RAIDS ON LONDON

Evening Star, Issue 23681, 14 September 1940, Page 11

RAIDS ON LONDON

LESS ACTIVITY OVER CAPITAL ANOTHER CHANGE IN NAZI TACTICS RENDIBN OF FIRE AND DEFENCE UNITS Pres* Association —By Telegraph—Copyright LONDON, September 13. After the failure of the night raid over London on Wednesday, due to the efficiency of the air defences, the Germans changed their tactics, and last night there was less activity over the capital, but more over the country districts. ■ German planes also made two daylight raids over England, the second of which is still in progress. In the south-west of the city,the first two •hots from a battery brought a bomber down in flames. The second alarm commenced at 9.30 a.m., and is still proceeding. A delayed-action bomb extensively damaged the fronts of three shops in Regent street last evening. Windows in buildings on both sides of the street were blown out, and a Piccadilly hotel Was slightly damaged. Raiders dropped a number of incendiaries in the north-west suburbs. The planes droned towards central London, where the gunfire rose to a •battering roar, rattling windows and spraying shrapnel on rooftops and streets. Then followed a long interval of silence, suggesting that fewer planes were participating or that, the barrage prevented penetration of the outer defences. I

The Midlands had the longest raid of the war, extending for several hours. High explosives and incendiaries -were dropped on a vide area, and a mental hospital was hi|. There is no foundation for the Berlin claim, that a bomb hit Reuter’s building in Fleet street. The building, in fact, was not touched. “DEATH AT THEIR ELBOW.” After touring the metropolitan districts, Mr Wyndham M'Bane, Parliamentary Secretary to tlie Ministry of Home Security, in a broadcast, paid a striking tribute to London’s fire and defence units. He said ; “ Blackened men, with bloodshot •yes, are manning the hoses among dying flames, scorning relief, which they know is not available. Women ambulance drivers are . waiting to fake away casualties,' while fire threatens to cut off their retreat. “ Men work in the presence of a ' time bomb until it explodes, causing death among them—these things are woven in the tapestry of the '’-Country’s heroism. Men ' and women are working by the light of fire, with death at their elbow.” SECRET NEW SHELL'S. , The ‘ Daily Mail ’ says that London anti-aircraft batteries are using guns of at least six different calibres, up to A.'Sin, which, are the most deadly of all anti-aircraft guns. Secret new types of shells are hurled 22,000 ft, the explosions rocking the ether over a wide area. The heavier guns put up a box type of barrage which, is sent up in squares from many sections, while the light guns harass raiders attempting to divebomb targets. Of these guns the “ Bofors ” are the deadliest. Uncanny electrij; predictors enable the gunners to harass raiders. Britain’s anti-aircraft defences have ■ot been weakened in any district to provide London’s barrage, which can be increased if necessary. EVACUATION SCHEME LONDONERS STAYING IN CITY \ LONDON, September 12. The 1 Daily Telegraph ’ says that deepite nearly a week of intensive bombing, London’s working class mothers are still reluctant to cb-operate with the Government’s and the local authorities’ evacuation scheme. An. official declared: “We expected that a very large jump in registrations would follow the mass air raids, but we are frankly disappointed. It is true that the registrations have risen from a few hundred a week to 1,000 a day, but the figure is far less than anticipated, because the scheme was i«ady for the evacuation of 250,000 within a few days.” Serious problems are arising from the use of public air raid shelters in outlying districts of London as nightly dormitories by people living in the severely bombed eastern areas. Thousands from the East End and the inner eastern suburbs flock every evening into London’s green belt, taking blankets, mattresses, and food, and they fill the shelters when the sirens sound. They sleep as best they can, then go home in the morning. Many of these shelters are intended primarily for pedestria'ns who ore caught in the street, not for all night use. Similar problems have arisen in the West End. Members of A.R.P. squads say persons tour the shelters in daytime. and select the most comfortable.