AIR RAIDS ON ENGLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16676, 22 October 1917, Page 4

AIR RAIDS ON ENGLAND.

After an interval of several months, a considerable squadron of Zeppelins has been despatched to attack England. A raid by two airships was made towards the end of August, but with this exception, German efforts to hasten the conclusion of peace by terrorising the civilian population havo been confined to frequent attacks by aeroplanes This change in tactics was made when the defensive system had been so far perfected that raids by airships became far too costly to be continued. For a time, the more elusive aeroplane proved a potent weapon for the campaign of murder, but against it also defences have been established which have effectively restricted its operations. German raiders, whether they set out in airships from bases on the German coast, or in aeroplanes from stations in Belgium, have now to cross an elaborate system of stationary defences, and fight their way inland against the intrepid pilots of the air services. In the last raid the attacking force succeeded in penetrating the outer defences, and in wildly scattering death and injury, but it was soon put to flight. The raid had a dramatic sequel, for in the homeward journey four of the raiders, and possibly a fifth,' wero brought down in France. The German authorities evidently hoped to gain some advantage by the change in their weapons, but the results are not likely to encourage any new confidence in the efficiency of the Zeppelin as a raiding machine.