The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, May 7, 1937, Page 9

| THE’ BISMARCK TRIBUNE, FRIDAY, MAY 7, 1937 Sabotage Suspected As Cause of Destruction of Giant Zeppelia SHOCKED GERMANY WILL CONTINUE 10 CONSTRUCT CRAFT Eckener Points Out Tragedy Might Have Been Prevent- ed by Use of Helium helium should be used exclusively, Dr. Eckener interrupted, “helium — nothing but helium.” But when he was asked, “does this “Yes, but I cannot say anything about the future schedule until I have company Offices of the. Zeppelin. company said it was too early to say certainly what effect the will have on future flights the Graf Zeppelin, due at Frankfort late Saturday on @ wee nie could it be?” they Sat there was no official expres- sion of such suspicion. Rushing to Berlin from Austria, Dr. Eckener, designer of the Hindens burg, ied reap tanta ok ceed the use of helium, which Germany lacks, to float the Reich’s lighter than air craft anew. He spoke, too, of veiled and anony- mous threats of trouble if the Hin- Genbirg tented in Aeris ie ee ase but said they were the work “cranks.” Bee, So great Germany’s wonder that “our pride” had burned and fallen that few were willing to haz- ard a definite guess as to the cause. U. S. Has As early as Nov. 10, 1930, Dr. Eck- ener gave the Associated Press ss interview in which he expressed the belief that the British R-101 accident proved the necessity of helium gas. ‘The United States has a virtual monopoly on that gas... While an official communique in the government-controlled press pro- claimed there must be no faltering in the progress of Sormany's lighter- than-air construction and to dent Roosevelt, thanking the ‘United States executive for his expression of sympathy. Then he prepared to decide on & period of national mourning. Eckener was expected here wale in the day from Vienna, Eckener Weeps Word of the disaster smote the 60- year old aeronautical pioneer at & Graz, Austria, hotel. When he was awakened to be told that the Hin- denburg was @ mass of smoke-black- ened, twisted girders, tears welled to his eyes, the hotel proprietor said. Given the first sketch reports, Dr. Eckener said “It might have been sabotage.” ‘The veteran“Eckener told newspe- permen: “I always insisted airships are safe only with helium, ever since the English dirigible crashed in France five years ago.” He turned to the future: “I will go ahead with construction of dirigibles and send them around the globe. “The new German zeppelin (sister ship of the Hindenburg now under construction) will be filled with hel- ium if we can get it from America,” he declared. Workers on New Ship Urged to Keep on Job Friedrichshafen, Germany, May 7. —@#)—Dr. Ludwig Duerr, chief de- sere the decreed arigmie Be denburg, Friday asked the new “LZ 130” to fe ee ace into the job, men, so that the gap left by the Hindenburg: will be filled as fast as possible.” While churchbells tolled requiem for the 'Hindenburg’s: dead, Duerr stood near the skeleton of the new zeppelin and assured the workers “it 4s certain the government will con- tinue to support us.” The men then bowed in silence. German Minister Goering meanwhile telegraphed: “Airship building Germany must not be dis- couraged by this blow of fate, but must continue in » spirit of sacrifice to carry out our zeppelin tradition.” G. B. Selden, of Rochester, N. Y.. received the basic patent on the auto- mobile for his “road engine in 1895. Phe patent later was Conjectures PHOTOGRAPHER FR Most’ Widely Held Opinion Is a, ASSOCIATED PRESS MIRROED TRAGEDY 4! Caught Explosion, Ship Strik- ing Ground and Burning From Craft ) Lakehurst, N. J., May 7.—(#)—I on Cause Of Tragedy Are Varied That Flame or Spark . Touched Off Hydrogen (By the Associated Press) What caused the crash of the Hin- denburg? Dr. Hugo Eckner, the airship’s de- signer—“I should say that if this dis- aster was caused by sabotage, only the firing of a burning bullet into the bags could have Sccomplished it, That seems unlikely.” Dr. Eckener, in Austria, outlined three possible causes. | “1, When the ship is lowered, some hydrogen usually is released.. This free hydrogen in the air might have been sufficiently concentrated. to be have been a news, ‘apher for|!gnited by lighting or by a spark. It years, covering a oe but| Would not necessarily have to be a neyer in my life have I had such a tragic and spectacular picture as the destruction of the Hindenburg appear before my eyes, I had taken several “shots” as the Hindenburg approached the landing | ¢, field and had backed away for a gen- eral rien when the first explosion, EAA kay Gamers tilto tater lavel my sights on the tar- get and my fingers on the trigger. I an relate’ showing the first puff Michangiig my pats toot «second to explain: my feelings. we daze and yet I was trying to get all the pictures possible in the least time. One of them was of a man half-naked, hig clothes burned from him, stumbling from the ship. Swedish Journalist Among Those Missing Lakehurst, N.. J. May 7.