AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS
;TEST‘ IN LONDON AREAS'' ' SIXTY THOUSAND ENGAGED ■ (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) LONDON, Feb. 18. The world’s biggest air raid precaution test was carried out in London regional areas, where 60,000 workers were engaged. Explosives shattered masonry and fires were ignited in derelict houses. Stretcher parties carried casualties to first-aid posts, while steelheimeted girls drove ambulances through the streets. The exercises were premised by successive waves of bombing planes, which fighters and anti-aircraft units broke up. Bombs numbering 250 were dropped on 50‘boroughs. “killing-” 400 and “ wounding ” 5000 in 150 centres of Greater London, Middlesex, ; Hertfordshire, • Kent, Surrey and Suffolk. The realism culminated when an imitation German plane, crashed in King’s Cross, exploding its cargo of bbmbs in a prepared excavation and causing' 227 “ casualties.” Only the silence of the sirens differentiated the exercises from an actual attack. “ Bodies ” were extricated from the debris by 360 rescue, squads, after which came the routine of identification and disposal of the “ dead.”
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19400220.2.64
Bibliographic details
Otago Daily Times, Issue 24227, 20 February 1940, Page 8
Word Count
164AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS Otago Daily Times, Issue 24227, 20 February 1940, Page 8
Using This Item
Allied Press Ltd is the copyright owner for the Otago Daily Times. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons New Zealand BY-NC-SA licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Allied Press Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in