BEATING BOMBERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 March 1939, Page 9

BEATING BOMBERS

METHODS USED IN SPAIN FIRE EFFECTIVE. DANGER TO CIVILIANS. The methods used in Barcelona to frustrate bombing raids were described by Mr Cyril Helsby at a special meeting of the British Institution ol Structural Engineers in London recently. Mr Helsby pointed out that less than a year ago the number of deaths occurring from air raids in Barcelona were never less than several hundreds in each raid, but although the raids had increased in severity it now took half a ton of high explosives to kill one person. Out 455 bombs which fell during the five days from December 5 to 10 last the casualties were approximately two people killed, 10 people injured, 20 horses killed, and one motor lorry seriously damaged. Credit for this must be given to the A.R.P. arrangements. The claim that anti-aircraft hre could protect definite military objectives was supported by the x fact that, although nearly 2,000 raids had taken place and tens of thousands of bombs had been rained on Barcelona during the war, the gasworks and holders were still undamaged, and the electricity works although they had suffered, had never been put out of action. Barcelona had only a limited number of anti-aircraft guns, but these were sufficient to keep raiders to a height which made it impossible to direct bombs at military targets with any hope of success. The main danger was to the civilian population. Barcelona, in the first days of the war, went through the same phases of development in A.R.P. as they in the United Kingdom were going through *at present. Sketches showing how to plaster up the cracks and corners in rooms against gas and how to strut up ceilings against bombs were made and exhibited to the people. Cellars were frequently recommended as places of shelter, but after the first few high explosive bombs had shown how completely inefficient these suggestions were they were immediately dropped, and after many people had been buried for days under debris in cellars these were forbidden as shelters.

Bomb-proof shelters were shown to be essential and were now provided for the population. In the streets these were situated close together and no one need ever be more than 200 yards away from the entrance to one of them. They invariably had several exits. One method much favoured in the streets of the city was that of tunnelling from the pavement down to a depth of about 45ft and then proceeding in long galleries underneath the houses in a complete square, maintaining a position approximately under the centre of the buildings. Subsidiary galleries connected in the shape of a cross the four main shelters These gave access from one to the other in case of accident, but they were frequently used as safe refuges. Such a shelter was considered ample to take all the pedestrians and inhabitants in the vicinity.

SHELTERS IN CITY SQUARES. The open squares had shelters of a different type. These were much shallower and had many layers of reinforced concrete, sand and gravel, and earth packing, which gave protection against the heaviest bombs used. The capacity of these shelters varied from 700 to 7,000. Other shelters were built into basements alongside the outer walls, very heavily protected with reinforced concrete of several layers, with still further protection in many cases of the ground and the pavement. Great importance was attached to the multi-layer method of protection as a precaution against concussion. Shelters in the open air were built in a similar manner. In some instances the shelters were built of blocks, and in one case a block suffered a direct hit from a bomb. Twenty-eight men were in the shelter, and although the block was broken, it remained intact with the exception of small fragments which fell to the ground. None of the men was hurt, the only inconvenience suffered being a temporary deafness. Experts considered that the structure having been built of disjointed pieces prevented the transmission of waves which would otherwise have caused concussion. The equipment of the shelters included wiring from the mains with an auxiliary Wing from a battery which was fitted with a trickle charger in constant contact with the main supply. Mr Helsby said that he considered that the British authorities were behind the times, and their trench digging schemes were valueless. Adequate protection could be given to all the inhabitants of Britain by working out schemes similar to those now operating in Barcelona. If the civil population was sufficiently protected against attack, the effectiveness of air raids as an offensive weapon was to a large degree neutralised, its main object being to cause panic and loss of morale among the civilians. In Barcelona there were shelters for one-half of the population, and seats in them for one-quarter of the population. He regarded l it as very important that in Britain these shelters should be so fitted up that people need not leave them. There should be kitchens from which rations could be served. In Barcelona the people were not inured to raids, but they had a feeling of absolute security when they reached the shelters, and that robbed the raids of most of their terror.