WINGS OVER LONDON

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 175, 11 August 1937, Page 5

WINGS OVER LONDON

-Press Assn.r

Capital's Defences Sorely Jested 400 'PLANES ENGAGED

(By Telegraph-

-Copyright.)

(Eeceived 11, 8.45 a.m.) LONDON, Aug. 10. From the Thames Estuary, the East London segment, Essex, Suffolk and Kent, slumber on a stuffy night was cohtinuously distnrbed by the droning of 400 aircraf t engaged in the annual tqst' ,of fhe dify's air def qnces. Thirty raids Fere niade in 3$ hpnrs. Half of theiq FPIP intqrcepted b9lor(? xeache# their fibjqctiyq^ bnt thosq which werq' successfui heavijy boxnbed the Tilbury docks" and the qil ^epptg. Manj? nqW' p"f ffiaehinqs wqre engaged, so.me Eleqheim bqmbers with a speed of 24Q inilps an bqur defying the older interceptpr fighters. It was obvious that the defence was sorely pressed. . A new feature was the civilian observers. Many were strange to the busihess but gave valuable adyice to hqadquarters of tlie ap^roach of the miaehines, in soxnq " casqs 70 miles befqiq the qbjectiyes were reached., ' An official message* states that altpgether there werq 49. raids on No?th and East Lonclqn, 80, p - .of whiph werq counterpd b.efore their tar^ets were reached. Thqre "were. 40 nii4-air figbts 5000 feet above London amid rays of searchlights, also many clashes when the bombers were returning to their bases after 49F9The Enfield niunitipn WOlfe were raided 16 times in ifive hours. The pilp.t and observer of a bomber lost their iives in an accident in cohnection with the manoexjvres.