The times dispatch. [volume], July 03, 1912, Page 3, Image 3

About The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
AIRSHIP AKRON BLOWN TO ATOMS;
VAN I MAN AND HIS CREW KILLED
Terrifying Spectacle 500 Feet in
Air Witnessed by
Thousand--.
BODIES FALL INTO OCEAN
Craft Bliilt to Withstand Storms,
' iocs to Doom in Calm
Weather.
Atlantic City, N. J-. July 2.?Sailing
Out over thb Atlantic Ocean under per?
il ct control and in view of leverut
thousand interested persona the. great
iiiiuhip Akron, in command ot Melvln
Vanlmail, With a crew ol four men. ex
I I od cd while more that] 500 feet In tho
ail early to-day and shot down Into
I!., wutc :? a tangled m ue. currying to
ll'cli death the daring navigator and
Ilia companions.
L?eath lb behoved to have come In?
stantly to the live men.
In all the tragic history of disasters
to airships or aeroplanes probably
none was as sensational as that which
brought to an end the greatest und
most costly air ciaft over constructed
on the Western hemisphere. Built to
withstand i!.. storms <; the Atlantic
and to carry at least dozen men
across th< ocean t ? Kurbpe, the Akron
v>?.nt to her doom in calm weather.
Those who u . nl down with the big
dirigible beside the Int.epid Vanlman,
Who already had had one thrilling ex?
perience In an airship on the ocean,
were: Calvin Vanimon, his young
brother; Krcd Elmer. George Bourll
lion. of Philadelphia; Water C. Gebt, a
lilend of Vaniman's financial backer.
L'p to sundown two bOdlet. those of
Calvin Vanlman and Bourllllon. had
1 Isen recovered from the wreckage,
which lies submerged In about eighteen
feet of water off Brigantine Beach.
The Akron, which had been Inllated
last February with gas manufactured
by Vanlman in the big hangar at the
Inlet, was taken out shortly after 6 A.
M. foi a Uat night. Ona flight had al
t<ady been made about a month ago
und defects discovered at that time
were remedied, and tO-doy'S trial was
tc have beon among th.- last prior to
the attempt to cross the Atlantic.
Mr?. Vanlman bad.- her husband
good-bye at their little cottage near
the hangar at 2 A M . and waited for
daybreak to eee her husband sail
i. v ay.
No Difficult} i? l.aunchlssT.
The launching of the air craft was
?ircornplished without difficulty and
ehe sailed gracefully away.
Over the waters of Abseeon Inlet
Vanlman manoeuvred her, and then
sallod down over the city, and. after
<omplet:ng a few oth'-r mevernents,
shiped the ship's course out to sea.
When a half-mile off Brigantine
Beach, tiie thousands of spectators
who had been watching the ship saw
a burst of flames outlined against the
morning sky.
In a few seconds they were horrified
t.. see the car of the balloon detach
Itself frofn the bag and shoot down
u .:.| into t:.. water, followed by the
? ollspsi d gas bag. '
By Intuition everybody apP'ared to 1
realized what had occurred, and
? on a hundred boat* were beating
their way out over the rough wnter.?
of the InJei bar W'h?n the first boats i
reached the scene of the wreck tha
:. ,. uera found only the collapsed bug. |
After n search a submerged body, that
I of the younger Vaniman, was ro
' covered:
: Among the riret on the scene were
[United .-States life-savers Divers went
|down to the wreck, hut there wan
little that could be done until low
tld*. when Bourrilllon's body was rt 1 s
entangled from the wreckage und
: brought to shore.
I Mr? Vaniman saw the coiiarse of
(the ballon and its drop into the i
ocean, carrying with It her nusband '
,and hrother-ln-la w She fell ,p a
[faint and was unconscious for son-.*!
I time. After recovering consciousness
'she talked of r.er husbands bravery.
;The wives of Bourrilllon. Gest and
; Elmer, who lived near by. also saw
;the disaster from their homes At the
Vaniman cottage a mos; distressing
scene followed.
Men turned awny f.? the four
w.dows wept on one another's shoul?
der*
After the first excitement and shock
had passed Mrs. Vaniman again col?
lapsed, and later in the day was under
the care of a physician. She was suf?
fering with frequent fainting spells
and her ccr.ditlor. Is serious
Second Flight.
1 The flight this morning was Ihe sec
I ond that the ul-fated airship had taken
I th's year Alter tinkering nil winter
: on the ship. Venniman took the Akron
out for a short flight on Saturday
I morning. June 1 At that time the bil
loon was nearly wrecked by some of
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Finest Assortment in the City.
