BOMB BLASTS

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21242, 12 October 1940, Page 8

BOMB BLASTS

UNPREDICTABLE EFFECTS INTEREST IN LONDON NOT VERY DESTRUCTIVE (Official Wireless) (Received Oct. 12. 3.15 p.m.) RUGBY, Oct. 11 The bursting of German bombs over Britain has forced a special use of the word “blast” into the lan- i guage and for the last five weeks, | particularly in London, the strangely j unpredictable effects of a blast, noticeably on glass windows in the ! districts affected, have been an ab- j sorbing topic of conversation. Experimental work carried out I during the last few weeks by the j Civil Defence Research Committee with the aid of delicate apparatus j has upset many preconceived ideas j and popular beliefs. The blast is j not so terribly destructive as is gen- | erally held, but that is only because j the effects are very local. It creates in the immediate vicin- j ity of an explosion a wind six times i as violent as a tornado, which is j credited in America with an air speed j of 500 miles an hour, but the wind, which is really gas from the bursting explosive, is very short-lived. Beyond a distance of thirty feet from the burst of an ordinary bomb of 5001 b weight it fades away rapidly and at fifty feet almost innocuous as far as its destructive effect on buildings is concerned. Splinters from bursts will still have a velocity of 4000 feet a second j at fifty feet, nearly four times the ! speed of sound. Within a radius of ! ten yards the blast exerts its full force,' and from the point of view of the effect anywhere in that circle | counts as a direct hit. The blast alone, however, is not believed to be lethal except at very close range. It might kill through shock to the heart or the lesions of the lungs owing to the mouth having been closed but not through the mere velocity of the gas. One of the most curious blast effects was seen when a bomb struck a block of flats in London some days ago. It cut a building in two, with the result that people in the street could see the half of two bedrooms, with the beds undamaged but perilously near the edge. FURTHER DAMAGE GERMAN DESTROYERS BREST RAIDED AGAIN (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyright) (Received Oct. 12, 3.15 p.m.) LONDON, Oct. 11 The attack on German destroyers at Brest was repeated for the second night in succession in the course of last night’s raids by aircraft of the Coastal Command. Although weather conditions were difficult and the anti-aircraft fire was intense, the pilots straddled the destroyers with heavy bombs and scored several hits. Other salvoes severely damaged workshops and storehouses on the shore. There were three heavy explosions on the dockyard at Den Helder after a Blenheim had let go a salvo. Other bombs fell on the quays and set | buildings ablaze. At Boulogne the pilots saw their ! bombs burst amid a concentration of 1 30 or 40 small ships surrounding larger vessels. The Blenheims, which } found the dock shrouded in mist, j selected one basin and bombed it I accurately and systematically. UNREST IN NORWAY INVADERS RESENTED STUDENTS’ DEMONSTRATIONS (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel copyright) (Received Oct. 12, 3.15 p.m.) LONDON, Oct. 11 The Daily Telegraph’s Stockholm correspondent says that organised obstruction against General Quisling 1 is spreading in Norway. The secret police are making numerous arrests throughout the country and imposing the strictest supervision on suspects. The authorities have disbanded the National Student Organisation, have seized its considerable scholarship funds, and have threatened to close the Oslo University unless the disloyal behaviour ceases. Several students and lecturers have been arrested for participation in the removal of anti-Semitic posters from shops and for demonstrative patronage of Jewish and anti-Quislingite tradesmen. The Stavanger Tidningen has been suppressed and the whole of the editorial staff arrested for criticism of Quislingites. FIGHTING IN AFRICA SUCCESSFUL BRITISH RAIDS (United Tress Assn. — Tel. Copyright) LONDON, Oct. 10 A Royal Air Force communique issued at Cairo states: “ Our bombers on Thursday hit several ships in Tobruk Harbour, including two oil tankers. One was set on fire and a direct hit was scored on a big ship. “ A Gladiator fighter intercepted five enemy fighters, one of which is believed to have been shot down. “ Hurricanes intercepted bombers which were attempting to raid Malta. Searchlights picked out a Savoia, ; which our aeroplanes immediately j shot down. Another Savoia was observed low over the sea with one engine on fire. The remaining raiders turned back. Italians Pay Dearly The Italians paid dearly for a foray by motorised units in the desert in “No Man’s Land” and retired losing ten vehicles. The British used an anti-tank gun firing a two-pound bullet, which carries a large patch of armour inj side the vehicle. Both the bullet ; and the patch then whirl around the j interior of the vehicle with devasta--1 ting effect. i

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