THE " WIRE FENCE."

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 25, 30 January 1937, Page 13

THE " WIRE FENCE."

LONDON'S ANTI-BOMBER PLAN "APRONS" AGAINST AIR ATTACKS. LONDON. British defence chiefs are busy on a "wire fence" to keep enemy bombers away from London in case of war. In spite of the laughs of skeptics, Sir Thomas Inskip, Minister for Co-ordina-tion of Defence, has revealed in Parliament that this "fence" of steel wires suspended from balloons is a definite part of defence plans. Other cities are to bo included in the scheme, with balloon fences of their own as soon as London's can be completed. Details are being kept secret, but in general the plan is similar to others tried out here during the world war. Known technically as an "apron," the fence is made up of long steel wires hanging from a horizontal cable supported by balloons at frequent intervals. It does not have to reach from the ground to be effective. The plan is understood to be that the balloons would be capable of rapid lowering or being let out with the aid of powerful winches on the ground. Bombers, it is believed, would not dare approach the city at low altitude, and it would be safe to let out cable until the bottom of the trailing fence was thousands of feet above the ground, with its top reaching up another quarter mile or more. Defenders of the idea admit its balloons would merely be huge targets in daylight, but daylight air defence can depend on other means. In darkness, they say, the balloon barricade would be a formidable hazard for any one trying to fly over the city without knowing just how high it extended, and if they played safe they would be driven too high to bomb effectively. Aside from any 'planes it destroyed, it is believed it would be a great help in shaking the morale of attackers. During the world war such aprons were used on a small scale, and an official German report on March, 1918, has been quoted as saying: "The aprons have increased enormously and have added greatly to the difficulties of attack. If they were increased and improved much more they would make a raid on London almost impossible." At that time they extended more than 9000 feet into the air, and there were only ten short sections in use. Now, it is claimed, they can be made much higher, and the plan is to fence off London entirely. Whether a 'plane capable of slashing through the wires could be developed remains to be seen. Advocates of the huge fence insist it could not. Any 'plane would be demolished when it crashed into the wires, they declare. In any case, huge orders have been placed for the necessary materials and the scheme is being pushed ahead at full speed. Paris is said here to have included a plan for similar aprons in its air defence organisation.