W. Fred. Richardson, Inc.
Storage ?nd Transfer Department
Main and Bclviilore Streets.
We call attention to our splendid facilities for packing and crating house?
hold goods, .bric-a-brac, china, glassware, pictures and works of art for stor?
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Melrln Vanlniaaa tlrablv Akron ivblcta ?fln blown to piece* yesterday.
_(Copyright. American Press Ass'n.)
I -1
the mri-han 'rn going wrong, but it was
Barely landed at the hangar without
serious mishap.
The longest flight the balloon made
was last fall. When It spent tlu greater
part of the day in the air in the vl
1 clnlty of this city. At that time the
gas In the hag was not sufficient to
keep the l>lg ship constantly In the
air. and it had to make several land?
ings. During the winter Vannlman
improved the ship through lessons
? imed In that/flight In appearance
tile Akron was not unlike the Amer?
ica, in which Walter Wellman and Van?
nlman attempted to cross the Atlantic
Ocean in uctober. 1510, but there were
many differences In ihe construction
of the airsh.p which collapsed to-day.
I The gas bag was thirty feet longer
than that of the America, but was
rmaller in diameter. The dimensions
twere: Length of bag. 268 feet, dlame- j
it. <7 feet. The rag was made of a
1 composition of rubber and was con- I
structed in Ohio.
Beneath this Immense cigar-shaped
bag was the so-called ear, similar In1
shape to the America's, but longer, |
perhaps 150 feet long. The bottom of;
the >a: was composed of a round steil j
tank about two feet 'n diameter and
about 100 feet long. In this tank was
stored the gasolene. The car was con- i
nected to the gas bag by steel tubing
of light construction. On top of the.
lank was built a platform of two-Inch I
boards and on this rested one 100
horsepower motor, two SO-horSepower'
motors, one l;-horsepower motor and!
a small dynamo. The 100-horsepower
motor was used for the two forward |
vertical propellers and the other two
large motor* for the two pairs of;
ortenta. le propellers. These propelleis|
could be turned from the horizontal
to the vertical and were to be used to
:att<- or lower the height of the air-j
The small motor and dynamo!
were used for electric lighting and to
furnish power to the wireless outfit. ?
Some of the supplies of the snip were;
alto stored on this palform. In the j
forward end of the piatform were-the I
st-eri:.j; wheel and gear for controlling!
the rudder and the stabilizing plani-s
fore and aft.
The sleeping accommodations for the!
crew consisted of narr.tr.ocks strung i
up in the car.
Great shock to People.
The disaster came as a shock to 'he!
people of Atlontlc. City who had com?
to know Vannlman very well. For a
week past the Intrepid airman had)
been planning to make another flight
and only waited for favorable winds.
I-ast night conditions appeared satis-1
fatcory ond he notified the city that
he probably would make a flight at
sunrise to-dny. At daybreak the con- ?
dltions were still favorable and tho
word was given. A hundred policemen
and firemen were summoned and sent
up to the inlet, to assist in getting1
the balloon out of the Immense han- !
gar. Their duty was to hold on to
the ropes of the ship as she was care- I
fully warped out of the big shed. IH
Hundreds of persons who expected
the flight saw the Akron come out of.
the hangar for the last time. The!
operation was a simple one and the b'g
bag was brought out without d'fflcul-j
ty. Once clear of the shed Vannlman!
jumped into the car of the ship, where
his other four men had already gone,
and he gave the word to "let go." In-I
siantly the ship rose, slowly at first |
and swaying from end to end. Then t
she rose rapidly. Vannlmaji appeared
to have complote control, and after
circling about over the .nlet ond on |
the mainland the ship s no?e was point-i
ed out to sea. The manoeuvrlngs of |
the great aircraft constantly attract?
ed additional people, ami the upper i
end of the beach and boardwalk were
crowded with people when the dis?
aster occurred.
Btorj of Eye?Itneas.
An eye-witness of the disaster told
thl3 story of what he saw;
"When about 1.000 feet In the air
I saw a sudden puff of smoke from
the forward end of the great gas bag. :
In a minute It exploded.
"To those who have witnessed th
many Mights of Vannlman this one
seemed at the start more successful
than any yet attempted? The crew
seemed to have better control than ?
ever before. Starting out from the
hangar the ship rose slowly from Ihe
ground and passed rn>-ll> out over
the water or, the inlet, grazing the
masts of the fleet of yachts anchored
there. I
? Vannlman and his crew were cheer?
ed by a number of fishing part'es at!
the inle* alout to start out for a day's
sport. The whistles Of n fleet of
motor boats sounded a 'God speed' to I
the airship and Its crew.
