The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-01-25
AERIAL APRONS
GUARD LONDON
Defense System Against Hun Air
Raids Is Now Dis
closed.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
Aew The oothas Were Kept Away
From London Forms Tense Chap
ter In British Mastery Over
German Air Raiders.

London.-London's aerial aprons, or
how the Gothas were kept away.
might form one tense chapter In q
book about how the British bafled the
Hun air raiders. The last six months
Of the war there was not a single air
raid on London, due, In part, to the
fact that the city's defenses were such
that they filled enemy flyers with ter
r0r. Any aviator that escaped the
death traps-and the chances were
about one In three he would not-gen-
orally was of little value thereafter for
Tying. because his nerve were shat
tered. A British aviator who by acct.
dent was caught In the aerial barrage.
but managed to land safely near Lon
don, tossed on q bed. verging on in
sanity for weeks. SO horrible was the
experience.
Roughly. there were three chief
weapons for dealing with Hun air
raiders: the aerial barrage, aided by
s~earchllghts; fast, fighting scout planes
thaf attacked the invaders, and aerial
aprons The Germans. 1t may be noted,
were never able to perfect any scheme
to prevent British aviators from
honbing Rhine towns even In the day.
tine.
Aerial Aprons Queer Things.
The aerial aprons were queer
things. They reminded one of rope
port1eres. Upon signal, captive bal
loons were sent aloft from the out
skirts Of the city, the balloons being
In pairs. These buoyed up q curtain
Of dangling ropes, a half-mile or so
long. These aerial aprons served two
purposes: First. they forced the raid
err to fly high. and when they few
high they could not drop bombs eff
fbctively; second, any machine dart
Ing into the ropes courted destruction.
When flying high they were met by the
British lighting scouts. These aerial
aprons were shifted daily as to height
% enemy airmen could not be fore
warned.
London always had the protection
Of four score airplanes during the
last year Of q These machines
could mount to 10000 feet. The avi-
ators were picked night flyers. At
such heights 1t Is difficult to see an
other airplane at 100 yards. But at
given signal these birdmen took to
the skies. jealousy guarding the ap-
proacheo to London. These brave fell
lows often chased a hostile machine
into the barrage and q few British
blrdmen were killed by their own
shcllsL But whether 1t was a Zeppelin
o. I 0otha that was bent on baby kill
Ing the British scouts would swoop at
their foes like hawks.
The barrage was almost like drum
11e. There were two outer barrages
ana one inner. Scores OF guns. many
e them six-ihch rifles. were employed
n this work. They generally worked
n batteries Of four. each unit Of the
battery. perhaps, being q mile or two
fr6m the other units. The four guns
would endeavor to get q hostile plane
IN the center Of their box fire. and then
gradually close In their fire SO the
eusmy could not escape, the "aerial
boxs gradually being narrowed.
The entire process depended largely
upon listening devices which could de-
toct the approach OF q humming air.
plano miles away.
gSBclont Defense System.
Tho defense system was SO efi-
dent that rs per cent Of the raiding
machines were kept out Of London.
And those machines that got past the
barrases had great dificulty in escap-
~. TO the terror OF bursting shrap-
n Va added the confusion Of verey
lishfa, some red, some blue. others
green. white, yellow and orange, and
thooo Rashing lights, intermingled
win the terrific din Of the exploding
sholl, - confused aviators that they
A. many q their machines got out Of