Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-12-23
Says Shenandoah
Crash Was Bound
To Come Sometime

washington, Dec. --.-\A AZ y Hc
Shenandoah disaster falls within the
category of an inevitable accident,
Lieut.. Commander Charles E. Rosen-
dahl, senior surviving officer of the
wreck of the dirigible in Ohio last
September, declared todas in final
argument before the naval court of
INQUIRY into the accident, speaking
for the surviving officers and men
Of the ship.
"IndisputabIe evidence shows"
Commander Rosendahl asserted,
that in spite of heroic measures
taken the disaster couldn't have been
averted.
"It is clearly evident that the
Shenandoah was wrecked by being
broken in two and being precipitated
to the ground by the aero-dynamical
stresses imposed upon her by the
vertical currents Of the squall in
which she had been entrapped with
out warning.
Upon finding the ship in this pre-
dicament, the commanding officer did
everything known to airship science
| to save his ship. Cumulative evil
| dence has been adduced to show that
| there were no positive danger signs
| to warn the commanding officer of
Impending danger. The analogy is
| clearly that of a surface vessel strik-
| ing an iceberg without warning.
although we are survivors of one
| of the worst air accidents that has
ever occurred, we nevertheless have
not lost faith in rigid airships. We
| urge upon this court the advisable
| ity of it's recommending the reten-
| ton. continuation and furtherance
of rigid airship development and op-
GRAFTON in the navy"
| Commander Rosendahl declared
| the court had held lone of the most
searching, complete and comprehen-
sive investigations, technical or 9TH
erwise, ever conducted" and paid
tribute to many witnesses for their
ability, knowledge and candor.
OF some others, however, he did
not speak in such favorable terms.
| Concerning Colonel William Mitchell
he said: 1T was apparent this wit
ness had no expert knowledge of his
own relative to the Shenandoah dis
aster and any further examination of
the witness to adduce testimony, ex-
| pert or otherwise, or information of
any value on this subject would have
been unnecessary as well as futile"
| OF Captain Anton Heinen, who
was consulted in the building Of the
| shenandoah and who vigorously crit
| 1cized the handling of the Shenan-
doah, Commander Rosendahl said:
| Knowing Captain Heinen's excel
lent record of cool performance in
| flight, we regret that it was not pos
slble for him to have made his pro-
homogeneous on the Shenandoah
disaster from considerable soothing
altitude rather than to have been
fired by his contact with the press
| and with the EARTH"
Commander Rosendahl quoted ex-
| tensively from the record to show
that Lieut.. Commander Zachary
Lansdowne. the commander of the
Shenandoah who lost his life in the
disaster, had acted with complete
liberty and without undue mterfer-
ence from Washington and declared
that to insinuate that "he would
| Jeopardize his crew and his shin
wilfully and knowingly, not only ap-
proaches the height of absurdity but
ISLANDERS the dead"
/. The speaker defended the struc-
tural integrity of the Shenandoah as
enthusiastically excellent" and said
her value system, frame and after
| parts were sound.