"'PLANES OVERHEAD!"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23850, 28 December 1940, Page 8 (Supplement)

"'PLANES OVERHEAD!"

"YJANY people have the impression that when an enemy raider is heard at night it is directly overhead, but Lord Croft, Under-Secre-tary, War Ofiice, is reassuring Londoners on litis point. "A machine heard inside a house, lie says, "may lie twelve miles distant. Kvcn it" it lie directly overhead, a bomb dropped from the height usual with enemy raiders would pitch Ironi one to three miles trout ones particular locality. That bomb, it' it were of the highest calibre, will do no serious damage outside 100 yards from the point on which it pitched. "Once we get a sense of proportion and refuse to allow the siren or the distant hum of an aeroplane to disturb us," he added, "we will speedily form the habit of taking our normal rest and sleep witli the definite knowledge that

if a bomb gets us it is almost as bad hick as if lightning struck us in a thunderstorm." There is a general idea that it i-> (Kssible to distinguish between British ami German 'planes by their engine sounds, but 111 < ■ Royal Air force olliccrs say this is seldom possible. .Most people believe that a pulsating, intermit tent engine sound must be that, of a bomber because jt is sometimes that of a twin-engined machine, but there is twin-engined British fighter. Moreover, two single-ongined fighters flying together sometimes produce flic same interinittance of sound, A rough engine note is not necessarily that of a German machine. There is a third deceptive sound. The .Merlin engine of most British fighters has a deep, even murmur, and a flight or squadron of them is almost unmistakable. but a German fighter formation gives a similar sound.