We regret to have to record the wreck of the
naval airship built for the Admiralty by Messrs. Vickers at Barrow-in- Furness. After various trials for stability and buoyancy the airship had been accepted by Captain Sueter, the inspecting captain of airships, yesterday week, and was being towed from her shed early on Sunday morning when she broke in twe and became a complete wreck. The gondola underneath the vessel, containing two officers, was partially submerged, and the crews of two dingheys, which were assisting in the launch, had to swim ashore, but fortunately no loss of life occurred. The airship was commissioned two years ago, and preliminary trials conducted in May last seemed to promise excellent results. No official explanation of the disaster has yet been given, but it -.a believed that the collapse was due to the puncturing of one of the gas bags by a snapped frame.
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