— (®) — Among the Hindenburg ‘missing Fri- day was Birger Brinck, Swedish’ journalist ‘and one of we editors of the landing of Swedish colonists Delaware county, Pehnsylvanis. Hitler Gives $12,000° To Victims’ Families Berchtesgaden, Germany, May 7.— ()—Reichsfuerher Adolf Hitler start- ed a fund for bereaved familie of the Hindenburg disaster victims Friday | with & gitt of $12,000. Gov.| ternational great flash of lighting; peers it wasn’t even seen by “2. When: landing, the mie bal- last is released from the tanks. A stream of water, conecting with the earth, might have served as an elec- trical conductor to bring a spark up from the ground. “3. Someone aboard may have made a fire, a spark possibly from a cigaret lighter. I regard this also as » Like! wilikely, for the conduct of the pas- ene and crew is watched care- lly.” Smoking on the Hindenburg was allowed only in a spark-proof com- partment. Capt. Ernst Lehmann, its comman- der—“I don't know what happened. She just went up.” Gill Robb Wilson, New Jersey state aviation director—“Something strange caused that tragedy.” Capt. Frank McCarthy,.once com- mander of the Shenandoah, which crashed 12 years ago—‘It is more Teasonable to assume that a flame from one of the Diesel engines ignited the hydrogen.” James C. Mars, American pioneer an lighter-than-air craft—“Static elec- tricity. The hydrogen gas beg would have gathered static inth the electrical Attempt Is Made to Settle Auto Strike eee! St. Louis, May 7.—(?)—Ed Hall, in- yice president of the United Automobile Workers of Amer-| ica, was here Friday to attempt set- tlement of a strike called Wednesday | in Germany's Hindenburg was the world’s greatest airship. It was built at a cost of more than $3,- 500,000. It is pictured in the top photo moored to its mast at the U. 8. naval station at Lakehurst, N. J. Just below are two photos of the interior of the Hindenburg. The top picture shows the luxuri- ous sundeck where the passengers lounged. Below it is the galley where meals for the ship were Prepared. Some idea of the size of the Hindenburg can be gained from the comparative pictures just to the left. The Hindenburg is at the top, the Graf Zeppelin in the center and the Los Angeles at Record CRAFT CHALLENGED SPEED RECORDS OF ATLANTIC VESSELS Huge Zeppelin Made Flights to America Two Days Faster Than Average Ship Friedrichshafen, Germany, May 7. —(NEA)—The sky-going trans-At- lantic luxury liner Hindenburg threatened to give the world’s mer- chant marine its first serious com- petition from the air. Germany's stream-lined, palatial Hindenburg made the crossings to New York in two to two and one- half days—at least two days faster than the swiftest aquatic passenger vessels, And a regular dirigible ex- press service was contemplated by the Zeppelin company. The ship carried a crew of 35 and had accommodations for 50 paying passengers and 10 tons of freight and mails.’ The rooms for the passengers were built inside the body of the ship in two decks, one over the other. There were 25 staterooms with beds for two in each. In some respects the Hindenburg resembled a great ocean liner, because she had two large groups of parlors for the pas- sengers, including two plate glass en- closed promenade decks. Her great- est innovation was a room in which smoking was allowed. Had 15 Main Rings ‘The middle ring of the ship was 134 feet high. In all she had 15 main the bottom. | World’s Greatest Airship Only Seconds from Balety ROOSEVELT WIRE HS CONDOLENCES Dictates Messages of Sympathy to German People and Families of Victims Galveston, Texas, May 7. — (7) — Shocked by the Hindenburg disaster, President Roosevelt Friday requested | 00. he be kept informed of developments in the explosion that wrecked the German dirigible at Lakehurst, N. J. Immediately upon learning of the tragedy Thursday iy night, the presi- dent, from his vacation yacht Poto- mac off Port. Aransas, dictated mes- sages of sympathy to the German people and the families of the vic- To. Adolf Hitler, German chancel- t Berlin, he sent a radiogram saying: “T have just learned of the disaster to the airship Hindenburg and offer you and the German people my deep- est sympathy for the tragic loss of life which resulted from this unex- pected and unheppy. event.” FRAMEWORK ACTED AS LIGHTNING ROD Associated Press Reporter Was Passenger on Dirigible’s First Hop (Editor's Note—Louis P. Berlin Press, flew Tindeore aif ¢ Commander A’ tehmann’ table on the first toyaee Lakehurst when someone the question: “What protec- tion is'there in case of an electrical storm?” ‘The veteran skipper reuled: “Even. an electrical storm harm the ship. Experience has shown that the aluminum framework acts Mrs. Kathryn Olson Dies in Minot Hospital hich ted a half hour before. Site Dull Boom of Explosion Breaks Twilight Hush With Horri- ble Echoes Lakehurst, N. J., May 7.