Last Sunday's raid, we fear, will not be the last,
but theArmy and the Air Force between them have improved their defensive and offensive methods of protecting London to such an extent that enemy aeroplane raids may in time become as obsolete as the Zeppelin raids. The artillery barrage alone would not suffice to keep raiders at a distance, though the bursts of shell-fire, combined with the searchlights, evidently confuse the German airmen and upset the balance of their machines. The secret lies in the fact that our airmen now have more powerful aeroplanes, on which they can climb rapidly to a very great height and engage the enemy in co-operation with our gunners below. In the past our machines took so long to ascend that they could never hope to overtake-the enemy, who was raining bombs from a height of two or three miles, or even more. Nowadays our scouts with their new engines can reach that height in a very few minutes, and, if warned from the coast, they are high in the air waiting for the -enemybefore he can reach London. One of last Sunday's raiders was engaged and destroyed while on his way up the Thames.
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