DEFENCE AGAINST ZEPPELINS

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5361, 19 February 1916, Page 5

DEFENCE AGAINST ZEPPELINS

WHAT IS BEING DONE.

London, Last Night. Replying to the question whether tlie Government had a scheme for insurance. again-t air raids, Lord Newton speaking in the House of Lords, said that over a million persons hail been insured, whereof 850,000 had been injured through the Post Officii. The sum assured was £'3.800,000. lii answer to several questions on Britain > preparedness in air defence, lxml Kitchener stated that one Zeppelin had been lost at sea in the last raid, and it was believed that a* second one had been put out of action. Public debate was naught with the risk ol giving information to the enemy . This hampered a detailed reply to questions which were the natural outcoirie of dastardly German outrages against helpless women and children. Up to the present the raids had had no influence whatever on the military situation. Three principles governed our air deifenct>. The first was to get good information about the arrival and movements of hostile aarorajft, the second was defence by artillery from, the land; the third was attacks by aeroplanes moving faster than the Zeppelins. The construction of antiaircraft guns have now priority over other ordnance.

The chase of Zeppelins by aoroplanes at night was attended with great difficulty. No order wac ever given to air pilots to make such ascents at night, but notice was sent to the stations when it was considered possible to intercept Zeppelins.