The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-10-05

Joseph F. Kennedy. U. s. am- bassador to London, examines German bomb fragment that carried his initials. The bomb hlt near Kennedy's country home. Later disabled Messer- schmitt fighter skinned within inches of the same dwelling. either to hit or to drive of lone raiders.
 In one instance, 8 German plane was forced to veer from its course, but not for long. The pilot merely executed great circle and returned to drop 20 incendiary bombs. They landed near three apartment build ings and along the Parks edge, and they started fire which became bea- cons, turning the area almost to daylight brightness.
 Before fast-working police and firemen could smother the flames with sand, the light guarded a Ger man plane back to the spot. It re- leased a bomb which scored 8 di- rect hit on one of the apartment buildings. The force of the explo- sion was so great that the six-story building was demolished. Windows were shattered for blocks.
 GUNS BOLSTER
 MORALE
 Standing in the shadow of the Marble Arch one could judge the general ineffectiveness of the anti aircraft guns because it was easy to spot single German planes as they criss-crosSed each others path. They flew some 15,000 feet in the sky, above the shell bursts (which resembled exploding stars) that fol- lowed each plane in the heavens from one end of the city to the other.
 The shells never quite seemed to catch up with the planes. Despite the use of more and bigger guns and a system of predicting planes future position without searchlights, the number of German planes brought down during the hours I watched waS-zero.
 It was reported, however, that SdTllcI HI bllc CtCi1AAlS VIII " PAesAASS had been hit by the barrage.
 It was the same story down on the Thames embankment. Anti-air- craft guns threw tons of steel into the sky from midnight to 3 in the morning, yet this proved no obstacle to bomber which suddenly dropped down a quick thrust and llnloaded a large bomb
 Despite this general inability to hit airplaneS flying in broken for- nations at night. London's anti aircraft barrage is valuable if only for its effect on the population.
 Night after night, most of the lO,- 100000 people of this city huddle into air raid shelters while German planes bomb the city. And when the anti-aircraft guns stopped firing for many hours on several recent nights because searchlights could not pierce the layers of heavy clouds to allow gunners to draw bead on tho planes overhead. something re- sernbling wave of despair swept over many people.
 The Home Defense chiefs imme- diately regeared the anti-aircrait strategy of London. All available p1lns in the. London area were or dered by commanding officers to fire what communiques and news papers here later termed screen of lead"
 .A HYMN OF
 BLESSED RELIEF"
 The reaction was spontaneous throughout the city. Morale rose to Q new high.
 And when I toured two repre- sentative public air raid shelters to see if there was any reverting back to the feeling of general helpless ness at England's inability to strike back, found morale stsll good.
 Tn one place, beneath Q modern department store most people who packed the shelter were of the opia- lon that the anti.aircraft gini (which were firing the new screen of lead during the long night houfs) were saving the day.
 In another shelter, which durine the day was . subway platform were men. women and children wlc had siroamed there from lheil bofnb-loFn homes in L0ndon's Eaal End. They fnd brought thelF plti' fully few posaoeaiona.
 eoeine fhe nights respite from the hleh explosives which ilsuallj continue lo fall Hlsh deadly regular