THE LONDON RAID.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 141, 14 June 1917, Page 4

THE LONDON RAID.

Undismayed by their heavy losses in the raid over the Thames, the Germans have 6ent a squadron of aeroplanes over London, the first time that the capital has been attacked in force by this arm. The casualties were heavy, and at the time of writing it is not known what damage was inflicted on the raiders. The raiding squadrons are going further afield, but with bases just across the Channel it is no great feat for the Germans to reach London. There are two or three serious considerations in connection with these raids. One is that the aeroplane used in numbers is as destructive of life and limb as the Zep pelin. Another is that while there is no serious military gain in the killing of non-combatants and the demolition ■■<( houses, these attacks compel Britain to keep a large number of aeroplanes at home as a defence force. This was the real military value of the Zeppelin in raids on England; it compelled us to use for defence guns and aeroplanes that might have been used in France To strike at an enemy at or near his base i.s sound strategy. In France and Flanders we have a marked superiority over the enemy in the air, and the Germans may argue that if tney can worry us at home they may prevent us keeping our fighting squadrons at the front up to their proper strength. For the production of this result they rely partly on the possibility of panic among the people, and in the newspapers. Tlie other consideration is the gravest. These raids, with their ghastly results in death and mutilation, are being made by a weapon that is only a few years old. In view of the immense development of aircraft in the last few years, what are the possibilities of the aeroplane of the future, edpecially in the hands of a power like Germany? The thought of this should make everybody more deter-

mined than ever to make this war, as far as is possible, the last war, otherwise life will never be free from the threat of swift and sudden terror.