Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-05
A|RSH|P DEATH
TOLL REACHES ZOO
Roma and Shenandoah Dis
aSterS Most Serious in
American Annals.

The explosion of the British airship
R-101 yesterday brings the toll of dead
in airship accidents since the World
War to Approximately 200, two of the
most serious postwar diriglble acct
dents having occurred in the United
States and one in England to dirigible
built for this country.
The most serious American airShlp
accident from the standpoint OF lives
lost occurred at Hampton Roads, Va,
on February 81, 1922, when the Italian
built Rome, purchased by the United
States Army for experimental purposes,
crashed in flames, with the loss OF "a
lives
The lives of Is American Navy and
Army officers and observers were lost
when the ZR-2, built by England for
the United States Navy, was destroyed
over Hull England, with total loss
of A lives. The ZR-2 still was in
possession of the British government at
the time of the accident, as it had not
yet been accepted by the United States
Navy. The accident occurred on trial
fight.
II Perish on Shenandoah.
The u. S. S. Shenandoah killed IA
officers and men of her crew when she
was caught in line squall near Gallo
we'll Ohio, September 3, 1925, and broke
into three pieces. Among the dead
we're her commander, Lieut. Comdr.
Zachary Lansdowne, and a native of
the National Capital, Lieut.. E. w.
Sheppard.
The Shenandoah was the first Ameri-
can-built rigid airship. She was de-
signed by the Bureau of Naval Aero
nautics after British and German pat
terms and was built at Lakehurst, N. j.
The Shenandoah was on the way from
Lakehurst to the West on a demcnstra-
ton cruise to IL States when she ran
into a terrific line squall just after
dawn. Whirled up from an altitude
of 5000 feet to $500 feet and then
dashed down again, the Shenandoah
broke into three parts.
One piece, more than $50 feet long,
landed in a field near Ava, Ohio. All
the lives lost were those of officers and
men stationed in the control car which
was torn from the bag and dropped to
the ground, crashing so feet from the
main section of the balloon. A 150-foot
length of the great airship f1oated as
a free balloon for a distance of IL miles
and was'landed safely by those aboard
near Sharon, Ohio.
Dixmude Crash Mystery
SIAC VA Vic 0GcQlASSI dlISlilp CdbdS-
trophies in history remains shouded in
mystery seven years after it occurred.
The French dirigible Dixmude, crossing
the Mediterranean Sea. went down with
81 officers and men, leaving not a sur
vivor to describe her fate. 1t has been
presumed she was struck by lightning
Other major airship accidents have
been as follows:
July 2, 1912, the airship Akron, built
for an attempted transatlantic flight,
exploded at Atlantic City, N j. with
the loss of five lives. She was built as
a result of the unsuccessful attempt of
Walter Wellman to cross the ocean in
the dirigible America, in 1910. The
America was abandoned 1000 miles at
sea, the crew being picked up by a
steamer.
June 20, 1914, an airship and air.
plane collided at Vienna, nine lives
being lost.
The British NS-11 was dashed into
the North Sea with loss of IL lives
after being struck by lightning, on
July IS, 1919.
Ten lives were lost when an airship
crashed in flames through a skylight of
the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank In
Chicago on July 81, 1919.