COOL POPULACE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 196, 19 August 1940, Page 6

COOL POPULACE.

BUT ON THE ALERT.

INVASION PRELUDE?

R.A.F. UPSET CALCULATIONS,

(By Air.) SYDNEY, Aug. 18. Aβ I write bombers are raiding London. Thie is the second time to-day, the

third since e o'clock last night, and the seventh since the outbreak of war (writes E. W. Macalpine, representing the "Sydney Sunday Telegraph" in

London). But a remarkable feature of the raids, at least so far, is that as they hot "P the populace cools down. At the corner opposite the window of my office, an evening paper-seller stands at hie post. He has chalked up: "Raid aNow On—R.A.F. Tea Scores." It must not be inferred from all this that these raids are not serious. They are pregnant with tragedy. The vefy people who joke about them are thoroughly aware of this, but joking is their way of showing that the morale of the nation is unaffected —and is also a sign of the spirit vrhich the R.AJ?.'s showing has undoubtedly brought about. As I look out of my window in Fleet Street the crowds have disappeared, but streets are by no means deserted. It looks as it would on a normal Sunday afternoon. Business Goes On. A tin-hatted policeman is chatting to a tin-hatted air raid warden; there is an occasional bus, half-filled with pae.sengers, and occasional taxis. People are determined to carry on as usual, and it is now generally agreed that those who hare business needing immediate attention need not shelter until the anti-aircraft gune are in action nearby. The raids going on as I work are apparently somewhere on the outskirts of London, so there is no need to bring the business of the city to * complete standstill. London at the moment ia "On the alert." Next to ttfe remarkable performance of the K.A.F., present conversation centres on speculation about the possibility of invasion. Some experts maintain that the present mass raids are a prelude to the invasion, which will come at many widely scattered points. But there is a growing belief that the R.A.F. has upset all Nazi calculations. There are also serin's doubte about the efficacy of action in the air if it meets strong opposition. I have been assured, on high authority, the figures of E.A.F. victories are accurate. Great pains are taken to check reports. There may be some duplications —fighters move so fast that a Nasi 'plane may be hit, flutter downwards, and be hit by another lighter before it reaches the earth—but, against this, there is the fact that the R.A.F. does not count many 'planes they are practically certain will be unable to reach their home bases. One airman, whose name is known internationally, assured me that R.A.F figures are a great understatement, and he believes that Nazi losses are nearly 50 per cent greater than the R.A.F claims. Some well-informed observers ecout the idea that Hitler intends to try to invade Britain. They point out that he is almost eertaui to fail, and doubt whether his prestige could stand failure. On the other hand, they maintain that he will continue to harass us in the air, while the real blitzkrieg comes in the Mediterranean. Somaliland Critics. These maintain that we have made an error in not sending strong Indian reinforcements to Somaliland immediatelv trance collapsed. Tl jey argue that an Italian success— - u\ haVe a sucw? s—in Somaliland might have serious repercussions in the eastern Mediterranean, as it would undermine our prestige there. On the other hand, victory would jrive us a tremendous fillip, and. combined wiui our naval successes against Italv and our recent showing that industrial Italy is within striking distance of the K.A.F., might change the whole tenor ot tne war in our favour. There is a growing feeling throughout Britain that the "time fo? defensive action is past, and it is now up to the SHiTr ° f ri? g . int ° «**<*> striking :K e J th **» * nd F «^t Sj hard