Britain Undecided On Use Of A-Bomb Shelters

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27395, 7 July 1954, Page 12

Britain Undecided On Use Of A-Bomb Shelters

t LONDON, July 5. Maxwell Fyf°, the Home ■k. said today that Britain’s lafence chiefs had not yet deJpether it was worth while conshelters against the atom and bombs. a debate on civil defence of Commons, he said: gfWtion is whether it is feasible such a degree of protection WJa reduction of casualties and UPtn morale commensurate with 35? expenditure involved.” faPffigh study of technical and JWwfems would have to be made the country embarked on any W •ending on this, he said. I envisaged that in a future war Wyon of the country must be to run its own affairs beyoamunications with the seat of rWnt might be destroyed. I Tngedy Without Parallel” I any attack with atomic ®s was made on Britain the loss ■» suffering ‘‘would constitute d ?P?y without anv previous a Wja history,” he said. 5 at R would be foolish to impossible task of provid--3 but much could be done . “agate the conseauences. and it

-■? e consequences, ana it 1 pfyene’s duty to do the best he 1 details of the effects Wegen bomb: 1900 times as powerful as the ■ bombs which fell on Hiro- ■ Jfps and Nagasaki would have a ■ S3 8 damage about 10 times as rj. This would mean total .: zgrauon within a radius of five u aZ®' medium devastation for • and a half, and lighter I ctlOn over a radius 15 a heat flash of enorJ sJJ 3 mtensity lasting for at least . minute. Direct radio-Zzy-y would occur at the < explosion in the shape j b ‘ e gamma rays, against | Protective clothing would ' »«Li avail Victims would not 22? -b«n at first, but would be2. ill later. = ordinary houses would 4 &> e -- !nar^e d Protection against I and people outside the j J?,total devastation would 5 fatally or even seriously Secretary said: I! We must ; erf e . mern ber that, whatever tile air attacks, there will always ' SL? 63 / w bich will escape serifarizL , OEn where the battle for i«r have to be fought.” “t obvious reference to Coventhe Labour City Council SfILSh e civil defence plans as mae. Sir David Maxwell Fyfe W gLPave made it plain that the B? are more than light of the new ,'Jh/L Government intends to K »yffl- recru itment.” of a much heavier i n an y future war the need for civil defence >. «K? L ? l r i ns. said the Home Secreof reservists for sercoluEQna would begin

The Government also proposed to appoint a Commander-in-Chief for the mobile forces with an immediate task of bollaboratfon with the military commanders to make sure that civil defence harmonised with military plans. Hospital accommodation for casualties was being reviewed and an attempt was being made to make the emergency services more mobile. The civil defence chiefs were urgently going over the existing plans for the evacuation of masses of people from the cities and towns. Sir David Maxwell Fyfe said: “None of these considerations provides adequate reasons for our taking a cowardly or defeatist attitude towards aggressive demands on us. “But they make it vital for us to be strong to bring about conditions m tne world which will enable peace to endure the threat of war to disappear, and effective measures of disarmament to be introduced.”