into
Ohio.
While on a line between Cam
bridge and Byesville heading west
ward the ship encountered severe
electrical storm. Unable to make
speed, officers managed to head the
ship southwark, seeking to clear the
storm area.
Near Ava, eight miles north of
! here, the ship encountered the line
squall, the variety of storm most
| feared by the airmen, and was car
ried from a 5000 foot level to 45OO
feet, where it remained stationary
| for a few minutes. Then, with four
of the five motors going full speed
the pressure hoisted the ship to
about $500 feet.
Lieutenant Commander Lans-
downe, survivors say, ordered all
motors stopped when the ship reach
ed an altitude of about $500 feet.
Control Cabin Twisted Off
At this point the ship began to
break up. The nose section contin-
ued its ascent to about 500 feet and
! then started downward on its cross
country flight. The control cabin
was twisted off and dropped to the
ground when more than 5000 feet
in the air. The seven men in this
section were instantly killed.
! The big section, carrying rs Off
GERS and men, tossed about in the
air for short time while the men
| fought heroically to bring 1t under
control.
The bulk of 1t fell into a small
grove and three survivors Skinned
down to the ground. Radio Gunner
Raymond Cole. making his first
flight aboard the ship, was badly in
| jured when the mid-section fell. He
may recover.
Men Were Cool
officers and men went about their
work with GOODNESS, doing their best
to right the ship to level keel dur
ing the storm and after the breakup.
| Survivors are loud in their praise
for the manner in which the crew
conducted itself. There was no dis
order.
Among the survivors carried across
the country in the nose of the ship
was A. B. Anderson, who grabbed a
girder when the control cabin broke
away. He chung to this girder and
| finally was able to crawl to a more
safe position aided by a rope thrown
to him by Lieutenant r. G. Mayer.
Lieutenant Mayer is the officer who
is credited with responsibility for the
safe return of the Shenandoah when
| it broke away from it's mooring mast
4 at Lakehurst on January 16, 1924.
f. E. Masters, of Akron, Ohio.
aviation pilot, hung to girder until
the ship was within few feet OF the
ground and jumped to safety. Mas
| tiers, on the scheduled returnt Lake
hurst, planned to jump by parachute
| from the Shenandoah as it passed
over his home city-Akron-where he
expected to visit his wife and week.
old son.
Lieutenant Commander Rosendagl,
third in command, took charge after
the crash and was authorized by the
bureau of navigation, navy depart
ment, to send more than a score of
! the survivors back to Lakehurst by
train. They left Cambridge, Ohio,
early this evening.
The body of Lieutenant w. E.
/ SHEPPARD. who must have been in the
mid section and Immediately over
the crack when the ship broke apart,
was found in hedge alongside a
creek on the farm of Charles Mise
wagner. mile or more away from
the main part of the wreck. Clutch
ed in his hand was a piece Of rope,
which evidently had given away
when the crash came.