BLAZE OF LIGHT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 July 1941, Page 7

BLAZE OF LIGHT

AS DEFENCE AGAINST AN ATTACK PROPOSED BY AMERICAN TECHNICIAN. BLINDED RAIDERS WOULD BECOME TARGETS. A brilliant canopy of dazzling lights spread over a city that would blind enemy flyers, would afford better protection than a blackout in the event of invasion. At least (says a Schenectady correspondent of the ‘‘Christian Science Monitor”) this is the opinion of A. F. Dickerson, head of General Electric’s illuminating laboratory and an outstanding authority on exterior lighting. It is the same idea as the glaring headlights from automobiles put on a large scale, he says. Contending that such a “roof” of protective light could be accomplished by the installation of numerous small though powerful searchlights, mounted on the tops of large buildings and other elevated points, Mr Dickerson says that such a canopy would also silhouette bombers to the eyes of defenders in aircraft' flying in the sky above heavy bombers. Nazi pilots now engaged in night raids on London and other large English cities have apparently had little difficulty in finding them in the blackouts. Moonlight reflecting from the roof tops, and from such rivers as the Thames, plus parachute flares have helped the Nazi raiders in locating vulnerable targets. Even without moonlight, such cities as London, Birmingham, and Manchester have a different reflection than the surrounding country and, therefore, can be detected from the air, according to Mr Dickerson. The blackouts, plus cloudy and misty atmosphere, have helped the Nazi raiders to hide in the night sky, making it difficult for English pilots to find them. The light canopy, however, would serve as a background against .which the enemy planes could be seen in silhouette by protecting aircraft, and driven from the night sky. The lights would illuminate the clouds or fog banks so that they would appear lighter than the enemy planes whether they appeared above or below the enemy flyer. The lights would also assist the anti-aircraft defence in detection from the ground. By installing these small powerful searchlights not only in the cities but also outside the urban limits in rural areas, the enemy could be decoyed into unloading his bombs on unimportant ground, Mr Dickerson believes.