The Wilmington morning star., 1940-08-20
Air Warfare
BY PAUL
NEA Service Staff Corresponds

ASAA.
ENGLAND "a Town in t h G
Northeast)-This northeast indus.
trial town in Hotspot, England.
Everyone has spent 10 of the last
IA nights in air raid shelters. Last
night was no exception.
Standing on a ridge on the out
skirts of this city l saw German
bombers in waves of three I'M
load their deadly cargo then head
for home.
There was no dive bombing, no
armada Of so to 80 planes scream
ing down in close formation at
tack on a British convoy making
its slow way into a southeastern
port.
But there was a certainty of ap-
proach which stamped this raid as
something entirely different from
Dover.
For the men who were flying
these bombers we're not rank anna
teurs fresh from 40 hours of
ground school.
They were veterans Of Poland,
Norway and Flanders-if bombing
technique is any criterion.
SEARCHLIGHTS
ARE TARGETS
Wheeling in, the bombers ap-
preached their objectives-the
shipyards, gas tanks, coal works,
and steel plants.
Anti-aircraft guns set up a ter
rifle barrage.
Giant IS billion candlepower
searchlights pierced the skies: one
fastened on a Junkers SO. From
darkness above, a Messerchmitt
or Heinkel plummeted down and
began pouring tracer bullets into
the beam. The light went out.
A series of explosions followed.
One heavy bomb missing a rail
road bridge, demolished two me.
dunn sized buildings. The impact
was SO great windows within a
mile were shattered.
Suddenly a terrific detonat;on
Redeemed the sky, then the explo.
slons stopped as the bombers
droned back out across the North
Sea. Military damage was slight:
one school house crippled, one
water main smashed. several
houses demolished. A 19-year.old
air raid warden was killed bv
spraying machine gun bullets.
NO PANIC,
NO ONE LEAVES
But In this town, the destruction
OF a row of slum dwellings gave
some idea what London's east
SIDE may be in for if large scale
bombing of London ever starts.
"A number of people were killed
by n bomb. But when every per.
son IN the village viewed the dam.
age the next morning, so com.
plete 1t looked as if Hollywood had
constructed a stage set to film an.
other version of Wings, there
was no panic or desire to flee the
town.
Bombing is no new experience
70 this town. In 1915 the town sui.
lered air raids. Bombs dropped
on industrial plants and men were
killed.
!nere r still tablets on the
walls OF factories commemorative
tne sacrifices Of these men.
UNEMPLOYMENT
THE BIG FEAR
Unemployment and malnutri
uon r not new experiences. Thi.
town is an illustrated footnote t,
British working class history.
II has passed through ever,
boom and slump since the frs
coal mine was opened in 1918. Blu
between the two evils this tow,
tears unemployment more tina,
bombs. Particularly so at this mo
ment when the armament program
has doomed wartime industr.
throughout Britain and every abb
male is working in the shipyard
and steel plants. And now witt
money coming in ono again tn,
people Ire beginning to get SOM
Of their kick back.
They're starrlng to lose the dull
look of the underfed.
The main street of the shopping
center is crowded as families bu,
new clothes.
Women r getting permanen
waves their first in 10 years.
a