RAIDING LONDON
HOW THE HEART OF THE EMPIRE IS DEFENDED PROBLEMS FOR GERMAN AIRMEN After having 6eon the Zeppelin menace beaten, Londoners are loth to accept the official view that there is no effectual defence against night raids by German aeroplanes except that of bombing the aerodromes in Belgium from which the raiders start. The official view seems to bo that aerial warfare has brought London within the war zone, and that it is ns impossiblo to prevent enemy attacks on London ns to prevent the enemy attacking British trenches at the front.Tho aerial raids will cease only when the Germans have been decisively beaten and admit their defeat. Tim Germans abandoned tho Zeppelin raids on England because they had become too costly. The loss of a couple of Zeppelins in every raid brought homo to Germans the fact that British airmen had. mastered tho airships. The Zeppelins came only at night, and preferably on clear moonless nights. When they attempted to make their way inland to the-big provincial cities' in England they usually lost their way, because they had no landmarks by which to steer, and were unablo to allow for "side drift" caused by tho wind. Tho Thames provided them with a path to London, because a sheet of water is clearly visible from the air at night. For this reason tho artificial lake in St. James's Park, adjoining Buckingham Palace, has been emptied. Otherwise tho water in the lako might guide the German aviators to the palace ns a target for their bombs. The King of Searchlights.
Encircling London at various distances up to 20 miles from the city are hundreds of searchlights, placed so as to intersect one another, and so cover the whole area of the sky around London. When the Zeppelins entered this area they were soon picked up by the searchlights, and they wero passed on from one group of searchlights to another. Tho anti-aircraft guns within range opened fire, and the aeroplanes from tho aerodromes in the vicinity went up to fight the Zeppelins. When a British ,-iirniiin was able to get above a Zeppelin the fate of tho latter was 6ealed. In aerial fighting the upper berth gives an immense advantage, for much the same reason that in a dog fight the auimal on iop has an advantage. The airman in the upper berth can watch tho manoeuvres of his fon underneath and got in far more effective blows. A few explosive bullets from an aeroplane's machine-gun was sufficient to ignite the inflammablo gas of the Zeppelin and send it to the ground in -flames.
The next development of enemy air raids on London and east coast towns was the employment of the aeroplane. The first German aeroplane raids were carried out in daytime, and though daylight raids are less immune from effective attack than night raids, they are not likely to J« abandoned entirely in favour of night raids. When a squadron of about twenty aeroplane raiders como in daytime, they fly in formation. All the machines in the squadronfly at the same height, with the same distanco between each machine. The is diamond-shaped, with a single machine in front, in tho rear and on each wing. This formation provides protection against all methods of aerial attack except from above, as the guns in tho machines in tho formation cover all other quarters from which attack may come! For a single aeroplane to attack a squadron flving in formation is to court death. But by means of a squadron attack from above it is possiblo to break up the formation. In the case of night raids the enfmy machines do not fly in formation, and thev choose clear moonlight nights in preference to the clear moonless nights favoured by Zeppelins. The latter, owing to their bulk, would be plainly visible on a moonlight night to the British airmen in search of them. But tho aeroplanes, being much smaller, are not ensily visible; and on. moonlight nights the searchlights cannot pick uj the raiding aeroplanes because the machines arc relatively small, and because the beams of a' searchlight are less vivid in the moonlight than on a dark night. It would be difficnlt for the enemy to kerp formation «t night, and they do not attempt it, as the need of defence is not po irreat as when they are yisiblo to the British airmen who go up in pursuit of th»m.
The chief difficulty of tho dnylight neronlane raiders is not in getting to English towns without serious molestation, but In getting , back. Before tlipv can return to their aerodromes in Belgium. British squadrons from Dover nnd Dunkirk are in the air awaiting them. But at night there is _ little difficulty in getting back. It is impossible for> tho British airman to see far ahead nt night, and the noise of his own machine drowns the noise of any enemy machines that may be in the vicinity. And when a British aviator sees another aeroplane the British aviator has to discern whether it is a friend or foe before opening fire. . The chief disadvantage of night raids from the point of view of the enemy is that it is difficult,- if not: impossible, to be snrc of their locality. They have but the haziest idea of _ the nature of the targets at which they mop bnmbs. But this disadvantage is one which the Germans have beon content to put up with, even in daylight raids. The raiders fly at such a sre-at, height that, neenrate aim in dropping bombs w impossible. A Remarkable Feature. A remarkable feature of the air raids in London is the fnct that they do very littlo material damage. As a general rule more bombs fall in the streets and m open places than on buildings. extraordinary, in view of the_ fnct that the area covered by buildings in London is so much greater than the area of the streets and open spaces, ind the casualties caused \j the bombs which fall on buildings are frequently fewer than would be expected. There are many instances in which bombs have through a crowded building from I he root to tie basement and exploded \ ithouj seriously injuring a single person. If the main object of the German raiders s not material domaße, but to frighten cmW and weaken their morale, night nubare more effective than day raids. Most people feel some nervous effects after a Sin which bombs havepropped near rolling thunder, and ending in a IoB?. "The davlisht raids on London have seldom lasted more than ten mimitee. beZZ "the raiders are in a hurry to get back and escape pursuit. But the iirst of the moonlight raids lasted more than nn hour. Bombs were not falling for he whole time, but there was an inter. viil of an hour between the sound of Hie first bomb dropped nnd tho last. Soldiers on leave who have been used fo Bhrif fire ot the front effect to regard an «lnl nid as far moro nerve-racking, because "h" impossible to take shelter from tho bomb"- . , , An increase in the number of mght Zit towns have been specially. bnlt fo tho purpose, and are not suitable tni teHtSw »t the front. The Germans, ike all the bellifri-rcnts, have not ns many machines at the. front as they nert. because it is impossible to increase the Riinnlv rapidly, nnd also replace the wi&Yn machines. The main diffln°ltv is in turning out Hid ong.ne* but thn Germans, owine to shortugo of material of various kinds, lire hnmpnral m neroplnne construction morn flmii any ot tho Allies. Tor this reason ,t is not likelv that tho Germans will be able Jo build a very large number of special machines for raiding London.
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Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 44, 15 November 1917, Page 5
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1,299RAIDING LONDON Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 44, 15 November 1917, Page 5
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