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Aviation History
1916
1916 - 0408.PDF
l/DCHf] (teems possible. I can find no confirmation of the statement that two charred bodies wete found under the wreckage, and since the crew themselves net it afire they would naturally see all clear first. In their examination, they stated to the French headquarters that the Zeppelin came from Temesvar, in Hungary. This would be a very long journey, especially over so many mountain ranges, and till lately at least they had one at Sofia, much nearer. It would be natural that the crew should attempt to conceal their point of departure. "Directly they got over Salonica, the searchlights that picked them up were of such unusual power, especially one of those of the Fleet, that they were dazzled, and unable to pick up their bearings. At the same time, shells began to burst all around them from all fides, and, according to their statement to the French, they were hit several times, one balloonet being burst and one of the four motors hit and stopped. It seems certain, however, that it was a shell from the anti-aircraft 12-pounder on the fore-bridge of a British battleship lying in the Gulf that actually brought her down. This shell was clearly seen to strike her, and from that moment she drifted gradualfy down on to the marshes, her fall taking over a quarter of an hour. "The prisoners are lodged in a building that was formerly a German school at Salonica. " Paying • second visit to-day to the wreck of the airship, I noticed written in pencil on the aluminium boss that forms the prow oi the ship and links up all the girders of the frame, on addres scrawled in pencil in German characters. It read: ' Potsdam,' then the name of a street and a number illegible, then the date ' August 13th, 1915.' This may possibly be the date when the airship framework was finished. It is at any rate an indication of the approximate period of her construction. Traces of the number on her side look like L. 55 or L. 85. " One of the big petrol tanks was still burning this afternoon, & ® AIRSHIP The Destruction of "L. 7." THE following communiques were issued by the Admiralty on May 5th :— " 12.30 p.m. " A Zeppelin was destroyed yesterday by one of our light cruiser squadrons off the Schleswig coast." " 6.45 p.m. "The Commander-in-Chief Grand Fleet has reported that the ships which destroyed the Zeppelin yesterday were H.M.S. 'Galatea,' Commodore E. S. Alexander Sinclair, M.V.O., A.D.C., and H.M.S. ' Phaeton,' Capt. J. E. Cameron, R.N., M.V.O. "The Zeppelin was apparently employed on scouting duty when she was destioyed by the guntire of these two vessels." The following was issued by the Admiralty on May 6th :— "A more detailed report has now been received of the destruc tion of Zeppelin ' L. 7.' It now appears that though severely damaged by H.M. ships 'Galatea' and ' Phaeton' her destruction was completed by a British submarine commanded by Lieut.-Com mander F. Feilman, R.N., which rescued seven of the Zeppelin's crew, and has returned with them. " She was attacked and slightly injured by a German cruiser on ber return journey." German Version. "Berlin, May tth. " The airs'.ip ' L. 7' has not returned from a reconnoitring flight. According to an official statement by the British Admiralty, the air ship was destroyed on Thursday in the North Sea by the British naval forces." Zeppelin " Z. 85 » Destroyed at Salonica. The following was issued by the Admiralty on May 5th:— "J.IS p.m. "Vice-Admiral De Robeck reports that about 3.30 this morning a Zeppelin approached Salonica. When passing over the harbour she was heavily fired on and hit by the Fleet, and came down in a blaze near the mouth of the Vardar River. There were no sur vivors." The following note was issued in Paris on May 5th:— "During the night of May 4th-5th, about 2 in the morning, a Zeppelin which was flying over Salonica was brought down by the guns of the Allied Fleets. " The Zeppelin fell in flames at the mouth of the Vardar." The following was issued by the Admiralty on May 6th:— " In a further report from Vice-Admiral De Robeck, concerning the Zeppelin brought down at Salonica, it is now stated that sur vivors of the crew have been found, and four officers and eight men have been made pr sonors." MAY 11, 1916, thirty-six hours after the ship was set alight. The French have mounted guard over the ruins, and in spite of the fact that the water alongside