WAR IN THE AIR

North Otago Times, Volume CIV, Issue 13664, 5 September 1916, Page 3

WAR IN THE AIR

LONDON THREATENED. OFFICIAL REPORT OP'RAID., SEVERAL CIVILIANS KILLED. . (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) _ LONDON, September X 1,,1t ' "'iicial report of the air raid slfllfls that a man and a woman were lulled, ami Iwo children were injured, There were, no casualties in the metropnliton poliec 'district, where twentyhve houses were slightly damaged ami ""w horses killed, Elsewhere, the ellectswere very slight and.nomililary damage was done,

Thirteen airships took pari; in Hie raid. Three approached London. ' One whs engaged ami brought down near Enheld.

The damage and casualties were not hpfiyv, foddering the number of raiders. •

MOST FORMIDABLE RAID TO DATE, THIRTEEN ZEPPELINS ENGAGED, EFFECTIVE DEFENSIVE . MEASURES, (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) LONDON, September 3. t I lie official report savs: The latest 'eftort wax Hie most formidable air raid I vet undertaken, The-principal theatre 01 operations was the eastern counties innd the objective was apparently Loir-' t on and the industrial centres''in the -Ui.llaiids. Our new measures for the reduction ami obscuration of lights un,'louhteilly proved efficacious, because flie raiding squadrons, instead of sleeruis,' a steady course like those of last, autumn and. spring, groped about in the darkness, searching f or a Sllfo avem](l i to approach their objectives. Only f w were able to approach the outJils of London. One appeared over f«e northern districts at 2.1 ij o'clock Searchlights immediately picked it up and anti-aircraft guns and aeroplanes heavily engaged the vessel, After a w minutes Hie airship burst into Jfl'iie, toll rapidly, r and was destroyed. I"e wreckage found included the"enSines, which had burst. The bodies of the crew were also picked up. Our experts hope to be able to reconstruct the porlions of the framework. The large -'""Omit ol.' wood used in the framework kpi'iiw to point to a shortage of almoin, mm in Germany,

The Lon.lon defences drove oil' the o her two airships without their bcinp aW(! to approach Ihe city's centre ° A great number of bombs were ,lrbnPed promiscuously in the East Anglian and south-eastern comities. Complete r e,,orts " ,lle and casuallies have not been received, but a list will ,l ' fT 1 ,, 0 " Momli, y- Many of the talw Ml into Ihe sea or i„ remot country districts.

Prisons who picked up fragments a\c been ordered to submit, them to lie nnthonties. If they are valueless or reconstruction they will berehmied to their tinders.

The Weekly Despatch fflvs n eve . ptnMSWflaawntcne.lbv.the sound'of bombs and heavy gm,fj re , Ho Eoarchhghls playing from all directions ami one of the Zeppelins was visible, it was almost stationary for five minutes and then disappeared for another live minutes in a cloud. Then the watcher* were all suddenly aware of a I'nght glow iu the cloudy mist, which '.sloped into a long .sausage-like |!ame. the sky was lit up by the tlamnig mass, which took two minutes to descend. It seemed before reaching the ground to be completely consumed. The crowd sang song's in honour of the occasion, The people's delight was boundless.

THE FALLING. ZBPPELIW.

GLARE LIKE THE SUNRISE,

(Amitralinn nnil M.Z. flnMc Association.)

Received September''!, 5.35 p.m. LONDON, September .1. The Zeppelin crashed to the ground within one hundred yards of a peaceful village I'linreli. A glare, lilce- -ilif* sunrise, was seen for miles. II wan an •live-inspiring spectacle as tin? vessel swept, towards' the ground afire. Many thousands were watching, They had been awakened by bombs and gniis. The people gathered ' on I lie seem', while vehicles-of all .kinds arrived from, miles round; ..the Irall'ic on Hie Groat North Road outrivalling Derby Day. The military are guarding Hie ruins,' Apart, from lh<> engines, and parts of the lingo propellors, only na |ies remain. The envelope was entirely burned.