Air Raid Precautions

Abstract

THE disastrous effect of the gas attacks by Italian aircraft on the defenceless Abys-sinians made such a profound impression on the equally unprepared people of Britain that the first air raid precautions in this country were heavily biased towards anti-gas measures. Then Japanese incendiary bombs on the inflammable areas of Chinese cities emphasized the importance of the fire-fighting services. But it is only recently that the deadliness of high explosive, as exemplified in Spain, is being given its due weight. That this should be so seems strange, as there are still many men in England who have had first-hand knowledge of high explosive shells. A bomb only differs from a shell in that, weight for weight, it contains a greater percentage of explosive, and a heavy howitzer shell comes down from a height equal to that of Mount Everest. Given gas masks, the men who have faced it would infinitely prefer an attack by gas to one of equivalent weight of high explosive. For this reason, these two books, which deal with the general question of A.R.P. and the effect of high explosives in Spain, and the two professional reports on practical measures of protection, come as a useful corrective to our first obsessions.

(1) A.R.P.

By J. B. S. Haldane. Pp. 296. (London: Victor Gollancz, Ltd., 1938.) 7s. 6d. net.

(2) Air Raid

The Technique of Silent Approach; High Explosive; Panic. By John Langdon-Davies. Pp. 142 + 32 plates. (London: George Routledge and Sons, Ltd., 1938.) 2s. 6d. net.

(3) Report of the Committee of the Institution of Structural Engineers on Air Raid Pre cautions

Pp. 48. (I.S.E., 1938.) 1s.

(4) A.R.P.

A Report on the Design, Equipment and Cost of Air-Raid Shelters. (Reprinted from The Architects' Journal for July 7, 1938.) Second edition. Pp. 15-48. (London: Association of Architects, Surveyors and Technical Assistants, 1938.) 1s.