the wreck is two feet deep, and that to get to it you have to wade much deeper still, a party of Canadian nurses were among the sightseers who struggled through the swamp to it this afternoon. Nothing has been done yet towards movirg the wreckage, which would be very difficult over such a morass of tangled weeds and spongy mud. This desolate swamp may well be the grave of the sinister air monster, which we all watched shinirjg yellow in the relentless glare of the searchlights yesterday morning. Its gaunt skeleton rears itself up 50 ft. above the marsh, and is a most conspicuous landmark for vessels entering the Gulf. All round the framework are semi-circular brackets, in which bombs were carried, ar.d on them we found one still in position to-day. " Comparing this wreck with that of the Zeppelin in which I happened to b- making a trip six years ago, when she smashed up in Tentobergerwald, I was not struck by any difference as to size or arrangement such as would be apparent to the inexpert eye. This ship is, perhaps, longer than the Deutschland was. She seems to have been nearly 600 ft. in length. The size of the engine, gondolas, and propellers appears the same. The latter are of polished walnut wood, built in layers, and edged with copper. They are marked ' Lorenzen Pro,>ellor Partrax Original.' The German naval war pennant, whiuh the ship carried, now decorates General Sarrail's room at the French Headquarters. The Agamemnun's ward room will have a much valued trophy in the form of one of her propellers." The Hestia siys that the destruction of the Zeppelin at Salonica is all the more satisfactory as it was the airship obtained by King Ferdinand as his personal guard. An Exchange message trom Copenhagen states that on Monday several German seaplanes passed northwards over Fanoe, and three Zeppelins were seen patrolling over the south of the island. ® ® ITEMS. From official sources at Salonica the following information was obtained on Monday :— " The vessel was ' No. Z. 85,' built at the latter end of 1915. She was 170 metres (560 ft.) long, and had four 100 h.p. engines. Her sperd was 95 kilometres (60 miles) an hour. The tanks held 2,500 litres of petrol. She was recently engaged in bombing Riga, Minsk, and Dvinsk, and attempted at the end of P'ebruary and in the middle of March to approach Salonica, but was driven off near the frontier. " The Zeppelin was hit three times on Friday, once in a tank, once in a ballonet, and once near th; stern." German Version. "Berlin, May 6th. " One of our airships did not return from a trip to Salonica. According to British reports it was shot down and destroyed by fire." The Wreck of the " L. 20." ONE of the airships—the " L. 20 "—returning from the raid on the north-east coast of England came to grief in Norway on May 3rd. The following account is given by the Daily Mail correspondent at Stavanger :— " The Zeppelin ' L. 20,' wrecked on the shore of the Hafsfiord, four miles from Stavanger, at noon to-day, was first reported flying low at a slow rate across the Gannsfiord, between Dale and Hinna. The hull was then apparently still in proper order, but probably gas had been escaping. The weather was quiet and the sea calm. When above the Gannsriord, the Zeppelin dropped an anchor and also six men, who are all reported to have been rescued and taken in charge by soldiers. " The Zeppelin then drifted towards Ha'sfiord, but, not having been sufficiently lightened, collided with a low-lying rock and turned a somersault sideways. She seemed to double up to something less than a right angle and slowly fell into the fiord. Then she drilted across the water to Jaasund, and she now lies ashore like a vessel hauled up on a slip for repairs." According to the Daily Mail correspondent at Christiinia :— " Captain-Lieutenant Stabberf, the commander, stated that he left Germany at midday on Tuesday and journeyed to the coast of England. On Tuesday night he prepared to return, but very stormy weather forced hifn off his c >urse many times. On Wednesday morning his petrol had nearly given out. Only about ten pints remained when he sighted the Norwegian coast and decided to descend." The crew of sixteen men, four of whom are seriously injured, have been interned at Molde. As the wreck was being blown about dangerously by the wind the Norwegian military authorities exploded the remains on the following day.
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