—(?)—The world’s greatest airship nosed cau- tiously into a rain-swept port in the murk of twilight, and an instant later scant “minutes from’ security—she was @ mass of flames. It was just after 6 p. m. (Eastern Standard Time) when the Hinden- burg headed downward to the naval station and a mooring to complete the first westward trip of the 1937 sea- She had idled in the neighborhood more than an hour—officers had avoided the great saucer of the field where thin flashes of lightning and ominous crashings of thunder accom- lrowin Se osied of ‘wind and circled SENTIMENT AGAINST CRAFT CRYSTALIZED Building of More Dirigibles for U. S. Government Re- garded as Unlikely Washington, May 7.—()—Leaders concerned with military policy in con- gress expresed almost united belief Friday that the Hindenburg disaster would crystalize sentiment against building more government dirigibles. Although Secretary Swanson has enunciated no definite naval policy, tance, where the sky was clear| there has been virtually no talk of cf oman Gleaming despite the dusk, the great ship settled carefully after the storm moved on. Streamers of liquid ballast were fung from her aft tanks. Motors Break Hush ‘Two weighted cables dropped sev- eral hundred feet to the ground. The ground crew seized them. The power- ful drone of the motors was the only sound in the still, twilight hush. Then came @ dull, sickening boom. The entire stern burst into red flames and black, clotted smoke. The Hindenburg sank aft. Then the forward fabric caught fire and, her steel girders horribly naked, the ship fluttered to the ground in the scarlet light of her own end. It only took a moment. Little human figures ran crazily. Shrieks and hysterical screams came from the few hundred men and wo- men spectators who had braved the rein to see the end of just another Tcutine voyage. Skeleton Blazes The crushed peataat et tke ship blazed fiercely. Cars with shrill motor car on the reservation, streaked down the road to the wreckage. Among the first survivors were three boys in their late teens in white stew- ards’ packets, and a lad—about 14— ‘@ cabin boy. They were brought to the waiting Toom and customs officers and visit- ors flocked ‘around them. They said they had jumped out of a window. The boy snickered at something and one of the stewards turned to him. In German he said: “And you laugh, you little fool!” | Known Death List | _ In Dirigible Crash Lakers, N. J., May 1—(P)— The were pepeten ane those dead or missing Fri day in ee Zeppelin Hindenbure’s destructio: "Pasernaers Anders, Ernest Rudolf of Dres- sen, Anders, R. Herbert, son of Exnst. Brinck, Betger. © Doehner, Hermann, of Mexico City. Dolan, Burtis. Douglas, Edward, of New York. Erdman, Fritz. Ernst, Otto C., of Hamburg. Mrs. Otto Ernest, his wife. Feibusch, Moritz, San Fran- Werner, Frans, * new airship construction since the Macon crashed in 1935. ‘The German ambassador, Dr. Hans Luther, flew to the disaster scene Thursday night after appealing for the public not to lose faith in lighter- than-air craft. Secretary Hull cabled the govern- ment’s sympathy to Baron Konstan- tin von Neurath, German foreign minister. Epressions at the capital indicated the explosion would be studied from every angle. DIRIGIBLE DREAMS BORN IN ST. PAUL Count von Zeppelin, Union Ob- server, Flew Leaky Bag in 1863 8t, Paul, May 7.—(#)—The inven- tor's dream that grew into the giant dirigible Hindenburg, which exploded and crashed Thursday at Lakehurst, it J., had its beginning 74 years ago in 8t. Paul. In 1963, Count Ferdinand von Zep- pelin, a young German cavalry officer who was attached to the Union army as observer, drifted across St. Paul in @ small, crude balloon on his first ascension. ‘The bag had been sewed for him by the Fort Snelling tailor and was filled with as much gas as the St. Paul Gas company would sell him. Leaky and weak, it lifted him only several hundred feet before descending again, but it gave him the idea which de- Haopen into the loos line of 2eppe- Sarles Takes Stand In His Own Defense Canada ex} whisky to the amount of $16,288,000 during 1935. There are 15,365 miles of i | within the boundaries of Mexico, rings and 32 auxiliaries. These formed up to 16 compartments for gas. The gas bags were so fixed that, while they were filled with hydrogen, they could be used for helium gas. ‘The ship was 812 feet long and had ® capacity of 7,070,000 cubic feet of gas. Her framework girders were mainly of duraluminum, As in the Graf Zeppelin, her engines were hung in gondolas outside the body of the ship. But they were easy of access by the engineers, and there was am- ple room in which to turn around in case of the necessity of making re- She was driven