AIRSHIP DISASTER.

FALLING MASS OF FLAME. NO NEWS OF CREW. FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT. CROMER, Tuesday Night.

It seems certain that the British airship N.S 11 has met with disaster off the north Norfolk coast. Charred wreckage is being washed up, including airship fittings, framework, furniture, a broken propeller blade, and a chair – possibly the coxswain’s chair – marked N.S 11. Two flying officers have arrived from Pulham to inspect the wreckage.

The N.S 11 was a coastal airship, carrying apparently two officers and five men. It is understood that it was on a night excursion from the aerodrome at Pulham, and her passage was over the market town of Holt to the north Norfolk coast. Sounds of her engines awakened many people, who assumed that it was the R 34 journeying from Pulham to East Fortune. Apparently, all went well until the coast was reached and passed. The airship seems to have proceeded some miles out to sea and then returned towards land, for what purpose is unknown, though some of the eye-witnesses say that, by the noise she was making, she appeared to have engine trouble.

She was some miles at sea when there was a loud explosion. The ship turned on end, and came down into the sea, a mass of fire. A further explosion, just before she reached the surface, scattered portions of her in flaming fragments. The mass itself burned for a long time on the surface of the sea. The glare lit up the sky for miles around, and the sounds of the explosions were heard a great distance off, the first and loudest of them resembling a long-drawn-out rumble.

SEARCH BY BOATS.

The first news that was sent to Sheringham, the nearest available lifeboat centre, gave it as a case of a ship on fire and sending up flares. At the time the weather was fairly fine, but the conditions were threatening, and as it appeared a case of considerable urgency, a motor-boat was first hurried to the scene, and the lifeboat followed about three o’clock. Soon afterwards a message came from Morston that the vessel believed to be on fire was still afloat, and appeared to be drifting towards the shore, a mile off Blakeney. There is a lifeboat at this place, but the tide was out, and the boat, being in a dry harbour, could not be used.

The Sheringham lifeboat had proceeded further north, and it was then decided to send out another boat, which was got off at 3.30 a.m. It now appears that the first motorboat showed a light, which led Morston to believe that a distressed vessel was drifting ashore; and a further mistake appears to have occurred when the lifeboat saw rockets fired in the neighbourhood of Wells, and took them to be the signal that a vessel was ashore at Blakeney. The motor-boats and the lifeboat continued.to search, but at four o’clock the wind shifted to the north and blew up a gale. This became so bad that the motor-boats had to run to Sheringham for safety, but the lifeboat remained and kept up the search until daybreak without success. After it was got ashore at Sheringham, at seven a.m., a piece of wreckage was washed ashore behind it. It was a piece of charred wood framework between 4ft and 5ft long, attached to which were strips of aluminium, the first piece of wreckage to come ashore.

STORIES BY WITNESSES.

I have interviewed a number of local people who were in a position to give some account of the disaster.

The wife of Dr. Kaye, of Blakeney, said she and her husband saw the airship, and thought it was the R 34 going home. Alter it had passed over, she took no more notice until she heard a terrific explosion, and saw a flash which brilliantly lit up all around.

Mr. Elwin, of Cley, who is home on furlough from the Army, said he was awakened by the sound of the airship, and he aroused his mother and sister, telling them he thought something was wrong with its engines, which did not seem to be working properly. The airship was making a lot of noise, and, viewed from the bedroom window, she appeared be at a standstill over adjoining houses. Elwin ran downstairs to the garden, and saw her proceed over Cley church, towards the sea. She continued in make a great noise, and before she passed out of his sight beyond a plantation he saw a flare come from the ship, though whether it was simply from the exhaust or not he could not tell.

The following account was furnished by Mrs. Hudson, of St. Margaret’s, Blakeney:

I heard the airship approaching a little before 12.30. I looked out of my bed-room window, and finding that the sound came from the south-east, I got my field-glasses and easily located the airship. It was of the big silver-coloured type, and when I saw it it appealed to be going splendidly, and so gracefully that I turned to my husband saying, “I wouldn’t mind being in that.” I watched it of sight, and I retired. I heard the sound of the engines gradually dying away in the distance. Then it seemed to return; and altogether I heard the craft for about half an hour, when there was an awful explosion and a great flare of light. I rushed to the window again, and with my glasses saw the airship in what appeared to me to be her original position. She was in flames, and, as I was watching it suddenly dipped headlong and went down into the sea. Just before she reached the surface she exploded again, and flying fragments were spread about. With my glasses I seemed to see a black object drop out of the flames. It was almost like a parachute, but I could not say definitely what it was. The mass burned on the sea for hours. The time when I heard the first explosion was 1.45 a.m., and immediately afterwards there was a crash of thunder and a flash of lightning and rain came down in torrents. I feel confident that the airship was not struck by lightning, because there was no lightning until after she was in flames.