"After getting up about 300 feet, the
ship made a complete circle of the
waters of Grassy Buy. Apparently
Vannlman was making a test of the air
cur rents.'?
"The airship passed over tho Royal
Palace Motel,'" he said, "and then flew
over the southern section of the cUy.
By this lime the word had quickly
spread that the ship was in the air.
and thousands of residents and visitors
flocked to the boardwalk to witness the
fl'glit. Soon after the puff of smoke
was sein tin- men on the airship were
seen gathered together on one Side
of the craft, hut this proved to bo a
ripping of the light side of the big
gas envelope. The spectators. llOwevt i.
did not realize that anything had hap?
pened until suddenly the huge bag was
seen to bpckle from the two extreme
ends, forming a perfect 'tV There
was no report, but immediately the col?
lapsed bag f<ll toward the ocean with
frightful velocity.
"Tho forms of five men could b?
TO-NIGHT
the Board of Aldermen is to meet to consider the pending franchise
of the Richmond and Henrico Railway Company. That franchise
deals solely with the use of the streets and alleys for furnishing elec?
tric light and power, and has nothing whatever to do with any exten?
sion of tracks or street railway service.
That franchise, as demanded by the Richmond and Henrico Com?
pany, DOES NOT SAFEGUARD THE CITY and does not specifically
require that company to serve YOU or any other citizen of Richmond
in any conceivable way.
That franchise is a "blanket'* franchise, requiring nothing definite
from the Richmond and Henrico Railway Company, but permitting
that company to use such streets as it chooses at its own sweet will
and in its own time. The city's legal adviser says he has "very grave
doubts" of its validity.
He says also that any franchise granted ought to require the nam?
ing of the particular streets to be occupied. He says further that under
this franchise the Richmond and Henrico Company could FIGHT IN
THE COURTS every attempt of the city to require it to serve any spe?
cific section of the city.
The manifold defects and "jokers" of this franchise can be elimi?
nated NOW, before the ordinance is passed; but they can never be
remedied after it is passed and made a contract binding on the city
for fifteen years to come.
Virginia Railway and Power Company
Service Talk No. 38
July 3, 1912
pia nly etui plunging down thrcuRh
the air from the great height. Thi-ir
bodies turning over and over apron
before they sank In the sea Just on"
the outer rar ar.1 not far from a can
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Sides and Shoulders. 18c
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buoy. From the boardwalk, abreast]
of th*> l:f<> saving station. It looked as
if the now limp gas bag and its metal
framework covered their bodies.
"Men or. th?- boardwalk turned their
eyes from the sickening sight and
women screamed. One man who ap?
peared to grasp the situation made a
dash for the Royal Talace Hotel to
telephone for help, A large launch on
the way to the fishing ground started
to blow a whistle to attract the atten?
tion of the other boat;-, and in a short
time the inlet waters were black with
boats rushing to the aid of the men."
Cause of ExploalOB.
One theory of the cause of the ex?
plosion is that gasolene used for oper- .
atlng the engines explodea and in turn I
communicated to the gas In the bal?
loon.
Vannlman had recently been testing
an entirely new material for the gas
t'ag of his balloon. It is reinforced
with wire, and Vanniman claimed thai
with tt he could construct a balloon
that would neither expand nor con?
tract, thus producing a dirigible that
would be absolutely under the contrul
of engines and steering apparatus.
On his last two trips Vannlman dls- I
penaed with the services of his wire- {
less telegraph operator and tiad re?
moved the apparuiK thus giving his
crew additional 100m in the work'rig
quarters.
That somebody had let too much fiee
gas into the engines and bucked up
the exhaust, was itio theory of Chiet
Black, of the fire department, whe was
on hond with his men to help in
launching the balloon.
Another theory for the cause of the
disaster is that a dangling rope, of
the rigging dragged Into the big pro?
pellers, whipped up against the stern
end of the balloon and snapped off
enough of the cone to free the gas,
allowing the vapor to sweep into the
engines and explode.
Three of the widows of men killed
in the accident are Mrs. Vanniman,
Mrs Bourtllllon and Mrs. Elmer. They
had gathered at the Vanniman cottage,
across from the hangar, within an hour
after the accident. Outside the little
COtt?gO was a crowd of probably 10,
000 persons, women, children and men.
all saddened, downcast and come In
tears over the oppressive sorrow of tl
all.
