"FOG BOMBS"

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2542, 17 August 1915, Page 6

"FOG BOMBS"

HOW LONDON IS'TO BE DESTROYED. :^V 'According to "Neutral" in "Wis Times," _ Germany is talking of tlie coming invasion of London by a fleofc of Zeppelins, possibly accompanied by other forms of aircraft. Some people .there have.even gone so far as- to predict a da-to for the destruction of London, so confident aro they in tlio power of the latest creations of Count Zeppelin, aided by a highly-trained staff o£ Ecientists. ' , The latest ploduction-of these scien-i t-ists is directly aimed at England. It ia the Nebclbomben (fog bombs) to be used "when the big attack on Loudon"takes place. Workers in tbo factories, who are usually so secretive, are as enthusiastic as schoolboys over the successful experiments _ made with the new contrivance, which explodes in the air and sheds over a largo area a foglike cloud sufficiently dense to obscurei the airship, froin the rays of the most powerful searchlights. The new invent.' tion can also, be used in daylight. •' The writer goes on to say that in af. famous cafe in Munich he heard' this discussion among a party who had been talking about 'the Lusitaiiia outage. One said: — "But this work of the submarines is small compared with what the Zeppelins are going to do. You have observed that tbo Zeppelins have been moro ac- . tiyo and are going still farther and wider —and nearer London. Thus, you see, great things are in preparation.' The British did not believe the power of our submarines. Nov.- they havo to* • Thoy liavo not believed in any real . military power'in our Zeppelins. That time will come. "Well," said another of the party/ "there has long been talk of that. It! is no good to talk." ' "But I know," replied the ~ first, "Things have become different now. W«l will hit London.. New machines, new. bombs. I can tell, you a secret. One of our foremost chemical works has been making 'something quite new for tlio Zeppelin. You know the 'Btinkbomben' (asphyxiating bombs). Our chemical resources are not yet' exhausted. And I havo seen the new, Zeppelins," Later on ho met a young man in a" train, who related how there had been a new, big Zeppelin from Friedrichshafen flying over the plain in perfectly clear air. It made the journey to experiment with a new apparatus, the purpose of which was to enablo the Zeppelins to make raids over enemy .countries in the daytime. This apparatus was a kind of "liebel-bomb," with a time fuse. When this bomb lyas dropped from the airship it exploded at a' calculated distance from tbo ground, and, with incrcdiblo rapidity, sent out a fog which absolutely shut out the Zeppelin from view. It was thus protected against attacks from guns aud aeroplanes, and would be able to get away in comparative, safety. "I saw it myself," ho exclaimed. "It was grand. Tlio fog spread for many, kilomotres nearly instantaneously. With' several bombs 20 kilometres square could be covered. I havo carried the bomb myself. lam working in the factory." Later the writer was told by a. friend". that five or six new Zeppelins had bec-u constructed at Fricdrichshafen, specially intended to bo used in an air raid 011 London. It would not be a question of any isolated airship dropping ona or two bombs, but of a fleet of dirigibles. The journeys already niado, to tlio liejghbourhood of London had given' evidence of the feasibility of such a plan, and tbo Hochst and Bndeascho chemical factories, the most proficient in the world, were hard at work for some purpose in connection" with a iilin of that kind.