through the air by four 16-cylinder Diesel engines total- ling 4,200 horsepower. Her top speed was &4 miles per hour, with a regular cruising speed of 78, and her range, without refueling, has been figured at 8,000 miles. To-avoid any: danger of explosion, the gas bags had been fitted with Poecisl's safety valves. Another element of safety was that the Diesel engines are run with crude oil as fuel. One hundred thirty thousand pounds of this were carried on each trip. One Hangar Big Enough - One of the pride spots of the ship was the kitchen. It had a big four- part oven. Everything in the kitchen was operated by electricity. There were machines for cooling things and for heating things—by electricity. All of the food cooked for the guests was sent up to the dining room by a swift food elevator. About the only big change made from the original for the ship was that at the stern it was shortened by two meters. This was done in order that it would fit snugly when it was berthed in the American navy’s hangar at Lakehurst, N. J., the only one in the United States big enough to hold her. Benefitted ‘The Germans pinned many hopes upon the Hindenburg because she em- bodied everything they learned by long observation of the very success- ful Graf Zeppelin, which is fairly well-known to Americans living on the Atlantic seaboard. The Graf Zeppelin has been the most wonder- ful saflor of the air ever built by man, From Sept. 18, 1928, to Dec. 10, 1935, the Graf flew 13,357 hours and 35 tons of mail and 50 tons of freight. She made 505 flights in all. The total number of her ocean crossings has been 111, including those she car- ried out when she flew around the Bird migration baffled nature stu- dents of early times. Some authors thought birds buried themselves in mud through the winter, while some believed that migratary birds spent their vacation periods on the moon. Germany’s Proud Is Blotted Zeppelins Rode Air Safely as Other Nations Counted Disaster After Disaster GRAF IS STILL IN SERVICE United States Experiments Have Cost 200 Lives and Millions of Dollars New York, May 7.—()—Wreck of the majectic Hindenburg at Lake- hurst, N. J., blotted Germany's proud pioneering record in development of lighter-than-air craft, a record that had been free of peace-time disaster since 1913, In those 24 years, while the United States, England, France and Italy felt the blight of dirigible tragedies, Ger- many’s Zeppelins rode to sky con- quests, with the durable Graf Zeppe~ lin and the Hindenburg blazing the trails. The Graf still is in service between. Germany and South America on forte nighty trips, after eight years of flys ing that covered more than 1,000,000 miles, including a round-the-world trip and 139 trans-Atlantic voyages Prior to January, 1937. Made 10 Round Trips The Hindenburg made 10 round trips between Germany and Lakehurst Jast year and the flight that ended in catastrophe Thursday was the first of 18 scheduled this summer, The United States’ experiments with dirigibles have cost nearly 200 lives and millions of dollars, Most costly of American disasters was the wreck of the giant Akron, which plunged into the ocean off Barnegat, N. J. at midnight, Apr. 4, 1933, Seventy-three of the 76 on board perished, and two more died the next day when the navy blimp J-3, dived into the sea during rescue attempts. The Akron cost $5,375,000 and had been in service only a year and a half. Macon Also Plunges Two years later, on Feb. 12, 1935, the Akrons $5,000,000 sister ship, the Ma- Shenandoeh near Ave, Ohio, on Sept. 8, 1925, and-the craft dived 7,000 feet to earth, with a loss of 14 lives, Roma, bought from Italy by me department, was wrecked en rudder cable over Hampton 1 ‘Roads, while on @ trial run to India, Thomson, British air minister, was among the 46 dead. Italy saw its own Italia the victim of a wreck within the Arctic circle. Eight men were lost, The last Zeppelin wrecks in 1913 killed 41 men. The L-1, first German naval airship, foundered in » storm in September, and an explosion des- troyed its sister ship, the L-2, Other airship disasters: July 21, 1919—Dirigible burned over Chicago, 13 killed. July 15, 1919—British airship N6-11 struck by lightning over North sea, 12 killed, June 20, 1914—Airship and airplane collide at Vienna, 9 killed. July 2, 1912—Balloon Akron ex- Ploded at Atlantic City, five killed. May, 1906—Girderless pressure ship, Morrell, collapsed on housetops at Berkeley, Calif., three killed. Hindenburg Insurance Totaled $2,500,000 London, May 7—()—Insurance au- thorities here said Friday the Hin- denburg was insured for $2,500,000 with the $2,000,000 spread thinly among numerous Lloyds undetwriters, the arinnineer held by German in- teres| YOUR OFFICE IS PHONE 2200 For Demonstration NOT COMPLETE MARKWELL STAPLER Fastens Temporarily or Permanently BISMARCK TRIBUNE COMPANY Bismarck, N. D.