Policemen were on guard around the,
Vannlman house to keep back the mor?
bid. Every one. seemed to feel deeply
j the solemnity of ttie moment.
Desprte the intensity. Mrs. Vaninun
talked of her husband.
?'lie was feo very brave." she said,
I "that 1 believe he aevir knew what
fear waa. I never presumed to urge
htm not to go up. for I knew it would
not Irftuenco him. It would be more
exact to say that he would not evan
hear what 1 said. He wa>> devoted lo
his work, and flight In thp air. how?
ever dangerous, was to .hint merely an
incident. It was a step In the pleas?
urable science of ai,r navigation, which
he studied when h,> wo* awake and
(dreamed of when he slept
Premonition of Peril,
. "I shall never forget the feeling In
my heart when h<? left-me n: '.' o'clock
1 this morning. 1 had a forewarning of
trovrb'.e I believe 11 now, ,?s truly as
X. c~im baliava ajiyitLir.E. aud I am not
I a superstitious woman, either.
"Vcs, 1 sa-w them fall. I ;aw one!
man Jump?vsomothlng teils m? that :i |
teas iny husband. I saw him spread
out in the aJr, flat, as he fell, and then
?oh, I can scarcely speak of It?all
grew dark before me, They were so
high in the air?It must have been a
thousand feet.
"Before I fainted I now remember
that the car turned with one end down
word and It shot toward the sea Ilk? a
cloth, all In a string I can recall that
picture all the rest r.f my days; It is
photographed on my mind
"All there ye*rs of my husband's
? ?..r-.igg'.e he and I have been as one. I
planned with him. I shared his troubles
and did what I could to encourage him.
"At times, in Europe, things were
very depressing. But Mr. Sci'aerling.
of Akron, has been a splendid friend.
We have never hoard from him 'eine
word except in praise.
"This Akron he was using for expe?
riment only In a field that he believed
already passed .n the science of aero?
nautics.
Wan Testing Speed Device.
"His particular reason for going up
I to-diary was to trv out a contrivance he
1 _^?
had for estimating tnc speed an air?
ship traveled, an Invention of his own.
based on measurements of the Image
en the ground giass of an Inverted
camera showing the earth or sea mov?
ing down below."
The first rescue buat to reach the
scene of the disaster was |n charge of
Captain Parker, of the Atlantic City
lifeuavlng station. Two other life
savers were with hm. Nothing but
the remnants of the big gas bag was
above the water, the machinery and
heavy car having sunk out of sight.
The me'- poked ar.mnd with a boat
hook, trying to find one or more of tiir
bodies, but failed and decided to po-i
pon?i t'helr efforts until the tide falls
th's afternoon.
TUP. f.AX-FOa WAT.
i V. you had ? medicine that weul?
' ?trenpt.'ien the liver, the ?tomach. the kld
! ntys and the bowels, ?cd nt the same time
! make you strong wtth a lysfiomle tonic,
I Cnn't you betleve you would Soon be well?
That's "The L.SX-FOI Way."
We ask you to buy the nrs: boiti* on th?
mor.ey-b.ick piun, and you will ink youj
druttgli: to sail you the second.
It keeps your what* in?.a<- rlsht.
There 1? nothing elie made like Llx-Tos.
Remember the u: ... L a ;?: . .\ <j?,
1| ' 4th of July4k
c^/ Outing Delicacies ^
Celebrate right?with n spread that evokes ///
Ss^. expressions of delight and helps make this the /V.
X^; greatest day of treats in th% whole year. Here /y
sN are a few from our hut), reds of delightful ry
s^i appetizers: y
5" Franco-Am: Entrees... 2So i Chill Con Carno.lOe, ISO ?
i ^mV" ^%0c Tumaloa3 S^.W . M?C I
>\ ouc Chop Suey.80o r
/ Pottorl Meats... .ISO, 2Sc. chicken Loaf.20c *
Y Luncheon Tongue.... 30c Ham Loaf.IBo \
^ Vienna tfausago.15c; Veal Loaf.ISO ^
y^S Heart c-uartcrs for Summer Drink?.
Virginia IVIedoc Claret.25c ^
// ($2.80 p.T dozen) XN,
y/. Virginia Seedling Claret.36c X\
/// ($3.50 per dozen) vV\
//vji "Everything Good to Eat and Drink." >xV<
j/^f l'hono Monroo lOt-tOo. 501-SOft E. nroart. N^yVj